The “organic” revolution is big business these days. By one estimate, organic products — from food to fast-fashion — gross $64 billion around the world annually. Some consumers swear by organics. Still others are skeptical. Where does the truth lie? Richie Mehta’s five-part series on Vision TV, Organic Panic, which starts on Monday, April […]
As the Israeli violinist Ivry Gitlis observes, Jascha Heifetz was “a God-given gift for a God-forsaken world.” Probably the greatest violinist of his generation, Heifetz (1901-1987) bequeathed a musical legacy that endures. Through concerts and recordings, the Lithuanian-born Jewish virtuoso set the gold standard for generations to come. He’s the subject of a forthcoming documentary […]
Tikal, one of Central America’s most heralded archeological sites, lies deep within a trackless rainforest in Guatemala. Containing the mouldering ruins of a great Mayan empire which reigned supreme more than 1,000 years ago, Tikal is far from the beaten track, an enclave within Tikal National Park, 300 kilometres north of Guatemala’s capital, Guatemala City. […]
In Olivier Assayas’ two-hour feature film, Clouds of Sils Maria, which opens in Toronto on April 10, the alluring Juliette Binoche plays the role of Maria Enders, a successful French actress in her late 40s who’s torn by doubts about her acting abilities. Tired and preoccupied with divorce proceedings, she looks old and frumpy when the […]
Having harshly criticized the nuclear framework agreement signed by Iran and the six major powers in Switzerland on April 2, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched a campaign to ensure that the final accord, due to be signed on June 30, will be substantially strengthened by iron-clad guarantees and safeguards. Netanyahu’s fears are understandable. […]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims that the framework nuclear agreement signed by the six major powers and Iran in Lausanne on April 2, following eight days of gruelling talks, exceeds his worst fears and threatens Israel’s survival. What he fails to mention is that it will probably save the Middle East from another war. […]
How did Holocaust survivors manage to cope after their horrific ordeal in Auschwitz? Could they lead productive lives ever again? Could they shake off their traumas? Could they function as normal human beings? Touched by Auschwitz, an empathetic BBC documentary written and directed by Laurence Rees and scheduled to be broadcast by Vision TV in […]
Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado has travelled the world documenting the folly and diversity of mankind and the allure of nature. Salgado’s son, Juliano, has made a poignant documentary about him. The Salt of the Earth, which opens in Canada on April 10, is alternatively majestic and depressing. Salgado’s black and white photographs are sharp and graphic, […]
For the first time in decades, Arab states have agreed in principle to create a pan-Arab fighting force, but one must wonder whether it will ever become operational, given the conflicting objectives of its primary sponsors, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Lest it be forgotten, previous Arab military forces have crumbled into dust. The proposal to […]
Aribert Ferdinand Heim had the dubious distinction of being the world’s most wanted Nazi war criminal. Once a member of Austria’s national hockey team, he was a Waffen-SS physician in the Mauthausen concentration camp — where 122,000 inmates perished — and then a fugitive from justice. In the Nazi hierarchy, he was really a very minor figure, […]