I co-directed, co-produced, co-edited, and co-wrote the feature documentary film Unorthodox (2013). The 90-minute film is available on iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play; you can also watch for free on YouTube (below).
Unorthodox premiered at the Institute for Contemporary Art in Boston in November 2013, as part of the Boston Jewish Film Festival. It had its New York City premiere the next week at the IFC Center in New York City, as part of DOC NYC. For more information about the film, including past screenings, see the Unorthodox website, Facebook and Twitter. Prior to the completion of Unorthodox I was a 2007-2008 filmmaker-in-residence at WGBH. In early 2012, Nadja Oertelt and I completed a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise finishing funds for Unorthodox
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Film synopsis
At sixteen, Anna Wexler broke away from the Orthodox Jewish community in which she was raised. Years later, she watched her rebellious friends fervently return to Orthodoxy after studying for a year in Israel. Unorthodox is the story of Anna’s quest to understand this “year in Israel,” which is a rite of passage for teenagers brought up in the American Orthodox Jewish community. She follows three teenagers as they graduate from high school, travel to Israel, and transform drastically throughout the year. Along the way, Anna confronts difficult truths about belief and happiness, and is forced to reckon with her past. |
PRESS
The most up-to-date press about Unorthodox is on the film's website here. The following is a brief selection:
Anna Wexler’s ‘Unorthodox’ journey (Jerusalem Post, March 16, 2015)
"Unorthodox in Israel, Secular in Kathmandu" (The Forward, November 13, 2014)
"Gap year in Israel: Rite of passage or turn to the right?" (Times of Israel, May 17, 2014)
"5 titles to watch for at the Boston Jewish Film Festival" (Boston Globe, November 2, 2013)
"Montclair Film Festival: Israel works profound changes, in two movies" (Montclair Times, May 1, 2014)
"North Jersey natives among those in spotlight at Montclair Film Festival" (The Record, April 28, 2014)
"Storyteller and Brain Researcher Explores the Unorthodox" (Technology Review, Sep/Oct 2012)
"Friday Film: Orthodox, More or Less" (The Forward, January 2012)
"An Unorthodox Bid" (Jerusalem Post, December 2011)
"Three Takes on Virtual Filmmaking" (New England Film, December 2008)
Boston Herald: New England Film Junkie Blog (Boston Herald, June 4, 2008)
Cambridge Chronicle piece about Cambridge Arts Council Awards (March 3, 2008)
Cambridge Chronicle profile - "Unorthodox Filmmaker" (pdf) (January 25, 2008)
WGBH gives films shortcuts to the Web (Boston Globe, December 9, 2007)
