11:00 a.m. PDT 04/15/2021

through

Etan Vlessing

“There is nothing better than telling stories to foster relationships,” says the iconic Hollywood filmmaker, expanding the range of stories around Jewish life with the new film foundation.

Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw want to tell more Jewish stories on screen, but not for entertainment or escape.

The filmmaker and Hollywood aid workers have offered seed funding through their Righteous People Foundation for Partners in Jewish History, a new film foundation unveiled Thursday, led by filmmaker Roberta Grossman and former senior programmer of Sundance Caroline Libresco.

The goal is to tell more stories of social justice and to expand the range of stories reflecting Jewish life. “There is nothing like storytelling to foster connections and help us understand life’s deepest truths. We are especially proud to help build this initiative – which will make visible a wider range of Jewish voices, identities, experiences and perspectives – at a time when social divisions too often have painfully deep representations. and traditional do not reflect the Jewish community in all its complexity, ”Spielberg and Capshaw said in a joint statement during the unveiling of the new Los Angeles-based film foundation.

Jewish Story Partners has $ 2 million in seed funding also from the Maimonides Fund and the Jim Joseph Foundation. Grossman will serve as production manager and Libresco will become artistic director to support Jewish stories that challenge established positions and confront difficult realities.

This includes the reflection of a rapidly evolving sense of Jewish identity and diversity beyond a sense of belonging to one Jewish people. With around 15% of American Jews identifying themselves as Jews of color – including those from African, Asian or Latin American countries – the new film foundation will tell a wider range of Jewish stories.

“We hope that the JSP projects will long be a source of meaning within the Jewish community and beyond,” added Spielberg and Capshaw.

“We are delighted to create something that is both additive to the independent film community and critical to the Jewish artistic and cultural landscape,” added co-directors Grossman and Libresco in their own statement.