19th Portland Jewish Film Festival
GRACE PALEY: COLLECTED SHORTS
DIRECTOR: LILLY RIVLIN, MARGARET MURPHY
US, 2009
Author (“The Little Disturbances of Man”) and activist Grace Paley (1922-2007) shares her short stories, poems, and essays, along with her timeless anecdotes. Her female, urban New York tales, filled with emotional and sexual frankness, became classics in the 1950s. Often referring to herself as a “combative pacifist,” Paley committed her life to fighting social and political injustices, activities that frequently landed her in jail. Rivlin and Murphy’s inspiring film traces the life of a seemingly ordinary woman with extraordinary talents for writing, engaging the world, and challenging her family, friends, and readers to confront life’s struggles with humor, passion, and tenacity. “Art is too long, and life is too short.”—Grace Paley. (74 mins.)
Judith Arcana, Grace Paley’s literary biographer, will introduce the film.