Sunday, March 12, 7:30 PM SOLD OUT

Featured Northwest Premiere

USA, 1999, 90 min.

English w/Yiddish music

Aviva Kempner, Director

NO MORE TICKETS AVAILABLE for "THE LIFE AND TIMES OF HANK GREENBERG" 

SJFF has no more tickets available for the Sunday night showing of "The Life and TImes of Hank Greenberg." However, the film will be released nationally this spring and will be playing in Seattle starting May 5 at the Varsity Theatre in the University District. Mark you calendars today!

The Life and Times of Hank Greenburg

Sold out across the country, Aviva Kempner’s award-winning documentary about the remarkable career of 1930s and ‘40s baseball great Hank Greenberg is a Yiddish homerun. The New York Times calls her “valentine” to the Detroit Tiger’s first baseman, “poignant, humorous” and “fascinating.” As Hitler invaded Europe, this dashing young slugger challenged Lou Gehrig’s RBI and Babe Ruth’s homerun records. Some pitchers insisted on walking him, but the 6-foot-4-inch ballplayer gracefully withstood anti-Semitic jibes and defied racial stereotyping on and off the playing field. He even sat out on Yom Kippur during the World Series until a rabbi okayed him for play.  The papers chimed: “Talmud Clears Greenberg” and “L’Shana Tovah” in Hebrew. Greenberg’s innate sense of decency, work ethnic and noble decision to enlist in the Army during WWII made him a beacon of hope for American Jews.  “Talk about the chosen people!” says one adoring fan interviewed in the film.  Jam-packed with archival footage and more than 70 interviews with sportswriters, fans and celebrities, such as Ira Berkow, Alan Dershowitz, and Walter Mathau, the film will have you singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” … in Yiddish.

Special Guest: Filmmaker Aviva Kempner

For a list of related readings available at Tree of Life Books and Judaica and through the American Jewish Committee, please visit our SJFF 2000 Reading List.