Full Description
With great humor and warmth, WEST OF HESTER STREET dramatizes the efforts of American Jewish leaders between 1881 and 1914 to settle new immigrants where there were jobs - the unlikely port of Galveston, Texas. Woven through the resettlement narrative is the story of a young Jewish peddler who is forced to adjust to a strange way of life.
Filmmaker Bio(s)
Cynthia Salzman Mondell began her career at the Maryland Port Authority
and the Baltimore City Planning Department, writing scripts for video
programs as well as newspaper and magazine articles. After moving to
Dallas, she produced her first documentary, PROMISE AND PRACTICE, an
investigative documentary about housing issues in Dallas, which aired
nationally on public television. She joined Allen Mondell to form Media
Projects, Inc., in 1978. Cynthia is past president of the board of New
Day Films, a nationally-known independent film cooperative based in New
York City.
Allen Mondell has worked in films and television as a writer, producer
and director for 30 years. He began his career as a newspaper reporter
in Baltimore in the mid-sixties and then went to work for Westinghouse
Broadcasting in Baltimore (WJZ-TV), first as a writer for a magazine
program and then as a writer/director of documentary films about urban
and social issues. Allen taught in the Peace Corps in West Africa after
graduating from Williams College with a B.A. in American History and
Literature.
Together, Cynthia and Allen have been making award-winning docudramas
and documentary films and videos. Their work explores a wide range of
subjects but always with the goal of personalizing often complex social
problems. They've looked at different cultures and issues using dramatic
re-enactments, archival footage and stills and intimate character
studies. Some of their work has aired nationwide on public television,
on cable and at festivals worldwide. Cynthia and Allen are currently
working on a documentary about Jewish matchmaking.
Films by Cynthia Salzman Mondell & Allen Mondell
The Ladies Room
A 42-minute documentary featuring candid tales of love, sex, marriage
and divorce from behind the doors of the ladies room
A,E,I,O & You
Chronicles the experiences of three students and three literacy
volunteers as they learn and grow through an adult reading program
Handguns: Made for Killing, Not for Kids
The tragic dangers of handguns and the emotional and legal consequences
of handgun violence
Beauty Leaves the Bricks
A follow-up documentary to Beauty in the Bricks (1981) that brings
viewers up-to-date on the
lives and dreams of the four African American teenage girls they met in
the original film
Smokeless Tobacco: A Spittin' Image
A video that addresses the dangers of smokeless tobacco
Thinking Like a Woman
The life of cosmetics entrepreneur Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay
Cosmetics is captured through dramatic re-enactments and documentary
footage
Dreams of Equality
A documentary drama that chronicles the struggles of the women's rights
movement, captured and personalized in the letters between a sister and
brother that spanned 30 years
Commissioned by the National Park Service for the Women's Rights
National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, NY
Guts, Gumption and Go-Ahead: Annie Mae Hunt Remembers
The inspiring true story of an extraordinary African American woman that
spans three generations from slavery to contemporary times
A Wasted Breath: Kids on Inhalants
Educating youngsters on the dangers of inhalants with compelling stories
told by their peers
Films from The Sixth Floor
Six films on the life, death and legacy of President John F. Kennedy for
The Sixth Floor Museum at the former Texas School Book Depository in
Dallas
Inhalant Abuse, Kids in Danger/Adults in the Dark
An overview of the inhalant abuse problem that identifies, educates and
suggests community-based alternatives for prevention and intervention
The Teen Years: War or Peace?
Workable solutions to common conflicts between parents and teenagers
ranging from chores and messy rooms to the more critical issues of
sexuality and substance abuse
Sex: A Topic for Conversation with Dr. Sol Gordon
Three videos that make it easier to talk to kids about sex
The Henderson Avenue Bug Patrol
A film about diverting children from their televisions to explore the
fascinating world of nature just outside their front doors
West of Hester Street
A story about the adjustment of Jewish immigrants after settling in
America's heartland in the early 1900s, far from their traditional
culture
Beauty in the Bricks
The aspirations and frustrations of black teenage girls growing up in an
urban housing project
Who Remembers Mama?
Emotional, economic and legal problems confronting middle-aged, divorced
homemakers, Cynthia Salzman Mondell began her career at the Maryland Port Authority
and the Baltimore City Planning Department, writing scripts for video
programs as well as newspaper and magazine articles. After moving to
Dallas, she produced her first documentary, PROMISE AND PRACTICE, an
investigative documentary about housing issues in Dallas, which aired
nationally on public television. She joined Allen Mondell to form Media
Projects, Inc., in 1978. Cynthia is past president of the board of New
Day Films, a nationally-known independent film cooperative based in New
York City.
Allen Mondell has worked in films and television as a writer, producer
and director for 30 years. He began his career as a newspaper reporter
in Baltimore in the mid-sixties and then went to work for Westinghouse
Broadcasting in Baltimore (WJZ-TV), first as a writer for a magazine
program and then as a writer/director of documentary films about urban
and social issues. Allen taught in the Peace Corps in West Africa after
graduating from Williams College with a B.A. in American History and
Literature.
Together, Cynthia and Allen have been making award-winning docudramas
and documentary films and videos. Their work explores a wide range of
subjects but always with the goal of personalizing often complex social
problems. They've looked at different cultures and issues using dramatic
re-enactments, archival footage and stills and intimate character
studies. Some of their work has aired nationwide on public television,
on cable and at festivals worldwide. Cynthia and Allen are currently
working on a documentary about Jewish matchmaking.
Films by Cynthia Salzman Mondell & Allen Mondell
The Ladies Room
A 42-minute documentary featuring candid tales of love, sex, marriage
and divorce from behind the doors of the ladies room
A,E,I,O & You
Chronicles the experiences of three students and three literacy
volunteers as they learn and grow through an adult reading program
Handguns: Made for Killing, Not for Kids
The tragic dangers of handguns and the emotional and legal consequences
of handgun violence
Beauty Leaves the Bricks
A follow-up documentary to Beauty in the Bricks (1981) that brings
viewers up-to-date on the
lives and dreams of the four African American teenage girls they met in
the original film
Smokeless Tobacco: A Spittin' Image
A video that addresses the dangers of smokeless tobacco
Thinking Like a Woman
The life of cosmetics entrepreneur Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay
Cosmetics is captured through dramatic re-enactments and documentary
footage
Dreams of Equality
A documentary drama that chronicles the struggles of the women's rights
movement, captured and personalized in the letters between a sister and
brother that spanned 30 years
Commissioned by the National Park Service for the Women's Rights
National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, NY
Guts, Gumption and Go-Ahead: Annie Mae Hunt Remembers
The inspiring true story of an extraordinary African American woman that
spans three generations from slavery to contemporary times
A Wasted Breath: Kids on Inhalants
Educating youngsters on the dangers of inhalants with compelling stories
told by their peers
Films from The Sixth Floor
Six films on the life, death and legacy of President John F. Kennedy for
The Sixth Floor Museum at the former Texas School Book Depository in
Dallas
Inhalant Abuse, Kids in Danger/Adults in the Dark
An overview of the inhalant abuse problem that identifies, educates and
suggests community-based alternatives for prevention and intervention
The Teen Years: War or Peace?
Workable solutions to common conflicts between parents and teenagers
ranging from chores and messy rooms to the more critical issues of
sexuality and substance abuse
Sex: A Topic for Conversation with Dr. Sol Gordon
Three videos that make it easier to talk to kids about sex
The Henderson Avenue Bug Patrol
A film about diverting children from their televisions to explore the
fascinating world of nature just outside their front doors
West of Hester Street
A story about the adjustment of Jewish immigrants after settling in
America's heartland in the early 1900s, far from their traditional
culture
Beauty in the Bricks
The aspirations and frustrations of black teenage girls growing up in an
urban housing project
Who Remembers Mama?
Emotional, economic and legal problems confronting middle-aged, divorced
homemakers