By 

Debra Rich Gettleman

My first question for Neil Friedman, founder of Menemsha films and co-founder of the Jewish and Israeli streaming service ChaiFlicks, was, “What started this passion for Jewish media, specifically film and television?”

I was expecting the usual answer about going to the movies back in the day with a parent or friend and getting hooked. What I didn’t expect was to hear that it all started with Neil’s mom’s brother, uncle Allen, and his second wedding. You see, Uncle Allen (Allen Susman) was a hot shot Harvard attorney working for Universal pictures. He represented the studio and a host of A-list Hollywood biggies. 

When Al’s friend, Marlon (Brando, that is), hosted Al’s wedding reception at his home in the Hollywood Hills, 12 year old middle class Neil from Queens found himself pretty impressed at the star-studded guest list which included Wally Cox, Andy Williams, and Elke Sommer, to name a few.

Neil’s folks were not in the entertainment biz at all. They were kitchen equipment suppliers to hospitals and restaurants in New York. Mom was originally from Boston and Dad from New York. The family biz was known as the Bloomingdale’s of the Bowery because they were housed in Manhattan’s Cooper Square. But Neil’s mom discouraged him from sticking with the family business. So, Neil went the road of many young Jewish men at the time. A double major in ethnic studies and film from University of Pennsylvania followed by a law degree.

After a stint in corporate law, Neil ended up as an entertainment attorney. He ultimately decided to move into the film distribution biz. and founded Menemsha films in 2003.  Influenced by his heritage and passion for film, he gathered 10 films and sent them to his “advisors,” mom and dad. They all agreed that his first acquisition should be a film called “Gloomy Sunday.” 

“My parents were instrumental in the beginning,” Neil explains. “At that point, I didn’t have the confidence to trust what I liked without their insights. I was self-taught for sure, and ‘Gloomy Sunday’ was beginners luck.” Well, he also did his due diligence. “Gloomy Sunday” had run for two years straight at Christchurch New Zealand. It ended up running for 70 weeks in Boston and a whopping 54 weeks in LA. “Gloomy Sunday” turned into a bright spot and to date holds the record as Menemsha film’s greatest success.

After building Menemsha into a major distributor of Jewish and Israeli art films and collecting a cadre of film festival awards around the globe, Friedman decided to expand into other areas of media. In 2020, he and co-founders Heidi Bogin Oshin and Bill Weiner launched ChaiFlicks, the hottest new Jewish and Israeli entertainment streaming service, which showcases award-winning and critically acclaimed Jewish films, TV series, and documentaries.

With over 1700 hours of content, ChaiFlicks is building audiences and gaining notoriety around the world. Their latest TV hit, “The Lesson,” which originally aired on Israel’s public broadcaster Kan11, made it into the top 10 list of most watched shows on Netflix Israel two weeks in a row.

“The Lesson”, named best series at the 2022 Cannes International Series Festival focuses on the relationship between a troubled high school civics teacher, Amir, (played by Israeli-star Doron Ben-David) and his 17-year-old student, Leanne, (played by Maya Landsmann.)  Raising socio-political issues around racism (Palestinian and Israeli) and the power of social media, “The Lesson” was named best drama series at the Israeli Television Academy Awards In 2023. Maya Landsmann won best lead actress for the series at that same awards ceremony.

Choosing 20-25 projects a year, out of 300 to 400 potentials is not an easy task. “You really can’t make a mistake,” Neil shares. We want to curate at the highest level all the time. We look for variety.” He adds, “Good luck plays a part. But good luck doesn’t last forever.” A savvy businessman and a realist,  Friedman confides, “We’re gonna make a mistake. We have to roll with that.” But it sure hasn’t happened yet.

 “So, how do you pick the right projects?” I ask, “I work off the premise that if I like it, others will too,” Friedman explains. “And I never watch something once. I watch it 2 or 3 times before I form an opinion.” But he also credits his incredible partners Bogin Oshin and Weiner and insists that acquisitions are a group effort in which the three balance each other out to choose the best projects.

Neil marvels at how many Jewish stories are out there. “We’re a small percent of the population, he notes, “But we have a disproportionate amount of Jewish programming.” With a wealth of Jewish stories and no shortage of great storytellers to share them, it’s no wonder ChaiFlicks is gaining popularity.

Spreading the word about ChaiFlicks is today’s focus. “It’s a grass roots marketing effort. We reach people by word of mouth,” He laughs and tells me about one of his favorite marketing campaigns. “We offered Rabbis an $18/year subscription hoping they would use it and share the great programing with congregants and followers.” That kind of thoughtful outreach and specific networking is part of what drives ChaiFlicks’ success.

And for ChaiFlicks, it’s all about giving viewers a sense of artistic connection to the stories that have brought us to this point in our Jewish evolution. Friedman dubs ChaiFlicks “The number one platform for Jewish storytelling.” He goes on in a recent article in Variety to say, “ChaiFlicks has a uniquely devoted audience that has come to expect the highest quality Jewish programming curated from all over the world,” Additional ChaiFlicks hits include the Swiss series, “Labyrinth of Peace” and the hit film “The Women’s Balcony.” But at the top of ChaiFlicks’ TV series apex, is “The New Black” (original Hebrew title “Shababnikim”), a hit Israeli series following four rebellious students at a Jerusalem yeshiva. 

As the most watched show of any of ChaiFlicks’ 20 or so series, ‘Shababnikim’ was the foundation of the platform’s launch. Maybe that’s because it’s not a show that only appeals to Jewish audiences. With eight award nominations by the Israeli Academy of Film and Television, Shababnikim has become a classic, “religiously” watched by a vast audience of Jews and non-Jews alike. Incidentally, the show took home four of those eight awards including Best Comedy, Best Comedy Script, and Best Comedy Actor.[8][9] 

While Friedman doesn’t see himself as religiously observant, he tell me,“I’m culturally Jewish. I’m just interested in Jewish stories, history, cultural history. Our stories never end. It’s a part of our history. There were twelve tribes and they all went separate ways. Now we have a million stories to tell.” 

Top 10 series on ChaiFlicks 

1. “Shababnikim a/k/a The New Black”- Seasons 1 and 2 on the channel with Season 3 scheduled for launch first quarter 2024
2. “The Lesson”-recently launched to great success
3. “Checkout”-Seasons 1,2 and 3 on the channel with Season 4 launching 4th quarter 2023
4. “Unchained”
5. “Asylum City”
6. “Significant Other”-Seasons 1 and 2
7. “Labyrinth of Peace”-Swiss series
8. “Wartime Girls”-Polish series with Seasons 1,2 and 3 already launched with Season 4 to be launched in November 2023
9. “Yid-Life Crisis”-Canadian series
10. “Srugim” -The number one classic Israeli series