Doing Jewish: A Story from Ghana

Birchbark’s president, Scott Adams, has had a busy and exciting few years.  Recently he was in Toronto for the World Premier of Doing Jewish: A Story from Ghana at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival.  Since his role as Cinematographer for the film, a feature length documentary meant, as well as shooting, creating the look and feel of shots and images, he had a vested interest in gauging audience reaction.  No worries, the film was a sell out and members of the audience reported they moved, sometimes to tears by the fascinating story of Gabrielle Zilkha’s trip to Ghana where she connected to the Jews of Sefwi Wiawso, who, amazingly, had been practicing Judaism for hundreds of years, without knowing they were part of a world wide religion. On Monday May 30, this important film, a prize piece in Adams’ cannon achieves another milestone.  It’s being aired nationally on Vision TV!  This is an impressive achievement for everyone involved in the project, including Scott Adams, Writer/Director Gabrielle Zilkha and Jenn Mason, Producer.  “We were and are part of a team,” Mason notes.  “There were a number of people involved, and Scott was key.” At the same time, those who see the film can now go on line and view the Interactive Village, a Digital Media Project on the web site www.doingjewishthefillm.com that gives behind the scenes stories of the Ghanaians and brings everything right up close. There are stories, personal; including that of Stephen who makes Chalah covers, and viewers can actually order one on line.  The site is not Amazon.com but there is a link to order artesian chocolate, after learning how it’s produced and why it helps the local Ghana residents if people buy it direct.  “The Interactive Village has special 360 degree footage, which enables viewers to see every angle of a place, from the clouds to the blades of long grass,” Adams explains.  “I’m very proud to be part of this new and innovative type of story telling.”