What’s in a Name
2014
Director, Writer, Editor, Camera
12 minutes, Color/B&W HD/Archival
What’s in a Name is about sculpting identities, both in terms of how the world sees us and how we view ourselves. These themes are woven into the juxtaposition of two stories that form a dialogue across generations. In the 1930’s the filmmaker’s grandfather changed the family name to avoid anti-Jewish quotas and get engineering work designing the Los Angeles freeways. The filmmaker reclaims the name for his online identity, a film festival books his ticket under this name, and he’s taken into a holding cell accused of being an imposter. The question of Jewish identity and authenticity of culture is examined through home movies, archival footage, interviews and abstract recreations.
Awards
Audience Award Best Short Documentary, Memphis Jewish Film Festival
Bronze Plaque Award, Columbus International Film Festival
Screenings
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
Sidewalk Film Festival
Canberra Short Film Festival (Australia)
Starz Denver Film Festival
Cucalorus Film Festival
Columbus International Film Festival
Memphis Jewish Film Festival
Atlanta Film Festival
Toronto Jewish Film Festival
New Filmmakers NYC Anthology Film Archive—Short Experimental Documentaries
screened with: my olympic summer
Oxford Film Festival
Ethnografilm Film Festival
Moscow Jewish Film Festival
Cellular Cinema, Minneapolis
Columbia Jewish Film Festival