Notes on Trembling before G-D

-I like the beginning in silhouettes, showing Jewish culture in shadow, a culture that is often not
to open to displaying itself. It is also a good symbol of the invisibility of LGBTQ Jews in the Orthodox community.
-Nice use of B-roll in showing place and culture, each place we travel to has a section of B-roll and a piece of what that culture is like.
-The art of hiding someones identity when you are interviewing them
-I like the traveling style to the editing of this film, how they hop from place to place without making the place the theme. this will be useful in thinking about editing Travel Queeries.
-"We are not advocating for gay rights, we are just showing this is something we have to deal with." this was said by an Orthodox Jewish woman who was in the closet. I liked her frame work for how to deal in a religion that does not allow you to be yourself.
-"Just being Jewish is a gift from G-D." this was said by an out Orthodox Jewish man who is HIV positive.
- The follow up documentary was even better then the movie and very touching. It was fun to see the transformations of the characters as they toured the movie and opened up dialogues in many communities. It was inspiring to see how openly this film was received, I liked continuing the story of the people and watching how things are shifting in the Orthodox community because of this film. it was very hopeful.

Notes on "The Gleaners and I"

I had mixed reactions to this film. On the one hand I really liked the anthropological look at the culture of gleaning and the creative interviewing style of Agnes Verda; on the other hand her sub plot of noticing her self within the piece I found hard to follow and less engaging.

-Cool use of B-roll to show culture through art pieces about gleaning
-Nice quick shots of urban and rural gleaning with contemporary french rap over it.
-I like the feel of modern and historic France colliding in this activity of gleaning.
-A document of french sub-culture and society
-We meet the filmmaker intimately and somewhat cheesily using the camera as an examining device.
-Defining the word gleaning verses picking, what it means to glean vegetables, fruits things relation to being poor and or resourceful.
-A retriever making art from salvaged materials
-The movie starts to get more into theory "It is full in here, to relive you of emptiness" looking at the concept of gleaning in a house made of gleaned materials.
-Louis Pans-Junk sculpture artist, cool stuff!
-"It always comes back to the gleaners, trying to win there confidence, listen to them, converse with them rather then interview them and film them."-Agnes Verda