This week on Jews on Film, hosts Harry and Daniel sit down with director and producer Simon Mendes (The Darkest Light, Dick Johnson Is Dead, Sabbath Queen) to talk about the Coen Brothers’ 2013 film Inside Llewyn Davis. Simon’s new documentary on Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, winner of the Best First Feature award at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, takes on his musical legacy and the allegations of abuse that followed it. That makes him a natural guest for a film about a folk singer in 1961 Greenwich Village.

They discuss art vs. commerce, whether we can separate the art from the artist, and how Carlebach’s music lives on in synagogues today. Then they head into the Jewish stretches, from the Griffins to the seven-day shiva structure to the wandering Jew, and the cat. As always, they close out the episode by selecting their most Jewish scenes, debating if the movie is “good for the Jews,” and ranking the film’s “Jewishness” in terms of its cast & crew, content, and themes.

Simon Mendes:

• The Darkest Light (SFJFF film page) - https://jfi.org/sfjff-2026/film-guide/the-darkest-light
• Simone Mendes on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/simongmendes/

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