New Jewish Film! International Premiere on March 1, 2005

With just three months to prepare a script, cast, filming, and editing, Ricky Magder, veteran producer and director, has created a thought-provoking new Jewish film that will be premiered on March 1, 2005. The premiere will feature a cast of celebrities and a special invited audience at locations across America – the Jewish Unity Live 2005 events in New Jersey, New York, Atlanta, Phoenix and Ottawa. Special arrangements have also been made to premier this film simultaneously to Jewish soldiers on U.S. military bases around the world.

Passover with the Wellmans is a short feature film created to put the spotlight on contemporary Jewish issues. “It’s never easy making a movie for a Jewish audience, but to do it in less than three months, we had to rely on a lot of miracles,” laughs Magder. He has created numerous productions for Jewish communities throughout the world, and he notes that a Jewish film has to compete with the entertaining films that come out of Hollywood but will never have the same budget for filming, cast, or publicity. “We wanted to create a short film for a sophisticated audience that would be entertaining but contain a strong message as well. So we decided to take a Jewish experience that most people are familiar with and offer them a chance to see it in a different light.”

Magder has worked with DreamWorks SKG producing Prince of Egypt Hagadah and other major film companies on a variety of movies and television projects, and his family’s business, Magder Studios, was one of the largest entertainment companies in Canada, which was host to such stars as Robert DeNiro and Jane Fonda (in Stanley and Iris), Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick (in The Freshman) and Cher and Dennis Quaid (in Suspect). But this latest movie features characters who are much closer to home, in a family scenario that all Jews can relate to.

Passover with the Wellmans shows a typical multi-generational Jewish family confronting their personal challenges around the Seder table. The four sons and other characters from the Passover tradition have been replaced by characters from a typical Jewish family living in Suburbia in 2005 - the cynic, the rebel, the indifferent one, and the child that would make Great-Grandpa turn over in his grave. Passover with the Wellmans doesn’t hide its Jewish flavor. In fact, it unashamedly bares it outright, offering us the chance to laugh and cry with characters just like our own families.

Joseph Wellman has just returned home from a year abroad, having become Orthodox and enrolled in Rabbinical School in Israel. Joe, or Yosef as he now wants to be called, has spent the last few months preparing to lead the family’s Passover Seder in his new style, planning to make the traditional family reunion a meaningful religious experience for everyone involved. He is oblivious to everyone’s activities around him, as each character prepares to make it a truly memorable evening in his or her own way. Joe’s sister Carrie has a dramatic announcement to make, while Joe’s father is celebrating the Rangers clinching a playoff spot and Joe’s mother is just hoping they’ll all make it through the first course together!

The Wellman family is about to be changed forever. And so will their audience. Passover at the Wellmans is an unforgettable journey into the lives of others that so greatly reflect our own. Magder has created numerous productions for Jewish communities throughout the world, but none like this one. Jewish Unity Live offers a unique opportunity to see the movie that everyone will be talking about from March 1st until, well, Seder night!

For more information, please visit www.jewishunitylive.com or email info@jewishunitylive or call 877-UNITY-2005.