Don’t Pull My Ear!

By John Priddy

We are proud to present the second Windy Wednesday film in our Windrider WinterFest series: The Kiddush Man by award-winning writer/director Yitz Brilliant. With this highly acclaimed, 11-minute, family friendly film (suitable for all ages) we would like to wish all our Jewish friends Happy Hanukah.

“In this film, a buffet of blessings awaits the hungry soul.”
                      - Monika Moreno-Director Angelus Student Film Festival

A Brief Synopsis:

The Kiddush Man centers on Yoni, a mischievous 10-year-old Israeli boy. He must get past crotchety Mr. Katz as he sneaks out of synagogue every week to raid the Sabbath lunch buffet.

My Personal Connection to the Film:

Angelus’ Moreno sent me this film awhile ago and raved about it. Kiddush Man had achieved Angelus “semi-finalist” status, but she saw something more — something she believed others might have missed.

At first glance, this award winning, touching, coming-of-age drama is about a 10-year-old boy, an old man, and their weekly struggle. The plot seems simple enough and easy to relate to — we have all known precocious young boys (I raised a few) and at least one curmudgeonly old man (I am becoming one of those). But Brilliant asks us to look a bit deeper, to see the “real” story unfolding just beneath the surface. In Kiddush Man, this young director reminds us of our weekly/ongoing struggles. Then he deftly takes us along through a fable of “sweets” and “tears.”

The Kiddush Man leaves us with a perennial reminder to make sure we don’t just look at life, but that we truly see it. I am confident you will be glad you spent 11 minutes with this outstanding film. Enjoy!

Noted Screenings, Awards, Honors:

Brilliant’s master’s thesis film, The Kiddush Man has been widely screened at film festivals including:

• the D.C. Independent Film Festival
• Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival
• San Diego International Children’s Film Festival

Among the honors earned:

• National Board of Review Award (+ an honorary member ship in the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures)
• Best Short Film at the Garden State Film Festival
• ASCAP Award grant to participate in a scoring workshop (among three films selected)
• Columbia Arts Initiative Gatsby Grant

Brilliant is also a winner of Random House’s first-ever Book Video Awards and has created book trailers for the publisher, including for “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and “The Beka Cooper Trilogy.”

Director’s Biography:

Writer/Director Yitz Brilliant earned a master’s degree in filmmaking, with a concentration in directing, in 2008 from Columbia University’s School of the Arts — Film Division (New York). He holds a bachelor’s degree from Yeshiva University (New York) and was awarded the highly competitive Jack Kent Cooke Fellowship.

Brilliant won Bantam Dell Publishing Group’s first annual Book Video Awards in 2006. He directed the commercial trailer for the bestselling novel, “Stuart: A Life Backwards,” about a lovable homeless, psychotic, knife-obsessed heroin addict on a questionable road to recovery. Brilliant’s trailer was streamed at The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, BackStage and Random House Web sites, and featured in articles in The Hollywood Reporter and The New York Times.

Brilliant’s film, Christ in the City, won Best Short Film at the 2006 Washington D.C. Jewish Film Festival and has screened at festivals nationally and internationally including the D.C. Independent Film Festival, the Rome Independent Film Festival, and IFP’s Buzz Cuts Showcase.

Brilliant was also awarded faculty honors in the Columbia University Screenplay Competition for his original feature script, The Pirates of Pinsk, a comedy adventure along the lines of The Princess Bride and Hook.

Before graduate school, Brilliant worked as a production assistant and intern in development and distribution for Academy Award-winning filmmakers Charles and Grace Guggenheim, Academy Award-winning June Beallor Productions at DreamWorks, Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation, and the makers of Miramax’s PaperClips.

He is currently in post-production for his short romantic comedy, Cemetery Club.