PJ Grisar is a Forward culture reporter. He can be reached at grisar@forward.com and @pjgrisar on Twitter.
PJ Grisar
By PJ Grisar
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Culture She died of cystic fibrosis. A new film tells her story — in her own words
After Mallory Smith died in 2017, her mom finally got a chance to look at her diary. Smith had just turned 25 when she died from complications of cystic fibrosis. For 10 years she’d documented her life and thoughts on her computer and devices. When she gave her mother, Diane Shader Smith, the password, there…
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Culture With antisemitism rising, a Jewish family wonders — is it safe to be Jewish in France (or America)?
'Prayer for the French Republic' asks tough questions, but provides no easy answers
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Culture Al Franken says America feels like Nazi Germany in the ’30s. Is he right?
When it comes to democracy and being Jewish, former Senator Al Franken knows whereof he speaks. But, given his other vocation as a comedy writer, some critics will surely think his latest remarks – likening America today to early Nazi Germany – are a joke. In the most recent episode of “The Al Franken Podcast,”…
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Culture She filmed the final days of her father’s life. Here’s what she wants us to know about assisted death.
Ondi Timoner never meant to make a documentary about her father. But then, he decided to end his life at the age of 92. For over a decade, Timoner, who directed acclaimed films about alt-rock group the Dandy Warhols, internet CEO Josh Harris and comedian Russell Brand, has been developing a narrative script about her…
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Culture A kids’ guide to gender and sexuality arrives in Yiddish – and hopes to reach Hasidic children
Hasidic children will learn about LGBTQ allyship, gender expression and the diverse world of identity when “You Be You: The Kid’s Guide to Gender, Sexuality and Family” arrives in Yiddish Jan. 31. The author, Jonathan Branfman, first published the book in English in 2019. His goal was to make a resource that offers stigma-free information…
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Culture How Ady Barkan’s story sparked a movement
Editor’s Note: “Not Going Quietly” is premiering on PBS’ “POV” Monday, Jan. 24 at 10 p.m. To mark it’s TV debut we have republished this interview with director Nicholas Bruckman from August 11, 2021. When Nicholas Bruckman met Ady Barkan in early 2018, he was prepared to be bummed out. Barkan had just confronted then-Senator…
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Culture Is ‘Rifkin’s Festival’ Woody Allen’s love letter to cinema — or something more cynical?
“Rifkin’s Festival,” Woody Allen’s 49th feature, has a marketing problem. I’m not really alluding to the obvious issues. Not the HBO series about the alleged – and denied by Allen – sexual abuse of his daughter Dylan Farrow (full disclosure, I was a talking head in said series). Or even something like the #MeToo press…
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Culture Sexy, vibrant and daring, this is not your typical Jewish film festival fare
In the annals of Jewish film festivals, “Sin La Habana” is likely the only entry to begin with a Santeria ritual involving the sacrifice of chickens. Sadly, the film, playing as part of New York’s Jewish Film Festival Jan. 15, is also one of a select few to spotlight a Mizrahi bris. The feature debut…
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