Lights, Camera, Action!

by Carol Novis

How do you coax a convincing film performance out of a two-year-old? For filmmaker David Deutsch, who specializes in creating original screenplays and films for events such as bar and bat mitzvot, that was just another challenge that required a creative solution.

"The family wanted the toddler sister of the barmitzvah boy to have a role in the film which, in part, was about surviving a day without Facebook. Her line was 'Yes, Facebook!' I suggested to her mother that the way to get the little girl to say the line was to convince her that ice cream bars were called 'Facebook.' She said her line with enthusiasm, because it meant she got a Magnum."

That story is typical of David's gentle humor and his original and utterly dedicated approach to film making. At Tel Aviv University, where he earned a degree in cinema, majoring in screenwriting, he was known for his comic sketches. As well, every time there was a birthday in the familyhe prepared a film for the occasion together with his brother Zvika.

 "People saw the films and told me that I should be doing this as a business." And so, for the past year, he has.

Unlike many films that are screened at events, David's films are not simply collections of family photos and tributes to the bar or bat mitzvah child. Instead, they have actual story lines.

"In any film I make, the most important thing is the script," he believes. "It should be actual entertainment so that it's fun for everyone to watch, not just the family."

The process of creating a film starts with an in-depth meeting with the family about two months before the event.

Says David, "I try to get to know the family members as well as possible. I ask lots of questions. Sometimes they have an idea for a theme and sometimes not. I ask about in-jokes in the family and whether there might be a location to use, such as a family factory. Once I have all this material, I think about the script. Every one is different."

In one recent film, for example, David had discovered that a family joke was how the grandfather of the barmitzvah boy was always telling the grandkids that their table manners were terrible. That turned into a complicated plot based on the movie The Da Vinci Code in which the boy is sent by the Mossad to look for a secret 11^th Commandment, which of course turns out to be 'Thou Shalt Have Good Table Manners'.

Another film was based on the television reality show Wife Swap, in which the batmitzvah girl and her family change places with another, very different, hippie-type family, playing both parts. Although the comedy was the main point, there was also a positive message – the girl was happy to come home to the family she had learned to appreciate. Yet another was a James Bond parody in which the barmitzvah boy's mission was to stop the silly songs that his family liked to compose for all occasions. In the end, he fails – and the family sings him a silly song.

The actual production takes a few days and usually includes family members and friends as actors. Sometimes the acting by family members is less than Academy Award standard and that means a good deal of editing. David deals with this by taking plenty of takes, so that even people who can't act look as if they can.

One project that really hit home, so to speak, was the film David and Zvika created to commemorate their mother Gloria's recent birthday. Starting with the familiar Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer symbol in which the roaring lion had been replaced by a dog, Kishke, it went on to make fond fun of Gloria's idiosyncrasies in a hilarious way. At the same time, it featured the whole family in a touching musical tribute to the woman they consider "the best". It's easy to imagine the family looking at the film in years to come, over and over. That is why David sees his films as not just entertainment for a night, like the DJ or the flowers at an event, but as preserved memories that have permanent value.

"You invest in a lot of things when you make a simcha. The flowers will fade, but a film stays for the rest of your life."

Some of David's films can be seen on the internet site www.familyfilms.co.il

The most important thing, believes David Deutsch, is the script. It should be fun to watch, not just for the family.