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Directed by:
Joshua Faudem

Blues by the Beach

Documentary
65 minutes, English

Screenings
Sunday, February 21st, 2010 7::00 PM* | Harkins Chandler Crossroads 12
*Guest Speaker: Jack Baxter

Jack Baxter, a filmmaker and freelance journalist from New York City, is a survivor, not of concentration camps, but of Islamist terrorism.  While filming a light-hearted documentary about Mike's Place, a beachfront blues bar in Tel Aviv frequented by Israelis, Westerners, and Arabs, Baxter barely escaped death.  On April 30, 2003, the security guard confronted a suicide bomber and pushed the terrorist from the entrance. Baxter was standing four feet away when the bomb exploded. American-Israeli filmmaker Joshua Faudem continued their documentary as Baxter recovered in an Israeli hospital.

BLUES BY THE BEACH is a cinematic narration of a suicide attack, but does not dwell on death; it celebrates survival.  Three people died, many were badly injured, but the film concentrates on the psychological toll of the bombing.  The film’s last frames capture the re-opening of Mike’s Place, the survival of Avi Tabib, who saved Baxter’s life, and highlight the film’s theme of the re-affirmation of life. 

BLUES BY THE BEACH won Best Documentary at the Avignon/New York Film Festival and the Conflict & Resolution Award at the Hamptons International Film Festival. The Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, David Mamet, calls BLUES BY THE BEACH: "...a very, very important film."

Please note the films shown at the GPJFF are not rated. Parental discretion advised.