Podcast episode 328ish: Alan Zweig

It takes us a while to get into the comedy talk in this episode, but if you're at all interested in documentary films, you won't mind. The reason I reached out to the man in the mirror – Toronto filmmaker Alan Zweig – was because his latest work, When Jews Were Funny, is filled with comedians. And he was in town. But I haven't seen the movie yet (it plays at Fifth Avenue Cinemas on Nov. 10 as part of the Jewish Film Festival here in Vancouver and I will definitely catch it), but I've seen, and loved, three of his previous movies: Vinyl, I, Curmudgeon, and Lovable (damn comma – if that looks like four films, know that the first and third films both have one-word titles). So we talked about his early unsuccessful career making features, how he stumbled into his current successful career, and why talking to old-timey Jewish comedians wasn't as fulfilling as you'd think.

It's all right here for you. Or at iTunes. Or at PodcastLand. Or fine hardware stores everywhere. Enjoy.

Oct. 20: Alan Zweig

Zweig winning his Tiffy.

We've got a legit film maker on the show this week. Alan Zweig recently took home the Tiffy (I don't know if there's an actual name for the award but there should be) for Best Canadian Feature Film at the Toronto International Film Festival for his documentary When Jews Were Funny. That's how good it was – a documentary won for best feature, not best documentary. I haven't seen it yet but it will apparently be playing the Jewish Film Fest here in Vancouver in November. I have seen three of Zweig's other docs and I recommend each one highly: Vinyl, I, Curmudgeon, and Lovable.

When Zweig was in town for the Vancouver International Film Festival a couple weeks back, I sat down and talked over an hour with him about all his films, including his most recent one and what it's like to interview old Jewish comedians. If you haven't seen any of his highly personal docs, you've got to check them out. Here's your homework leading up to the show Sunday night: Watch Vinyl (from 2000). You won't be able to stop and you'll wish there was more. It's ostensibly about fanatic record collectors but really about Zweig. You don't even have to go looking for it; I've embedded it below for your viewing pleasure. Of course, you don't need to have seen it to enjoy our talk. Tune in at 11 pm PT to CFRO 100.5 FM in Vancouver or livestream it at coopradio.org. And if those don't work for you, you can always wait about a week until it's released in podcast form.