By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

With the unseasonable chill in the air and the dawn of the summer blockbuster season, sometimes an odd film is released and the timing is perfect, such is the case for Monsieur Lazhar. Oscar-nominated for best foreign language film, Monsieur Lazhar relates to Florida students and teachers in their final month of the school year.

Set in Montreal, the film opens in a snowy schoolyard with children in recess. As per classroom routine, a little boy brings the snack to the classroom before recess ends. When he opens the classroom door, the little boy finds his teacher hanging from the ceiling in a successful suicide.

Enter Monsieur Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag), an Algerian refugee who offers his services as a substitute school teacher. While the principal expresses concern over teaching credentials and the children find the Algerian’s teaching methods disruptive, Lazhar instinctively begins the healing process for the community.

For classroom authenticity, Monsieur Lazhar is a truthful motion picture. The emotional pain is real. However, youth has a way of distracting it with humor. The poker-faced Lazhar accepts this childlike behavior, yet his pain in private life is just as comparable.

With Sun Fest coming next weekend, May 2-6, to the north of us, and the welcome return of the Ft. Lauderdale Air Show this weekend, a quiet film like Monsieur Lazhar should not be lost in roar of the engines and the high decibels of a Fender Amplifier. It opens tomorrow at the Living Room Theater on the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) campus.

If you go Friday night, the Living Room Theater will host a red carpet Meet & Mingle Networking Drive event for the Palm Beach County Filmmakers. This event will raise funds for Caught in the Middle, which was written by students for students.

And in the spirit of shameless self promotion, autographed copies of The Adventures of Cinema Dave in the Florida Motion Picture World will be sold for $25. Each sale will include an artifact from the “Cave of Cinema Dave”, something Monsieur Lazhar would be proud to own.

The Scarlet Letter begins in 17th Century Boston, then a Puritan settlement. A young woman, Hester Prynne, is led from the town prison with her infant daughter, Pearl, in her arms and the scarlet letter “A” on her breast. A man in the crowd tells an elderly onlooker that Hester is being punished for adultery. Hester’s husband, a scholar much older than she is, sent her ahead to America, but he never arrived in Boston. The consensus is that he has been lost at sea. While waiting for her husband, Hester has apparently had an affair, as she has given birth to a child. She will not reveal her lover’s identity, however, and the scarlet letter, along with her public shaming, is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. On this day, Hester is led to the town scaffold and harangued by the town fathers, but she again refuses to identify her child’s father.

Hester supports herself by working as a seamstress. Shunned by the community, she lives in a small cottage on the outskirts of Boston. Community officials attempt to take Pearl, her daughter, away from Hester, but, with the help of Arthur Dimmesdale, a young and eloquent minister, the mother and daughter manage to stay together. Dimmesdale, however, appears to be wasting away and suffers from mysterious heart trouble, seemingly caused by psychological distress.

Hester and Dimmesdale arrange to flee Boston together. The day before their departure, the townspeople gather for a holiday and Dimmesdale preaches his most eloquent sermon ever. Dimmesdale, leaving the church after his sermon, sees Hester and Pearl standing before the town scaffold. He impulsively mounts the scaffold with his lover and his daughter, and confesses publicly, exposing a scarlet letter seared into the flesh of his chest. He falls dead, as Pearl kisses him.

Hester and Pearl leave Boston, and no one knows what has happened to them. Many years later, Hester returns alone, still wearing the scarlet letter. When Hester dies, she is buried next to Dimmesdale. The two share a single tombstone, which bears a scarlet “A.”

Hollywood released their version of the story years ago. I had enjoyed the book as a child and, therefore, I was eager to see the movie. I was disappointed. I believe that the people who wrote the movie really missed out on what the Scarlet Letter was really about. I believe the story is about Redemption. Hester has this Scarlet letter on her chest that she must where at all times. Instead of feeling sorry for herself and cowering away, she does all she can to help others. After several years, she becomes more famous for her charitable work than she is for her Scarlett letter.

The “A” no longer represents her sin, but instead, it represents the person she has become. That is why I believe that, even after she was given permission to remove the letter, she continued to wear it – until her death.

I believe this is one of the biggest misconceptions concerning Jesus Christ. Christ does not want you to carry a Scarlet letter around. He wants to take the scarlet letter from you. 1 John 1:9 states, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” That word “confess” simply means, “to agree.” In other words, “Agree with God concerning your sin and He will make you clean.” What’s holding you back?
What prevents you from having the relationship with God that you were created to have?
Deron Peterson is the Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church of Deerfield Beach.

Pictured (L-R) (back row): Assistant Coach Joseph Harrigan, Nash Williams, Justin Nobles, Chris Judge, Brogenskee Polynice, Jephthe St Fleur, Jordan Strowbridge, Brandon Bornelus, Assistant Coach Scott Rosado, head coach Francis Bornelus; (front row): Coulton Yanulevich, Joshua Forde, Noah Rosado, Adrian Johnson, Preston Piltoff. Submitted photo.

By Gary Curreri

While the Zion Lutheran Middle School boys’ basketball team may not have come home with the gold from the recent National Lutheran Basketball Tournament in Indiana, the Lions turned heads and made some history in the process.

Eighth graders Brandon Bornelus and Brogenskee Polynice were selected to the All Tournament Team after helping the Lions to a runner-up finish in the weeklong, 32-team tournament at Valparaiso University in Indiana. Zion Lutheran was the lone boys’ school to have two members of its squad named to the All-Tournament team.

Zion Lutheran, which placed 12th in last year’s national tournament, opened this year’s event with a 50-41 victory over St. John, S. Euclid, Ohio and followed that up with three consecutive one-point victories to reach the championship game against Our Redeemer from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, where it dropped a 54-39 decision.

Francis Bornelus was the team’s head coach and was assisted by Scott Rosado and Joseph Harrigan. The coaches nicknamed the players, The Cardiac Kids, following their narrow, lastsecond victories. Bornelus hit two game-winning baskets for the Lions.

“The kids were really, really super resilient and executed late game situations pretty well,” said John Guion, the school’s director of basketball operations and the assistant athletic director.

He is also the head varsity basketball coach. The team had lost in the state finals to St. Paul of Boca Raton, 48-47, last month.

“Chris Judge was huge for us,” Guion added. “He was a kid who didn’t have more than 10 points all year in a game and he had 16 in one of the games. Chris was so impressive. He just stepped up at the right place at the right time. He was huge for us. Polynice averaged a doubledouble for us in every game and Preston Piltoff hit a key 3-pointer in just about every game.”

Zion Lutheran also defeated Pilgrim (Green Bay, Wisconsin), 33-32, Shepherd of the Hills (San Antonio, Texas), 48-47, and Salem (Orange, California), 43-42, to advance to the title game.

“Honestly going into the tournament, we weren’t sure where we stacked up,” Guion said. “We knew we had a pretty good team. We were second in the state of Florida and we knew that St. Paul (Boca Raton) was strong. As soon as we got the first win, it just snowballed from there.

“The kids treated it as a business trip,” Guion said. “It wasn’t about having fun, it was about accomplishing something.”

Guion said the team lost in the final to a better team, but said the players handled the adversity very well and showed good sportsmanship.

“It was disappointing to lose in the final initially, but when they realized how they had come a long way,” Guion said, “it was a good result. There isn’t too much to be disappointed about. They did a great job of competing.”

Guion said it bodes well for the future of Zion Lutheran. The Lions varsity team finished the season at 16-6, but suffered a first-round loss in the district tournament.

“I expect these kids to move up and help the varsity next year,” Guion said. “Those kids that moved up from last year were pretty good players and helped my team as freshmen. Hopefully, that success works its way to me.”

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

The 17th Palm Beach International Film Festival (PBIFF) wraps up tonight in Palm Beach Gardens.

Most of the films, especially the documentaries, proved to be serious fare. After viewing Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story and Free China: The Courage to Believe, one leaves the theater feeling annoyed by trivial topics like parking meters, bad customer service and chasing the brass ring of social circles.

Besides attending the world premier screening of Zombie Hamlet, Actress June Lockhart accepted her lifetime achievement award at the beautiful Lake Pavilion on the Waterfront in West Palm Beach. In her 15-minute acceptance speech, Lockhart talked about citizenship. She is actively involved in Los Angeles charities like International Hearing Dog and helps raise funds for Santa Monica Police Department Mounted Patrol and Big Band of Barristers. Though she was the fictional matriarch in Lost in Space, in reality, Lockhart has been an advocate for the N.A.S.A space program.

When asked about the future of N.A.S.A, June answered, “There is a great necessity for private companies to get involved. They have always been involved. There is so much science that comes out of research and it pays dividends.”

Being third generation thespian, Lockhart is very grounded in her approach to show business.

She said, “It is not a matter of survival, regarding work. Dad (Gene Lockhart) told me to audition for its own sake, meet the people, but don’t sweat an audition. Therefore, there is not pressure to get the job. It is only a means to an end.”

There is life after PBIFF.

Tomorrow night, at the Movies of Delray (7421 W. Atlantic Ave.), producer Zack Norman will attend the 7 p.m. screening of his ensemble comedy, Overnight, which will also be playing at the Muvico Pompano (2315 N. Federal Hwy).

I was recently talking to a group of young professionals and I asked them to tell me what they thought was the holiest city in the world today? Now, before giving you the answer, let me share the fact that about a third of those in attendance were Christian, about a third were Muslim, and about a third were Jewish. With that being said, can you guess?

Well, most of the Christians said Bethlehem, although a few called out Rome. Can you guess which city the majority of the Muslims in the group thought was the holiest? Mecca was the primary answer. And last, but certainly not least, can you guess which city the vast majority of the Jews in the audience called out? Okay, this one was a no brainer. They called out “Jerusalem.”

It is a question that I got from the writings of Rabbi Joseph Abrams of Atlanta. And then I decided to change the question just a tad. I was going to ask them if they could tell me what the holiest city in Florida is, but at the last minute I asked this instead, “What is the holiest house in all of South Florida. Several immediately called out their house. Others called out the house of their Priest, their Pastor, their Imam, their Rabbi.

I told them to think a bit more and they did. They started calling out Houses of Worship – St. Anthony’s, Temple Torah, House of the Good Shepherd, First Baptist. I told them that I thought they were really using their heads now, but I also let them know I disagreed. I let them know that I am a student of human behavior and that, rather than just listening to what people say, I tend to look at people’s behavior to get my answers.

So, do you have any idea what I said was the holiest house in South Florida? Here it goes. Are you ready for this? I said, the casino – the one in Hollywood or the one in Coconut Creek.

Now, before you prepare to condemn me for my answer, let me explain myself. The Casino is the one place I know that people of many different faiths gather together regularly under one roof. They gather together without getting into fights or arguments with one another. They enter and they obey the rules of the house. They bring money into the house and, while they are there, they pray more than they do most anywhere else. When they leave, they leave most of their money behind and, yet, amazingly, each one looks forward to coming back again.

So tell me, where else can we get people of so many different faiths to spend a day in peace together under one roof, where each one can pray in their own unique way, where everyone follows the rules of the house without complaint or need for explanation, where each brings money for the house and often leaves it there, where each expresses their desire to become a winner?

Life is a gamble my friends. Take a chance on life and make wherever you’re at a holy place.

Shalom my friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and serves in this capacity in a number of Health Care settings in the area including Advocate Home Care Services and L’Chayim Jewish Hospice in Partnership with Catholic Hospice of Broward County.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

In the past five years, The Avengers has easily become the most hyped comic book movie since the end credits of Iron Man. At the 2008 Palm Beach International Film Festival (PBIFF), Iron Man’s costar Sayed Badreya walked the red carpet promoting his short subject Prisoners.

(This weekend, Badreya will be seen as an orderly in The Three Stooges).

Standing by my side on the red carpet was a Deerfield Beach High School student and photographer, Jeremy Emmerman. Look for Jeremy’s name at the end credits of The Avengers; he was one of the photographers.

Jeremy’s story is just one example of how PBIFF impacts our community on a local level. Two years ago, the festival was rumored to be going extinct, but last year’s fest revealed its resiliency; it has outlasted two competing festivals. This year, the staff, board and volunteers took additional steps to be more inclusive with the community.

The fact that PBIFF returns to Mizner Park Cultural Arts Center is a major bonus to our local community.

Formerly the Cartoon Museum, the screening room on the second floor will feature two fine documentaries about Jewish culture and Israel on Sunday afternoon – Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story and Violins in Wartime.

Set against the backdrop of the second Lebanon war of 2006, Violins in Wartime features master violinists teaching a music class to young prodigies who have gathered in Israel. Through the horrors of war, music provides solace for dark times.

This 50-minute documentary provides the intimate carpentry of Amnon Weinstein the Violin maker, the film’s central character. Master Soloist Ida Haendel, one of the master soloists in the film, will be at the 4 p.m. screening.

For those who feel like venturing to Palm Beach Gardens or Lake Worth venues, visit http://pbiff.festival genius.com/2012/schedule/ week for more details about screenings and events.

Who knows? One might see a local celebrity … like the return of Eric the Doorman this year!

FAU Owls and FIU Golden Panthers have more things in common besides being rivals in the Sun Belt Conference and being small mid-major schools in South Florida. Over the past few months, both schools have made changes with their revenue producing sports where each have taken a hit in the Public Relations Department.

On Dec. 1, 2011, Carl Pelini became the successor to Howard Schnellenberger as he hopes to revive a 1-11 program. This is Pelini’s first head coaching job and FAU is paying him $375,000 to rebuild the program. When Pelini was hired, his introductory press conference was handled poorly. He told the university’s Sports Information Department to hold an impromptu press conference and gather as many media as possible, regardless of how many didn’t make it, without knowledge. I was told later by the FAU Sports Information Department that Pelini’s accessibility would be far less then Schnellenberger, who would be extremely accommodating, realizing how necessary it was to gain the free publicity to promote his program. Schnellenberger is an icon and built the program from scratch while Pelini has more recruiting tools to work with, in addition to the new stadium. It’s his job to win and put rear-ends in the seats to pay for his salary.

Speaking of putting rear-ends in the seats, down in Miami, Hall of Famer Isaiah Thomas averaged 1,071 for the Golden Panthers in three seasons, while attendance was four times that amount on the road. However, Thomas, who was hired in 2009 via a fiveyear contract, never had a chance to see his rebuilding project through. He was fired after three seasons, posting a 26-65 record.

Prior to Thomas’ arrival, FIU’s last winning season was in 1999-2000 and its winning percentage of .315 since, according to STATS LLC, is 329th out of 344 Division I Men’s programs that competed over the last 12 years.

I’ve known Thomas since the late 1980s and I know that he wouldn’t have taken this job if he didn’t have a chance to see it through. He loves basketball and didn’t take a base salary his first year, agreeing to a deal where he would receive nearly half of any gross revenues from ticket sales, commissions collected on food and beverage concessions and sponsorships.

Thomas put FIU on the map and the average college coach usually gets five years to recruit his players and institute his philosophy.

Timing couldn’t have been worse for FIU to make this change, and I do believe it will backfire. It’s not like the university is a cash cow, since its football stadium holds 20,000. There will be a small budget and Thomas’ controversial firing only puts a stain on the program. What reputable coach would come to FIU with a sub-par basketball stadium?

Thomas will likely land back in the NBA while FIU will go back to being an unknown commodity that is the Miami Hurricane’s infant brother.

FIU’s Football Program is best known for a controversial brawl it had with the Hurricanes at the Orange Bowl on Oct. 14, 2006.

As for Pelini, I hope his second impression is better than his first. There is no doubt that both situations are under a major public relations microscope and we’ll see how they both play out.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

By Pastor Tony Guadagnino

Have you ever quit and now justify it in your mind as to why you quit? Have you ever heard someone give excuses as to why they quit?

We all have our reasons why we do the things we do in life. Let’s take a look at what Jesus went through for us:

• They plotted to kill Him

• One of his leaders betrayed Him

• Jesus knew one of the 12 would betray Him

• He asked God if there was any other way

• His best friends could not even pray for an hour

• He was arrested on false, made-up charge, then taken away and put to death

• Peter denied Jesus three times

• They spit on Jesus and struck him with the palms of their hands, when he was with the high priest

• They mocked and beat Him, made fun and laughed at Him

• They lied about Him

• He was found ‘not guilty;’ they had no evidence to convict Jesus of a crime

• The people wanted a rebellious murderer over the King of the Jews

• Pilate gave in to the people – I don’t think he did that very often at all

• They whipped Him with a cat o’ nine tails

• They mocked Him by placing a purple robe on Him

• They put a crown of thorns on His head

• They began to salute Him and spit on Him

• They struck Him on the head with a reed

• They bowed a knee and mock worshipped Him

• And then after all that, they nailed Him to the cross and He asked God to forgive them

• They laughed at Him and mocked Him, telling Him, “Save yourself if you are really the Christ”

• His own mother and his disciples had to watch his cruxifiction on a cross

• One of the men hanging next to him even mocked Him

• He cried out “it is finished” and died

• They divided His clothes, cast lots for them

JOHN 19:30

30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit. NLT

Jesus finished what He started. He never quit and he never gave up. He suffered the sins of the world, then He rose from the dead. He empowered the disciples with a new message, the good news that He had defeated the power of sin and death. Jesus taught us to refuse to quit, and to fight with everything that is inside of us. Do not just remember what Jesus did, remember why He did it.

Pastor Tony Guadagnino

Christian Love Fellowship Church

I came late to K-cups and I’m not talking about brassieres. K-cups is the not-so-new-craze in single coffee-making originated by the Keurig coffee maker.

I hope I won’t be handcuffed for this, but I am not much of a coffee drinker.

Recently, however, at the home of a friend – mixing after lunch with about a dozen people, we were offered coffee – one at a time.  Regular? Decaf?  Hazelnut? French Vanilla?  Etc. One at a time … so many choices.

One at a time. In this instance, it took what seemed like forever for all of us to get the coffee of our choice, although the hostess, busy “manning” the machine, assured each of us that it only takes a few seconds as we stood in line waiting for our cup of choice. Right!  One cup only. If we wanted a second, it just wasn’t worth the trouble. Yes, I know. She could well have made a single large pot, but she chose single individual … one at a time … choice.

And that got me to thinking about the duality this presents. What a schizophrenic society this is. How very much we are into “singleness,” and yet how we reach out for “groupness.”

We talk on our cell phones, privately. No one else picks up MY phone. We huddle alone at the computer (or smart phone or iPad) and privately communicate by e-mail, text, and whatever new cyber connector appears almost daily. We “Facebook” with the world – alone. Even as we “link in,” we do it alone.

Our smart phones provide us with total connectedness, even as we experience it while alone. And we can opt for our coffee maker to brew, in a second, one cup of our choice. The dichotomy of this seemingly seamless blending of singleness, while operating within a group, is a phenomenon that probably will be researched by social scientists into the next millennium. What does it mean for society?

The collective unconscious has fallen into a complex state of duality. I am reminded of the words to an old Jimmy Durante song: “Did you ever have the feeling that you wanted to go – and still have the feeling that you wanted to stay?”

It seems that in our new social contract, people have the feeling that they “vant to be alone,” while they still have the feeling that they want to be part of a group. And, indeed, we cannot be sure if the new technology is a response to that need – or if the new technology gave us permission to pursue what had merely been a dormant yearning. But it is more and more apparent that – alone, we are connected. And, in that “connection,” the 21st Century now gives us such a basketful of choices on every level of our knowable life that it allows us to maintain a certain emotional distance, while still finding ourselves “engaging” in what some people have called “sterile” relationships.

I know I am not the first person to take note of this. My grandkids’ generation will be working on it long after I’m gone. Meanwhile, enjoy your K-cup.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Exciting news for locals – The 17th Annual Palm Beach International Film Festival (PBIFF) will have many events right here in Boca Raton at the Mizner Cultural Arts Centre.

Highlights of the festival include June Lockhart, an actress since the 1930s, receiving a Lifetime Achievement award in West Palm Beach.

In 1938, Lockhart made her screen debut in A Christmas Carol, playing one of the Cratchit children. Her real parents, Gene and Kathleen Lockhart, played Mr. and Mrs. Cratchit.

In the 1950s, she was Lassie’s mommy and, in the 1960s, she was the matriarch in “Lost in Space.”

In the 1970s, she smashed sexual stereotypes by portraying a medical doctor on Petticoat Junction. Still active on the independent film circuit, she will be screening her latest film at PBIFF, Zombie Hamlet, which co-stars Shelley (Cheers) Long.

Speaking of Hamlet, Alex Hyde-White directs and stars in Three Days (of Hamlet), a documentary about a stage production of Hamlet. In three days, he confronts actors and the ghost of his own father, British Character actor Wilfrid Hyde-White.

This year, PBIFF will present some good documentaries. Be on the lookout for the following films:

• 7 Years Underground: A 60s Tale, which pre-dates Woodstock, is a documentary about Café Au Go Go and features unseen footage of stars like Lenny Bruce and Cass Elliot as a waitress in Greenwich Village.

• In Cartoon College, young people go to cartoon college in New Hampshire to become the next Walt Disney or Robert Crumb. This documentary features endearing students, some with learning disabilities, and caring teachers who love their craft.

• Los Dioses De Verdad Tienen Huesos (True Gods Have Bones) shows young doctors trying to move people from Guinea Bissau, an impoverished environment, to Europe, only to have their mercy mission bogged down by bureaucratic red tape.

• The Lost Bird Project features the wood sculptures of birds that have become extinct, created by Todd McGrain. These sculptures can be found all over the United States, including one statue in Florida.

• Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story (from Israel) is a documentary about the older brother of the Israel Prime Minister. As the squad leader, Yoni contributed to the raid on Entebbe, circa 1976.

• Totem & Taboo (from Canada) makes its world premier.

• eMANNzipation is a German dark comedy about domestic abuse against men.

Schedule: http://pbiff. festivalgenius.com/2012/schedule/week.

Enjoy your seder or have a Happy Easter!