SJCA Announces a Panel Discussion on Zoom of the Film ‘Arranged’, September 7 at 7 pm

Saratoga Jewish Community Arts, with a generous grant from the Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York and the sponsorship of Temple Sinai of Saratoga Springs, presents a panel discussion on Zoom of the independent American film Arranged.

The 2007 drama tells the story of a friendship between an Orthodox Jewish woman (Rochel) and a Syrian Muslim woman (Nasira), both of whom are new teachers in New York City.

Rochel and Nasira each dress “modestly,” but in different ways. One covers her hair, and one wears long skirts. Both live at home with their parents and siblings. Both grew up in cultures where arranged marriages are the norm, but in different ways.

It’s intriguing to follow the two women as they compare how their arranged marriages are organized, the differences and similarities. Both sets of parents had arranged marriages, and both marriages are shown as loving and supportive. Gradually, the young women realize how much they share: traditional lifestyles, modest dress, close families, and now arranged marriages.

Their startingly insensitive school principal doesn’t understand them, seeing only the clothes, and assumes neither woman has any choice in how she lives her life. He berates them, proclaiming, “There has been a women’s movement you know.”

While acknowledging the scorn the women face, the film concentrates on the characters’ similarities. It portrays how arranged marriage has many meanings, the motivation behind it, and what it can mean for the two different cultural worlds the women inhabit.

“Because others may not understand a culture does not make that culture immoral, nor should it make outcasts of those who live by its norms,” says Phyllis Wang, Coordinator of SJCA. “The commonality of all cultures, if only we listen to one another, is frequently friendship and family.”

The panel discussion will take place on Zoom on Sunday, September 7 at 7 pm. The film may be viewed in advance free on Hoopla and Kanopy (with public library membership) and is available for rental from Amazon Prime Video and other streaming services.

A trailer for the film is available at https://youtu.be/fP9tnjaXrDk?si=KVSWx1fblrWm8yUO,

Registration required at sjca.sjcf@gmail.com.