IIJS closed its Summer Film Series with the documentary The Wild One. Guests were invited to screen the film from the comfort of their homes, then join us via Zoom for a Q&A with Columbia University Film Professor Annette Insdorf, moderated by IIJS Film Programmer Stuart Weinstock.
The Wild One illuminates the journey of an unsung artist, Jack Garfein – Holocaust survivor, celebrated Broadway director, Actors Studio West co-founder, and controversial filmmaker. This documentary delves into how his experience in the concentration camps shaped his vision of acting as a survival mechanism and propelled his engagement with themes of violence, power, and racism in postwar America in two explosive films: The Strange One (1957) and Something Wild (1961). The Wild One examines Garfein's legacy as an artist and his contributions to the mid-century revolutions in stage and screen acting, alongside other Jewish artists, that continue to define performance today.
Annette Insdorf is a Professor of Film at Columbia, and Moderator of the "Reel Pieces" series at the 92nd Street Y. Her books include Indelible Shadows: Film and the Holocaust (with a foreword by Elie Wiesel), and Cinematic Overtures: How to Read Opening Scenes. Read Professor Insdorf’s full bio here.
The Q&A is available to view in full below.
This event was made possible by the generosity of the Radov and Kaye families.
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