ELIZABETH'S BLOG
A Great-Granddaughter's Legacy

Instagram, Book Reviews, and You

January 22, 2019 by

I wrote a guest blog post for Swenson Book Development about writing book reviews. Read the opening paragraph here, and check out the rest over on the Swenson Book Development blog.

Instagram, Book Reviews, and You

Last year I posted 50 mini book reviews on Instagram. That might seem like a large number of books to read in a year, but it’s notably smaller than the number of books I started and then decided, for various reasons, not to finish. Not all books are for all readers. It seems like an obvious statement, but as an author myself I have come to understand this in a much deeper way, to the point that I’ve almost made it a mantra. [Read More…]

Filed Under: Book Reviews

New York, Florida, and News Coverage

January 5, 2019 by

I am THRILLED to announce that CHASING PORTRAITS will screen with the 2019 New York Jewish Film Festival!
I will be at both Lincoln Center screenings:
January 14 at 6pm
and
January 16 at 1pm

NYJFF Tickets
 

PLUS…

CHASING PORTRAITS screens January 16 at 7pm with the Miami Jewish Film Festival at the Jewish Museum of Florida – FIU

And in the News…

Women filmmakers to be spotlighted during Miami Jewish Film Festival

Filed Under: Documentary Film, In the News

Distribution!

November 20, 2018 by

I am super excited to announce that CHASING PORTRAITS now has distribution with First Run Features in New York. Stay tuned for more news in the coming months…

Filed Under: Documentary Film

Arts About Boston

November 14, 2018 by

WERS, 98.9. Arts About Boston segment from Penny Schwartz on CHASING PORTRAITS screening at the Boston Jewish Film Festival (11.18.2018)

Filed Under: Documentary Film, In the News

Jerusalem (Israel) screening plus recent press coverage!

November 14, 2018 by
Tickets for the JERUSALEM screenings
CHASING PORTRAITS screens twice in Israel
December 5 19:00
December 6 17:00
I will be at both screenings for a Q and A
Filed Under: Documentary Film, In the News

November Festival Screenings

October 9, 2018 by

 

November CHASING PORTRAITS documentary film screening events:

[Note: Elizabeth will be in attendance at all of these events, EXCEPT not at the St. Louis screening.]

Nov. 5
7pm. Southern Circuit. East Tennessee State University.

Nov. 6
7pm. Southern Circuit. Clayton Center for the Arts.

Nov. 7
7:30pm. Southern Circuit. Oxford College of Emory University.

Nov. 8
7pm. Southern Circuit. Presbyterian College.

Nov. 9
7:15pm. St. Louis International Film Festival.

Nov. 11
7pm. Southern Circuit. Athens Cultural Affairs Commission.

Nov. 12
7:30pm. Southern Circuit. Georgia Southern University.

Nov. 18
2:30pm. Boston Jewish Film Festival screens at the Museum of Fine Arts.

Nov. 27
7pm. In conjunction with Jewish Book Month, OJMCHE presents Chasing Portraits at Portland Art Museum’s Whitsell Auditorium. Portland (OR)

YES, there will be more events!
Stay tuned for more announcements!

Book Signing

I can’t always sell books at screenings, but if you bring a copy of the book with you, I am definitely happy to sign it!

Order CHASING PORTRAITS from an Independent Bookseller, Penguin Random House, or Amazon

 

 

Filed Under: Chasing Portraits Book, Documentary Film, Film Screening

DocUtah!

September 9, 2018 by

I’m just back from DocUtah where I went to share the CHASING PORTRAITS story. DocUtah is in St. George, a town in the southwest corner of Utah. I flew into Las Vegas and then drove two hours up into Utah. There’s not a whole lot between Vegas and St. George but the landscape, which is really very stunning. I attended three events for my book and documentary film while I was in town. There was a book signing hosted by the not-yet-opened bookstore, The Book Bungalow, which was generously hosted by the just opened coffee shop, Affogato Love, and two screenings of the documentary… one at the newly renovated Electric Theater in old town St. George and the other at a movie theater four-plex at the Red Cliffs Mall. I saw three films (other than my own!) while I was at the festival: Serenade for Fanny (a lovely German film about a Grandmother and her Granddaughter), Call Us Ishmael (a story about those who are obsessed with Herman Melville’s Moby Dick), and Bird of Prey (about the Philippine Eagle). It’s so interesting to meet other filmmakers, hear about their own filmmaking journeys, and to see their completed films. So many great stories told with such love.

A few photos from the journey!

Filed Under: Documentary Film

A Conversation With ‘Chasing Portraits’ Director Elizabeth Rynecki

July 21, 2018 by

CHASING PORTRAITS screens twice at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival… Once on 7/25 in Palo Alto and once on 8/1 in Albany (the town next to Berkeley!). The Jewish Film Institute interviewed me about my film making process and experiences. You can read the interview over on Medium.

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

CHASING PORTRAITS San Francisco Jewish Film Festival Ticket Giveaway

June 28, 2018 by

I’m doing a BIG CHASING PORTRAITS GIVEAWAY!

PRIZE PACKAGE:

a pair of tickets (that’s one ticket for you and one for that special someone) to see the CHASING PORTRAITS documentary at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival

at either CineArts in Palo Alto on 7/25 at 3:10pm OR Albany Twin at 8/1 at 1pm

PLUS

a signed copy of the book

the audio book

a set of Moshe Rynecki notecards

Moshe Rynecki bookplate

Moshe Rynecki postcards

Moshe Rynecki bookmarks

 

 

 

Enter to win by completing this on-line form

Winner to be selected on July 20

The giveaway does NOT include any travel or accommodation expenses.

 

POST SCRIPT NOTE: Winners were notified by email on 7/20/2018. Thank you to all who entered the giveaway! Tickets can be purchased from the SF Jewish Film Festival.

 

 

Filed Under: Chasing Portraits Giveaway, Documentary Film

CHASING PORTRAITS Book Club Discussion Questions

June 14, 2018 by

I really should have written these a long time ago. Hopefully it’s better late than never! Is your book club reading CHASING PORTRAITS? The following questions are intended to help prompt a lively book club discussion. You may, of course, adapt and revise them to best fit your group! For information about connecting Elizabeth to your book club, please email elizabeth@ChasingPortraits.org

WHAT DID YOU know about Holocaust era art restitution issues before reading this book? What surprised you the most about these issues as portrayed in Chasing Portraits?

HOW WAS THE Rynecki family wartime experience the same or different than other World War II accounts that you’ve read?

DO YOU HAVE a favorite Rynecki painting? Is there one described in the book that you wish you could see in person?

A PIVOTAL MOMENT for the author is the discovery of a message her Grandpa George left her in his memoir (page 18). The author talks about the staggering burden of history and legacy upon her shoulders. How did that make you feel? Has someone ever left you a message that inspired you to take on an important project?

AT ITS CORE, the book is about the Rynecki paintings and the author’s quest to rescue her great-grandfather’s lost art legacy. Do you have family heirlooms that you’ve always been curious to know more about? What have you done to research your family’s history? Have you ever worked on your family tree?

ART SPEAKS to us in unique ways. Moshe Rynecki was an ethnographer of sorts, documenting Polish-Jewish life in the interwar years. What role do you think art plays in understanding life for Jews in Poland before the Holocaust? Looking at art more broadly, and at today’s social political issues, what role does art play in better understanding refugees and immigrants?

CHASING PORTRAITS IS a book and a documentary film. What parts of the book do you hope are in the documentary film? Why?

Filed Under: Chasing Portraits Book
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