Chabad Screens Jewish Pirate Film

By COLlive reporter

An audience at Pasadena Jewish Academy in Pasadena, CA was treated to the award-winning short film, “The Pirate Captain Toledano,” billed as the world’s first film about Jewish pirates, on Sunday, June 10.

The film was screened as part of a unique event series, “Torah Thru the Arts,” created by Shliach Rabbi Zushi Rivkin, director of the educational arm of Chabad of Pasadena.

“Torah Thru the Arts” is a groundbreaking event series where Jewish artists display their work in a gallery-like setting, and participate in a moderated talkback about the Jewish themes and influences that they explore in their work.

The new film dramatizes the swashbuckling adventurers in the Caribbean who took to the high seas to take revenge against Spain in the years following the Expulsion in the 16th-century.

Starring Stephen DeCordova, Dan Shaked, Will Beinbrink, a Jewish stowaway who fled the Inquisition wants to become a pirate to fight the Spanish. The captain must decide whether to make him a pirate… or make him walk the plank.

The film’s director, Arnon Z. Shorr, was in attendance at the Pasadena event, along with the film’s cinematographer, Mendel Katz, whose films and music videos were also screened as part of the evening’s program.

Shorr, who grew up in a Chabad community in Lexington, Massachusetts, says “I made a film about a Jewish pirate who is called back to his faith. I’m sure that some of my experience with Chabad influenced that choice of character.”

“Toledano” has been shown at dozens of film festivals around the world and is becoming a popular centerpiece for programming at synagogues and Jewish organizations. This was the first screening at a Chabad-affiliated event.

The film is available to stream on Amazon and Amazon Prime and available on for purchase on DVD.

VIDEO:
The Pirate Captain Toledano – Crowdfunding Campaign

The Pirate Captain Toledano – Trailer