New Orleans Students Star in Chanukah Movie

Walking into the 5th-7th grade classroom in the week leading to Chanukah, you would be surprised to find that they were mostly not there. Instead, they were around the city of New Orleans, building sets and filming a Chanukah movie titled Danny & Lioras’ Chanukah miracle based on the story by Beryl Lieff Benderly called Jason’s Miracle.

The movie was written and produced by their talented teacher Morah Sara Rivkin who wanted to give her students a hands-on learning experience about Chanukah that they would give them excitement for the upcoming holiday that they have learned about year after year. Like the main character of the movie, Danny, who after being transported back in time, experiencing the miracles of Chanukah firsthand, ignites an anticipation for the holiday, the 5th-7th graders joy for Chanukah because of the film was palpable.

The film strengthened the friendship and confidence of the students both in and out of the classroom. They memorized lines, delivered them with passion and confidence and also prepared a special section of the movie dedicated to fun facts about Chanukah. The movie not only taught the students the story, but also gave over a deeper message about how Chanukah is relevant today and the practical aspects of how to celebrate the holiday. It also gave them insight into how a movie is produced.

Parents and students of all grade levels were able to watch the movie in a screening at the Chanukah assembly before students got out for winter break following the monthly awards ceremony.

Thank you Morah Sara Rivkin for putting hours and nights into creating the project. If you would like to buy the script which comes along with worksheets for Chanukah, please email [email protected].

Much appreciation to the Markovich family for allowing us to use their home as a set and to the parents who helped with driving students to the various filming locations.

You can also enjoy this 40 minute movie here: