Meet Paul Mazursky, Oscar-Nominated Star Director; Watch 'Yippee: A Journey to Jewish Joy'

“Brilliant documentary, beautifully told—and funny.”

                                                                   – LARRY KING

“Paul Mazursky delivers an enchanting world, funny, fascinating and surprisingly touching.”

                                                                  – MEL BROOKS

“A deeply moving film — powerful and wonderfully funny. Yippee!”

                                                           – KIRK DOUGLAS

The Osher Marin JCC present Yippee: A Journey to Jewish Joy, a critically acclaimed film that will be hosted and screened by the admired multi-award-winning director, scriptwriter and actor Paul Mazursky. One of the New York Film Critic’s best directors and recent recipient of a Career Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Mazursky (actor on The Sopranos, Once and Again and Curb Your Enthusiasm and director and writer of An Unmarried Woman, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, and the three-time-Oscar-nominated Enemies: A Love Story) heard from his optometrist that 25,000—mostly Hassidic—Jews visit the Ukrainian town of Uman every Rosh Hashanah for three days of praying, singing and dancing and he felt compelled to make the journey himself.

Arriving in the Ukraine with a small film crew, Mazursky experiences an amazing series of events. He meets and interviews a wide variety of Jewish men from many countries, sharing meals, laughs, and this unique experience. The director visits the gravesite of Hassidic movement founder Baal Shem Tov and talks with Uman’s non-Jews about their reactions to the annual massive influx of Hassidim. The adventure culminates on the evening of Rosh Hashanah in a mass expression of spiritual ecstasy. Yippee is an infectious road movie filled with electricity and awe and Mazursky is a splendid guide: funny, curious, and generous.

WHO: All are invited. $18 public / $15 members at www.marinjcc.org or by calling 415-444-8000.

WHEN:      Thursday, February 17, 2011, 7:00 pm.

WHERE:     The Osher Marin JCC, 200 North San Pedro Road, San Rafael

About Paul Mazursky

Writer-director-actor-producer Paul Mazursky has created a body of work over the past 30 years that has established him as one of America's most respected filmmakers. His films are often personal, intimate and humorous observations of the human condition. Mazursky was born in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn in 1930. He started his performing in school, continuing at Brooklyn College, where in his senior year, he landed the leading role of an off-Broadway production of He Who Gets Slapped. Shortly thereafter, he was cast in Stanley Kubrick's first film Fear and Desire, and two years later in The Blackboard Jungle. During this period, he appeared on TV and performed as a stand-up comic in Greenwich Village clubs.

In 1959, he moved to Los Angeles, where he joined the L.A. company of Second City. Increasingly, his focus shifted to writing for other comics, including Danny Kaye. In due course, he teamed up with like-minded humorist Larry Tucker and together they wrote the screenplays for three feature films: I Love You, Alice B. Toklas, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and Alex in Wonderland. Mazursky made his directorial debut with Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969); now considered a classic, the film opened the 1969 New York Film Festival and received an Academy Award nomination for best screenplay.

Mazursky followed Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice with Alex in Wonderland, starring Donald Sutherland; Blume in Love; Harry and Tonto, which garnered an Oscar nomination for best screenplay; and Next Stop, Greenwich Village—all of which Mazursky directed and wrote (or co-wrote). 1978 saw the triumphant release of Mazursky's An Unmarried Woman, which he directed, produced, and wrote. Star Jill Clayburgh was named best actress at the Cannes Film Festival and Mazursky was again nominated for an Academy Award for best screenplay.

In the early 1980s, Mazursky wrote and directed Willie and Phil; Tempest; and Moscow on the Hudson which established Robin Williams as an actor of formidable range. In 1986 Mazursky directed (and wrote) the smash hit comedy Down and Out in Beverly Hills, starring Bette Midler, Richard Dreyfuss, and Nick Nolte. Mazursky's other films (as director and writer) include: Moon Over Parador; Enemies: A Love Story which garnered three Oscar nominations and earned the New York Film Critics Award for best director; Scenes from a Mall, starring Woody Allen and Bette Midler; and The Pickle with Danny Aiello. Mazursky directed Faithful, starring Chazz Palminteri, Cher and Ryan O'Neal; Winchell, an HBO movie with Stanly Tucci, Glenne Headly, and Paul Giamatti; and Coast to Coast starring Richard Dreyfuss and Judy Davis.

Mazursky continues acting on both the small and big screen. More recently, he has appeared in the film Miami Rhapsody and on TV—in recurring roles—on The Sopranos, Once and Again, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

 About the Osher Marin JCC

The Osher Marin JCC is the community center of Marin County. Epitomizing the essence of Marin, with a range of authentic cultural experiences enjoyed by many generations, the Osher Marin JCC offers award-winning facilities, abundant physical and educational activities and world-class programming relevant to our entire community today. Since the Osher Marin JCC’s founding in 1947, the center has become recognizable for its rich history of Jewish traditions and values with an unparalleled all-inclusive community spirit. For more information about the Osher Marin JCC, please visit http://www.marinjcc.org.