All Don wants is a quiet life in the Scottish Highlands. Unfortunately the Universe has other plans. When Don, an elderly Scottish grump, fnds himself the victim of multiple lightning strikes he begins to worry that his quiet, orderly life may never be the same again. It's hard to tell what he fnds more uncomfortable: sadistic persecution by a capricious universe, or the concerned attention of the people in his town.&nbsp; Directors' Bio:Big Red Button is the pseudonym Johnny Burns and Pier van Tijn use when directing films or fighting crime. There's no real story behind it so don't bother to ask. They currently make commercials and comedy bits and bobs for TV but will pretty much do anything for a laugh. Their work has garnered a smattering of praise from both the industry and their parents including a Gold at the BTAAs, a Staff Pick from Vimeo, Best Film at Kinsale, Single Funniest Moment at the Portland Comedy Film Festival and Turkey of the Week from Campaign magazine. In one year they directed 3 of the top 5 most complained about adverts in the UK. If you'd like to work with them in some capacity – perhaps you have a script you'd like them to spill hot sauce on, an idea you want them to mess with, or just a briefcase of cash you'd like to unload – <a href="https://www.bigredbutton.tv/about.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">why not drop them a line</a>?

DON VS LIGHTNING

All Don wants is a quiet life in the Scottish Highlands. Unfortunately, the Universe has other plans.

“If Anna Deavere Smith, Sarah Koenig, and Joey Soloway wrote a self-reflexive musical about finance and religion, it might approach [this] film’s impish, mystical spirit…it’s a blessing.”&nbsp;&nbsp;—<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/03/what-kaddish-bernie-madoff-teaches-about-mourning/618315/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Atlantic</a> An artistic excommunication set on Wall Street in 2008,&nbsp;A KADDISH FOR BERNIE MADOFF is a mystical meta-musical about the greatest financial fraud in history, as seen through the eyes of musician/poet Alicia Jo Rabins. A hybrid of musical memoir and narrative fantasy,&nbsp;A KADDISH FOR BERNIE MADOFF tells the story of Madoff and the system that allowed him to function for decades through the eyes of musician/poet Alicia Jo Rabins, who watches the financial crash from her 9th floor studio in an abandoned office building on Wall Street. Fueled by her growing obsession, real-life interviews transform into music videos, ancient spiritual texts become fevered fantasies of synchronized swimming, and a vivid, vulnerable work of art is born from the unique perspective of an artist watching the global financial collapse up close. Alicia J. Rose - Director’s bio:Director/Photographer Alicia J. Rose has directed over 3 dozen music videos for artists like First Aid Kit, Cake and Bob Mould as well as visually branding popular bands like The Decemberists and many others with her imaginative portraiture. Rose spent 20 years in the indie music business before turning her eye to filmmaking in 2008. Her approach to directing utilizes her unique sense of visual style, grounded humor and intimate storytelling to deliver authentic narratives that resonate deeply with viewers.&nbsp;&nbsp; The scripted comedic web series “The Benefits of Gusbandry” was her first foray into digital episodic storytelling and over its two seasons received wide acclaim from press outlets like The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, A/V Club, PASTE, OUT and others. She recently wrapped her feature directorial debut - hybrid narrative/musical A KADDISH FOR BERNIE MADOFF and is supporting a 2021 festival run. Rose lives in Portland Oregon.&nbsp; Creator/Star Bio:Alicia Jo Rabins is a writer, musician, composer, performer and Torah teacher. She creates multi-genre works of experimental beauty which explore the intersection of ancient wisdom texts with everyday life. Rabins’ first collection of poetry,&nbsp;<a href="https://aliciajo.com/divinity-school/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Divinity School</a>,won the 2015 APR/Honickman First Book Prize; her second collection,&nbsp;<a href="https://aliciajo.com/writing/book-fruit-geode/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fruit Geode</a>,&nbsp;was published in 2018 by Augury Books and was a finalist for the Jewish Book Award.&nbsp;&nbsp;As a musician and performer, Rabins is the creator and performer of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.girlsintroublemusic.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Girls in Trouble</a>, an indie-folk song cycle about the complicated lives of Biblical women with accompanying curriculum, and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.akaddishforberniemadoff.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff</a>,&nbsp;which began as a one-woman chamber-rock opera and is now an award-winning independent feature film currently on the festival circuit. Rabins is also a coffee drinker, plant lover, DIY bar/bat/b’nai mitzvah tutor, and ritualist. She tours internationally as a violinist, singer, lecturer and performer from her home base in Portland, Oregon, where she lives with her husband and two kids. You can call her Alicia.

A KADDISH FOR BERNIE MADOFF

A mystical meta-musical set on Wall Street in 2008 about the greatest financial fraud in history, as seen through the eyes of musician/poet Alicia Jo Rabins.

Catharine Axley talks to Director Alicia Rose, Creator/Star Alicia Jo Rabbins, and Producer Lara Cuddy&nbsp;about their film.

Talkback with the filmmakers of A KADDISH FOR BERNIE

Pennsylvania

A KADDISH FOR BERNIE MADOFF + DON VS LIGHTNING

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Centre Film Festival. Live-Hybrid-Virtual. Nov. 1-7, 2021. Altoona-Philipsburg-State College, Pennsylvania.

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