Thursday, Jan. 9
AWARD-WINNING FILM
The award-winning German movie Kaddish for a Friend will be screened at Cinema Excentris at 7 p.m. by the Goethe Institut, with French subtitles. This 2011 film by Leo Khasin is about the unlikely relationship that develops between a 14-year-old Palestinian boy and a Russian Jewish World War II veteran living in Berlin, and is inspired by a true story. The boy hates “the Jews” and tries to impress his fellow immigrant Arab youths by breaking into the apartment of his elderly neighbour, but gets caught in the act and discovers his enemy is really a friend. 514-499-0159.
CLAY MAKING
The Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors offers a class in enhancing the look and texture of clay modelling by adding spices, herbs, coloured sand and so on, 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Registration, 514-342-1234, ext. 7269.
Sunday, Jan. 12
FAMILY TREE WORKSHOP
A family tree workshop is being held by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Montreal at the Jewish Public Library, 10 a.m. to noon. Beginners can get one-on-one help with researching their ancestry. 514-484-0969.
Monday, Jan. 13
BOOK DISCUSSION
The Jewish Public Library’s Mother-Daughter Book Discussion Group examines the novel Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, which highlights women’s roles during World War II, at 7 p.m. The group, led by librarian Penny Fransblow, is open to girls in Grade 5 and up and their moms. Registration, 514-345-2627, ext. 3028.
Tuesday, Jan. 14
MOVIE NIGHT
Tatie Danielle, a French film with English subtitles about the relationship between an elderly woman and her young housekeeper, will be shown at the Segal Centre by the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors, 7 p.m. Tickets, Stefani Novick, 514-342-1234, ext. 7201.
BOOK LAUNCH
Cassie Deveaux Cohoon launches her novel Jeanne Dugas of Acadia, inspired by the remarkable story of her ancestor of the same name who lived from 1731 to 1817, at the Creative Social Centre at the Chevra synagogue at 1 p.m. 514-488-0907.
Wednesday, Jan.15
AUTHOR SPEAKS
Carol Katz speaks about her illustrated book Zaidie and Ferdele: Memories of My Childhood at a meeting of the FAB (Fifty and Beyond) group of Act to End Violence, at the Via Marcello restaurant, 1790 Côte Vertu Rd., at noon. Reservations, 514-487-2330.
BHOPAL DRAMATIZED
Rahul Varma’s hard-hitting play Bhopal, about the disastrous consequences of an explosion at a pesticide company in India, opens at the Segal Centre Studio and runs until Feb. 2. A Canadian doctor discovers the company had long been polluting the water causing birth defects. This Teesri Duniya Theatre production is directed by Liz Valdez. Tickets, 514-739-7944.
Thursday, Jan. 16
ARMCHAIR FITNESS
Learn simple yet effective exercises that can be done while watching TV, at a session at the Cummings Centre for Seniors, 2-3:30 p.m. Registration, 514-342-1234, ext. 7305.
Saturday, Jan. 18
VENETIAN MUSIC
In connection with its current exhibition of Venetian Baroque art, the Montreal Museum of Fine Art presents the film Hebreo: The Search for Salomone Rossi, Joseph Rochlitz’s 2012 documentary about the Italian Jewish violinist and composer, at 2 p.m. in the Maxwell Cummings Auditorium.
At 8 p.m., Ensemble Caprice directed by Matthias Maute presents Vivaldi’s oratorio Juditha Triumphans in the Bourgie Hall. Tickets, 514-285-2000, option 4.
…Et Cetera…
FINANCIAL LITERACY
“Money Matters,” a series of workshops to help low-income people better handle their financial affairs, is being offered by Agence Ometz. Aimed in particular at new immigrants, youth and seniors, the program teaches basic skills that may help them break the cycle of poverty. Supported by the Autorité des marchés financiers, the provincial body that regulates financial markets, the workshops’ instructors include financial planners Brenda Shanahan, Terri Allister and Jose Aguiar, as well as Ometz staff. www.ometz. ca.
JNF TREE-A-THON
Hundreds of high school, CEGEP and university students are expected to gather at the Gelber Conference Centre Jan. 26 to man the phones for the Jewish National Fund’s 26th annual Tree-A-Thon, celebrating Tu b’Shvat. The students are involved in all phases of planning the event, which culminates in calls to thousands of donors, said Stu Guttman, director of Camp Massad and event co-chair with Aaron Gluck Thaler, student president of Hillel Montreal. Every tree purchased will be planted at Adamit Park, a recreational area near Israel’s Lebanese border that’s significant for being near where Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser were abducted and subsequently killed.
Tree-A-Thon volunteers will enjoy complimentary food and be eligible for prizes. There are other ways of volunteering that day besides making calls, and people of all ages are welcome. To register, contact David Smajovits at [email protected]. To buy a tree online, visit www.jnf.ca/tubishevat.html.
YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS
ProMontreal Entrepreneurs, designed to encourage Jewish business people aged 18-40, has awarded start-up capital to four new companies in its latest round of funding: Copower, a platform that connects clean energy projects with investors; For the Love of Dog, a pet care facility; Money Cloud, a free mobile-based, cash-back program that rewards customers of participating merchants; and Senseez Pillows, lightweight, battery-operated pillows for kids that vibrate when squeezed or sat on, designed for children with special needs or for anyone in need of soothing.
WEIDER BIOPIC
Bigger, a biopic about brothers Joe and Ben Weider, who founded a bodybuilding empire, is being made in Hollywood, written and directed by Brad Furman (Lincoln Lawyer, Runner Runner). This Bee Holder Production will tell how the brothers – Ben stayed in Montreal, Joe went to the United States – started the International Federation of Bodybuilding in 1946, which led to the creation of a multi-faceted fitness and publishing business. Bee Holder has optioned the rights to the late brothers’ 2006 memoir, Brothers of Iron, which chronicles their rags-to-riches saga. They mentored future champion/actor/California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ben’s son, Eric Weider, is the executive producer. Ben died in 2008, and Joe, who was living in California, died last March. Genealogist Stanley Diamond is a consultant for the Montreal research.