Billy Novick photo is
at:
https://www.angelfire.com/jazz/billynovick/
The Art of
Speaking the Unspeakable:
Film on Holocaust
artist Samuel Bak premieres at Temple Reyim
By Susie Davidson
Advocate
Correspondent
NEWTON – On
Monday, April 8, the eve of Yom HaShoah, a new film commemorating the life and
work of Samuel Bak will be shown at Temple Reyim at 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the
public.
Bak, who is 67 and
lives in Weston, was born in Vilna in 1933 and began painting by the age of
three. Following the German occupation of 1940, he held his first exhibition in
the ghetto, which included paintings of the invasion and forced relocation. He
was later smuggled out of a labor camp and given refuge in a Benedictine
monastery; of his extended family, he and his mother were the sole survivivors
of the war.
“The Art of
Speaking About the Unspeakable” was produced by documentary filmmakers
and Cambridge residents Rob and Pam Cooper, who were co-director and
co-producer, respectively, of the PBS film "Zamir Chorale: The Songs Live
On", and "The Jews of Memphis". In addition, Rob produced and
directed the internationally aired "Good Morning Blues", a history of
the Delta blues hosted by B. B. King, and was the cinematographer for the PBS
film "William Faulkner".
The Coopers invite
all in the community to share in the premiere: “We hope you can join us
for this wonderful opportunity to see Bak's work on the large screen
format.”
The film includes an
original musical soundtrack by regarded local jazz musician and Lexington
resident Billy Novick.
“I guess I'd
say that I've been involved in hundreds of film projects,” he says,
“as a composer, arranger or musician, and this film was certainly one of
the most rewarding and musically
creative. Rob gave me
enormous freedom in putting together the music, and we had a shared vision of
how the music should work in the film, which is fairly unsual.
“This may sound
like something out of a Disney movie,” he continues, “but, for
inspiration, I had books and books of Sam's paintings and had seen his work at
the Pucker Gallery, and I just stared at them and was flooded with all sorts of
musical ideas.
“It was truly
an honor and a joy to be able to work with Sam, and, as a composer, I felt inspired by Sam's artistry to
have my music be as good as
possible.”
What’s the
music like?
“It's a bit
hard to fully describe the music,” he replies, “but it definitely
has an Eastern European influence, featuring a lot of clarinet. It's also very
melodic, as well as having a lot of ambient, dreamy, synthesizer sounds. In my
mind, it seems to combine some ancestral qualities with some futuristic
ones.”
Writing a musical
score on such a subject is a daunting task, to say the least; the Coopers
certainly acknowledged Novick’s capabilities in fashioning an applicably intriguing, haunting and
sensitive score.
The artist and
filmmakers will be at the opening and will converse with the audience; Bak will
read from his recently published memoir.
The event is
co-sponsored by Temple Reyim's Adult Education program and the Jewish Family
and Children's Service's "Legacies: Programs For Children And
Grandchildren Of Holocaust Survivors", with the cooperation of the
National Center for Jewish Film at Brandeis University and with permission of
the Pucker Gallery, who represents Bak. For information, please call Linda
Rakoff at 617-332-2165.
Bak is represented by
the Pucker Gallery in Boston.
The artist and the
film-makers will be present at the film showing and will share in conversation
with the audience about the film, and Mr. Bak's work and his life. Mr. Bak
artist will read excerpts from his newly published memoir. The Yom Hashoah presentation is
co-sponsored by
This event is open to
the public, bring your friends, there is no charge.
The American premiere
of a new film on the life and art of Samuel Bak will be presented Monday April
8 at 7:30 pm at Temple Reyim in Newton on the eve of Yom Hashoah - Holocaust
Remembrance Day. The film, "The Art of Speaking About the Unspeakable",
was produced by Rob and Pam Cooper, and
Hi- This forwarded
message is an announcement of the first (and FREE) screening of this
documentary about the fascinating artist Sam Bak, for which I composed the
music. I really like the film, and, shockingly, even like the music. As is my
nature, I'm letting as few people know about this as possible so-
Congratulations! You've all been chosen to be on this select forwarding list
for various reasons:
1) You live far away
and it's a pretty safe bet that you're not going to somehow show up and maybe
not like the film.
2) I know you'll be
attracted to anything that's free (hi, Phil)
3) You may be
interested in the arts, and you're savvy enough to realize there may be free
food afterwards (I don't know)
OR
4) You have an
interest in art and/or Jewish culture, possibly admire
Sam's work, and would
be excited about seeing the film.
Anyway, I'll be
there, with Barbara and Rose (who sings a piece of music in the film). I'm very
much looking forward to it, and if
you're at all interested in the subject, I think you'll like it.
Billy
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Attachment: Forwarded
Message
From: Robcps@aol.com
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 19:08:44 EST
Subject: From Rob and Pam
Cooper
To:
Dear Friends and
Colleagues:
We are please to
announce the premiere showing of our documentary on Samuel Bak: The Art of Speaking the
Unspeakable". We hope you can
join us for this wonderful
opportunity to see Bak's work on the large screen format. Please find the press release in Word document, and also pasted in
the body of this email--
All Best, Rob and Pam
Cooper
The Art of Speaking
the Unspeakable: American Premiere at Temple Reyim
--- billnovick
<billnovick@erols.com>