A local filmmaker will present two rarely-seen documentary shorts on American Jewish life, one of which focuses on Pittsburgh’s own Murray Avenue.
Murray Avenue: A Community in Transition, a short 16mm documentary made in 1983 by Sheila Chamovitz, offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at three historic Jewish businesses that once served Murray Avenue in Squirrel HIll as they prepare to close their doors. Audiences get to meet the proprietors of Silberberg’s bakery, the Federman & Fogel kosher butcher shop, and Murray Avenue News as they discuss their changing neighborhood and city.
Screening on Fri., July 28 at Eberle Studios in Homestead, Murray Avenue will be paired with Skokie: Rights or Wrong, Chamovitz’s treatment of the 1978 Swastika War in Skokie, Ill., and her first documentary film.
The screening marks the third installment of the Essential Pittsburgh series by Pittsburgh Sound + Image, a local organization dedicated to preserving and raising awareness of rare films. Steven Haines serves as the director of programming for Pittsburgh Sound + Image and tells Pittsburgh City Paper that the series aims to highlight “particular filmmakers who worked here but that maybe haven't really received so much recognition or screening opportunities in recent decades."
"The idea is trying to bring them back to the surface," he adds.
Chamovitz, a self-trained filmmaker who was born and raised in Stanton Heights and moved to Squirrel Hill in the mid-’70s, will also attend the screening to answer questions about her two films.
Chamovitz says Murray Avenue emerged from her desire to “do something nice and close to home” after covering the Skokie controversy, which involved a group of neo-Nazis trying to march on a town that thousands of Holocaust survivors called home. Murray Avenue also came from a sense of urgency as she noted how the neighborhood was beginning to change. Many of the Jewish-owned businesses that primarily catered to Pittsburgh’s Jewish residents were closing, and Chamovitz’s film strives to capture the vibrant culture of the well-known and trafficked street.
Haines says that, though the Skokie film is quite rare and has been difficult to track down, he feels it’s a natural partner to Murray Avenue since it’s Chamovitz’s only other work and also deals with topics relevant to American Jewish life.
Haines says he “immediately thought [Murray Avenue] was a beautiful film" when he watched it and expresses excitement over being able to share it with audiences.
"As Pittsburghers, it’s always exciting to see our city in the past," says Haines. "What Sheila is capturing is so rich, because we get to see the business district in Squirrel Hill. So it's a place that we all know today and recognize, but we get to see it as it was 40 years ago. And we get to go into these businesses which aren't there anymore. We get to go behind the scenes of the businesses and in the stockroom, which is really kind of exciting to get to hear from the owners and employees and the customers.”
Essential Pittsburgh: Sheila Chamovitz. 8-9:30 p.m. Doors at 7:30 p.m. Eberle Studios. 229 East Ninth Ave., Homestead. Free. Registration required. pghsoundandimage.com
Rarely seen film captures Jewish businesses on Murray Avenue 40 years ago
