I read these books one after the other in the order in which they were written: Civilization and its Discontents, Moses and Monotheism and Thinking Gaza - an Essay in Ferocity. They taken on the form of a series, enveloping us darkness.
ON FRIDAY, MAY 15th, at 7pm, join us for a screening of Zoe Beloff's new film LIFE FORGOTTEN (2026) and the launch of her accompanying book of the same name!
Tickets are now available at our online store (filmmakerscoop.ecwid.com), which is also accessible at the linktree in our bio.
***
LIFE FORGOTTEN (2026, 50 minutes) asks, how does everyday entertainment bring people together and act as a catalyst for social change? Situating archival film in parallel with reenactment, the film conjures up New York’s Lower East Side in the early years of the twentieth century, and centers on a real storefront cinema, Frank Seiden’s Variety Theater. Here silent movies were anything but. Frank and his sons improvised dialog for the films and sang Yiddish ballads to an audience that didn’t hesitate to join in or argue back. It was a welcoming space for women and the film follows a group of radical young garment workers who gather here to figure out how to fight for workers rights.
The book, LIFE FORGOTTEN, is a companion piece to the film. It includes both Beloff's artwork and historical documents, and brings together multiple perspectives: oral histories from the Lower East Side, an essay, "Intellectuals between Critique and Power" by the historian Enzo Traverso, and Beloff's notes on Walter Benjamin’s concept of the Angel of History, our time of catastrophes. The book poses questions and offers a few signposts. How does history grow out of and weight upon live experience? How can people without power or influence change their world? How can we reach out to comrades across time?
Beloff will be in ATTENDANCE to introduce and discuss her film and book, and answer audience members' questions.
*Act fast: seating for this event is limited.* We hope to see you there!
Zoe will bring copies of her recently published book “Life Forgotten”
LIFE FORGOTTEN - (50 minutes)
Set in New York’s Lower East Side in the early years of the twentieth century, the film centers on a real storefront cinema, Frank Seiden’s Variety Theater. Here silent movies were anything but. Frank and his sons improvised dialog for the films and sang Yiddish ballads to an audience that didn’t hesitate to join in or argue back. It was a welcoming space for women and the film follows a group of radical young garment workers who gather here to figure out how to fight for women’s rights and change their world.
JOSEPHINE THE SINGER OR THE MOUSE PEOPLE - (34 minutes)
The film is a work of remembrance. It asks but does not answer the question - how does everyday art bring people together? One by one, the community that is the Mouse People, recite the text of Franz Kafka’s short story in quiet places on New York’s Lower East Side. The film presents Josephine’s story, as something transmitted across time, something that comes from inside the body of an
oppressed people; spoken alone, summoned mysteriously, at the edge of consciousness. Why was it that Josephine’s voice so captivated them?
Tommy Birchett’s PHOTOBLASTER is a 35mm slide speed-run built from a Photoblaster toy camera, slides from instructional sets, and photos of anonymous domestic moments — all driven through four projectors at video game
speeds that collapse individual frames into flicker and rhythm. The sound of the machines projecting light is amplified
and processed live. - (10 minutes)
Ken Montgomery’s TRANSMISSIONS FROM A BLOOMBERG RADIO - an attempt to make sense of useless information radio. - (9 minutes)
Zoe, Tommy & Ken’s last time performing in Richmond - on the same night - was 1999!
Tuesday February 10. I will be presenting the Dream Films of the Coney Island Amateur Psychoanalytic Society on 16mm and discussing their work. 7pm The library of the Austrian Cultural Forum at 11 East 52nd Street. It is free but one must RSVP to [email protected] It is a tiny space and we will be nestled in the stacks, tickets are going fast.
Rally in Union Square with many Unions including my own PSC-CUNY, and many comrades. Here is Ana with Jewish Voice for Peace holding my sign. So sad that I had to paint it.
Screening "Life Forgotten" and "Josephine the Singer or the Mouse People" at Shapeshifters Cinema Friday the 16th 7pm. Looking forward to seeing Bay Area friends! Tickets at shapeshifterscinema.com
Such a great premiere for our films "Life Forgotten" and "Josephine the Singer or the Mouse People" I could not imagine a more perfect venue than @velaslavasay . Thank you Sara Velas and Ruby Carlson for such wonderful evening. Next week we will be screening @shapeshifterscinema on January 16th.
The Garden & The Theater: Two Films by Zoe Beloff
Friday, January 9th
6:00pm / Doors Open / 6:30pm / JOSEPHINE THE SINGER OR THE MOUSE PEOPLE / ~ garden reception ~ / 7:00pm / LIFE FORGOTTEN
Tickets $18 General / $15 VPES
https://buytickets.at/panorama/1995157
.
Filmmaker Zoe Beloff in Person! West Coast debut of two new films!
.
JOSEPHINE THE SINGER and LIFE FORGOTTEN take us to a visionary time and place bathing in the warm light of a garden or fading to the monochromatic allure of a motion picture theatre. These two films bring the realness of art to life using luminaries of the past and present with crucial histories and underrecognized yet vital spaces like the New York community gardens of the Lower East Side. Kafka’s short stories and Frank Seiden’s real storefront cinema are rendered with a painterly lens that beautifully captures a cast of unique characters, including actors, hyperlocal non-actors, and legends like graphic drawer/urbanist Ben Katchor and yiddish accordion playing/music Ira Khonen Temple.
Cinematography by Eric Muzzy.
.
JOSEPHINE THE SINGER OR THE MOUSE PEOPLE by Zoe Beloff
The film is a work of remembrance. It asks but does not answer the question how does everyday art bring people together? One by one, the community that is the Mouse People, recite the text of Franz Kafka’s short story in quiet places on New York’s Lower East Side. 34 minutes. Digital projection. Principle Cast: Kate Valk, Ben Katchor, Maria Perez, Jay Dobkin, Joanie Fritz Zosike, Carol Freeman, Ilana Wallach, Trudi Cohen, Stella Noor Hamza, Eli Fliakos.
.
LIFE FORGOTTEN by Zoe Beloff
Set in New York’s Lower East Side in the early years of the twentieth century, the film centers on a real storefront cinema, Frank Seiden’s Variety Theater. Here silent movies were anything but. Frank and his sons improvised dialog for the films and sang Yiddish ballads to an audience that didn't hesitate to join in or argue back. 50 minutes. Digital projection. Principle cast: Ariel Shafir, Kate Valk, Maria Perez, Spencer Quartin, Lexie Waddy, Jay Dobkin, Miranda Dobkin, Joanie Fritz Zosike, Amaya Montanez, Stella Noor Hamza, Leila Ibragim-Zade, Eli Fliakos, Johnny Anthony.
Happy to announce I will be in LA, at my favorite venue next week with @ecpleinair presenting two new films, “Life Forgotten” and "Josephine the Singer or the Mouse People”. Hope to see friends
Screening 6.30pm, Friday January 9
The Velaslavasay Panorama
1122 W 24th St, Los Angeles, CA 90007
Screening EAI @electronicartsintermix December 11, 7pm. New works in Distribution. I will be showing "The Infernal Dream" along with work by Michael Bell-Smith and Sara Magenheimer, Michael Smith, and Sophie Breer with David Wojnarowicz. Looks to be a very interesting program where everything goes wrong.
