Silver Jew returns to Austin

David Berman

Silver Jew Screening
Tuesday, January 29 and Wednesday, January 30
Texas Hillel (2105 San Antonio Street)
Free, 7:00 pm
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David Berman, the head honcho behind the massively influential Silver Jews, made a turnaround these past couple of years that has both shocked and delighted his many loyal fans. While Berman became renowned through Silver Jews releases like The Natural Bridge and American Water, not to mention a turn at poetry with 1999’s Actual Air, he more recently experienced a religious rebirth and crawled out of his “hell-hole life,” as he described it, discovering an only hinted-at passion for Judaism as well as a renewed appreciation for everyday life.

After releasing Tanglewood Numbers in 2005, Berman, his band (which includes his wife, Cassie) took the Silver Jews on their first ever tour, which included the United States and Israel.

There to capture the action were director Michael Tully and producer Matthew Robison, who transformed their footage into Silver Jew, a short film that follows Berman and his band as they visit and play shows in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. At the heart of the film is Berman’s smart and introspective thoughts about faith, and the regenerative power of his music both in his life and for his many fans, many of whom can’t believe how lucky they are to finally see the band live.

If you missed Silver Jew at the SXSW film festival last year (our interview with Tully is here), you have two more chances to see the film, with Matthew Robison in tow to introduce his work. The first showing is today at Hillel on the UT Campus (7:00, free) and again on Wednesday at Regal Arbor Cinema (4:00, tickets available at the box office).

The film is part of the Austin Jewish Film Festival, and their Web site has a complete list of this week's screenings.