Short film: Serenity Check out our recently finished, artistic short film project. SERENITY was written, directed and edited by Andrea Oberheiden-Brent and published on December 30th, 2016. Her first non-documentary project focuses on the importance of succumbing to death as opposed to fighting against the inescapability and inevitability of it. It also presents death as something that haunts all living creatures and exposes the human concept of a certain value of life as highly subjective. SERENITY features the poem "Fear no more the heat o' the sun" from the play "Cymbeline", Act IV. Scene 2, probably written in 1610 by William Shakespeare. >>AJ-Images auf Youtube

October 19, 2016
Al Jolson Memorial in Seredzius

On October 19th, 2016, a beautiful Al Jolson Memorial was unveiled in Seredzius, where Al Jolson was born in 1886. The memorial is placed next to the remains of the former synagogue of the village and is accompanied by another memorial dedicated of the Jewish population of Seredzius that was killed during the Holocaust. Wyman Brent flew over to film the events for AJ-Images' documentary ON THE ROAD TO AL JOLSON.

September 28, 2016
Issi Dye in England

Jens flew over on a spontaneous trip to England to interview Australian performer Issi Dye during his last days of his Jolson tour through England. Jens came back with a great interview and very nice footage of Issi's show.

May 9-11, 2016
Trip to Lithuania

Jens and Andrea traveled to Vilnius, Lithuania to attend a concert dedicated to Al Jolson. The year of 2016 marks the entertainer's 130th birthday. The music ensemble "Vilniaus Divertismentas" will present their recently released tribute CD to Al Jolson.

10 YEARS OF AL JOLSON DOCUMENTARY WORKS 2016 marks the 10th and last year of our Al Jolson documentary adventures. For that occasion, we are starting a Youtube mini-series of 11 short episodes with behind-the-scenes material and preview footage of our upcoming film - for each year from 2006 to 2016. Our first video will come out in May, as our very first Jolson documentary trip to the USA took place in May 2006. Little did we know that this would NOT be the only "Jolson trip", hah! So, stay tuned! >>AJ-Images on Youtube

ON THE ROAD TO AL JOLSON Join the film team on their fascinating, DECADE-LONG travels to bring Al Jolson back to life. Watch them reveal TIMELESS accounts of hardship and the STRUGGLES OF IMMIGRATION and hear them tell a remarkable story of FAME. Follow them on their journey to themselves - a tale about their own cultural heritage, about FINDING LOVE and a purpose in life. Estimated release date: October 2017. >>Film site

New: FLAp Podcast

Follow @FLApPodcast

Andrea launched a film, literature and art podcast in September of 2015. Besides occasional guests, Andrea is the host of the show together with her film partner Jens J. Reinke. The first episodes are dedicated to the late Robin Williams and include talks about Robin's last dramatic role in "Boulevard" (2014), directed by Dito Montiel, as well as an interview with the film's writer Douglas Soesbe. FLAp Podcast website | FLAp Facebook group

New: AJ-Images Magazine BLOG

We have been working on our major documentary project ON THE ROAD TO AL JOLSON since 2006. During our long journey, you can imagine that we collected lots of material; only a fraction of that can be used.
On our AJ-Images Magazine BLOG page, you find additional information, entertaining material and fascinating behind-the-scenes stories which cannot end up in any of our projects. And of course, besides finding us on Facebook or writing us an email, you can also get easily in touch with us on that blog by posting comments, questions or suggestions there. To get to the page, you can click on the link provided here, but you can also find a link in the menu of this website. Looking forward to seeing you!

WILD ABOUT JOLSON Facebook group

New: WILD ABOUT JOLSON Talk Show

This is a collaboration of Andrea Oberheiden-Brent, Nigel Dreiner, who created this podcast, Andrew Serio and Vlad Petnicki. For each audio episode, the crew and sometimes special guests come together to talk about a certain topic regarding the World's Greatest Entertainer. You can become a part of it by liking our WILD ABOUT JOLSON Facebook page. Make sure to also join our Facebook group to get engaged in fascinating discussions with fans and "newbies". WILD ABOUT JOLSON Facebook group

October 22-26, 2015
UK Jolson Festival

Andrea and Jens have been traveling around the world interviewing people and filming different sites for their Al Jolson documentary (estimated launch: October 2017) since May 2006. For their presentation ''Al Jolson's Roots and Relatives'' the film team shares a preview of their footage at this year's Jolson Festival in Bromley, UK, which includes interviews with some of Al's first and second cousins, gravesite footage of Jolson's parents in Washington D.C., footage of Al Jolson's birthplace in Lithuania including his original birth certificate as well as footage of the remains of the synagogue Jolson attended as a child before moving to the USA in the late 19th century.

Mary E. Cowan
December 7, 1935 - Februrary 17, 2015

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Wyman's mother Mary E. Cowan. She was about to meet her grandson Glenny in May for the first time. Her sudden loss and the circumstances of how we found out about it require both time and strength. We are heartbroken. We thank everyone who sent their thoughts, prayers and condolences during this difficult time. Andrea and Wyman

May 13-17, 2015
65th Anniversary Jolson Festival, Stamford, Connecticut

Jens made a trip to the 65th Anniversary Jolson Festival in Stamford, Connecticut, which was hosted by Cleo and Jon Sonneborn. As a representative for the team of AJ-Images he gave a short presentation about the film work's progress.

October 24-27, 2014
UK Jolson Festival

Jens made a solo trip to the 2014 UK Jolson Festival in Bromley, Greater London. Representative for the entire team of AJ-Images he gave a presentation on the recent journeys to Lithuania and Malta.

October 10-15, 2014
Under the Mediterranean Sun - Jolson in Malta

A real treat for Jolson fans! - The Malta section of the IAJS is headed by Vince Williams, who works tirelessly to promote Al Jolson and his works among the Jolson fans on Malta. He organizes and hosts the yearly Al Jolson Malta Gathering at the Royal British Legion in Malta's capital, Valletta, and the Christmas Buffet Lunch in the beautiful Waterfront Hotel in Sliema, a resort town and yacht harbor near the capital.

In addition to that, Vince Williams created and presented a special Jazz Singer Exhibition that was shown for two weeks at cinema and shopping center complex Galleria in Fgura, near his hometown. The Malta section of the IAJS also attends the celebrations on Remembrance Day and different masses.

Representative for the AJ-Images team Jens traveled to Malta for five days attending the Al Jolson Malta Gathering on October 12. Throughout the trip Vince Williams was the perfect guide to all Jolson sites on Malta. This includes a memorial plaque for the 80th Anniversary of The Jazz Singer which is located in the beautiful Salini National Park.

To promote the IAJS, Jolson on Malta, and the documentary project of AJ-Images Vince Williams arranged three radio interviews, the first at BKR Radio 94.5FM, hosted by Toni Ellul, the second at Kottoner 98 FM, hosted by Joe Massa, and the third at Radio City 107.6 FM, hosted by Charles Zammit.

September 17, 2014
Al Jolson Memorial Stone in his home country

Al Jolson will receive a memorial stone at Jakovas Bunka's Litvak memorial park near Plateliai, a small village in the North West of Lithuania. Jakovas Bunka recently passed away and was considered the last Jew in the town of Plunge, close to Plateliai. Bunka's son Eugenijus, journalist, writer, and activist, is now leading the foundation.

Not too far away from Plateliai is Klaipeda, a major harbor which was the harbor Al Jolson along with his mother and siblings passed through on their way from Seredzius to Liverpool in 1894.

Jens and Wyman are currently trying to make it to the inauguration next week to capture this amazing event for AJ-Images' upcoming Jolson documentary ''On the Road to Al Jolson''.

This event is a huge step into the direction of Jolson finally being recognized and acknowledged in his home country after all of Jolson's work was made available to the public with the opening of the Vilnius Jewish Public Library on December 16th, 2011, thanks to the efforts of AJ-Images and the help of the Int'l. Al Jolson Society.

Here is the link to the event:

Jakovas Bunka Charity and Sponsorship Fund

May 2014
64th Anniversary Jolson Festival, Baltimore, Maryland and Film Work in Washington, D.C.

Jens made a solo trip to the 64th Anniversay Jolson Festival in Baltimore, Maryland. He captured festival footage for the Jolson feature length documentary. The trip was extended to Washington, D.C., where the cemetery where Jolson's parents and sisters are interred was filmed.

With the amazing support of Jolson relative Francie Hess Kranzberg and her husband Josh, Jens managed to visit and document different synagogue sites associtated with Jolson's father (Ohev Sholom, Tifereth Israel Congregation) and the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington to do archival research.

October 19, 2013
UK Jolson Festival

Due to the recent birth of Andrea's and Wyman's son Glenn, Jens made a solo trip to the UK Jolson Festival in Bromley. AJ-Images' presentation title this year was "On the Road to Al Jolson" as it focused on an update of our feature length Jolson documentary of the same title which will probably be released in 2015.

 

September 25, 2013
Glenn Jolson Brent

We are proud to announce that on September 25th, 2013 at 8:26am, Andrea and Wyman welcomed their baby boy: Glenn Jolson Brent! He was 50 cm in length and weighed 3350g. A difficult pregnancy was finally rewarded - with the world's greatest baby.

November 29 and December 1, 2012
Screening on German public TV channel Kiel TV

Our recently finished short film "Beautiful Dreamers" was screened twice at a local TV station here in Kiel. Take a look!

November 11, 2012
Jolson event at General Patton Museum in Palm Springs, California

Al Jolson will be honored at the General Patton Memorial Museum on Veterans Day (Nov. 11, 2012) with the issue of an Al Jolson stamp. The legendary singer Al Jolson (1886 â€ï¿½1950) was the first star to entertain troops overseas during World War II. Almost as soon as Congress formalized a declaration of war in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the singer dedicated himself to a new mission in life. With millions of American soldiers being strung out in bases all over the world, and before the U.S.O. was formed, Jolson was on the phone to the War and Navy Department brass demanding permission to go â€ï¿½anywhere in the world where there is an American serviceman who wouldnâ€ï¿½t mind listening to Sonny Boy or Mammy.â€ï¿½

He was the first star to perform at a GI base in World War II. He appeared before units in the steaming forests of Trinidad and Curacao, did four shows a day in the jungle outposts in Central America, covering a string of Naval bases. Then with a swift change of scene from the tropics to the Arctic, he flew to Alaska and performed up and down the Aleutian Islands.

When the Korean conflict started, Jolson insisted the White House clear the way for him to sing for the troops, and once again he would be the first to entertain the troops, leaving for the war zone the evening of September 11, 1950. A passionate trooper, he and his partner flew all over the Orient, giving 3 or 4 performances a day every day through September 21st, entertaining 26,000 service men and women. He took a break in San Francisco on October 23, and died that night of apparent exhaustion. On November 10, 1950, Al Jolson was posthumously awarded the U.S. Medal of Merit by President Harry Truman.

Richard Halpern, â€ï¿½Mr. Tin Pan Alley,â€ï¿½ is a master of the music of the Jolson era and will perform during the Jolson event at General Patton Memorial Museum. (Text adapted from General Patton Memorial Museum).

For AJ-Images, Jens Reinke will cover the event for the upcoming Jolson documentary "On the Road to Al Jolson".

October 19-21, 2012
UK Jolson Festival 2012

Andrea and Wyman attended this year's Jolson Festival in Bromley, UK. They gave a presentation on the work of AJ-Images & The Vilnius Jewish Public Library on Saturday afternoon. They also interviewed Jolson biographer Michael Freedland. Once again, the organizers came up with an amazing UK Jolson weekend.

August 22, 2012:
Wedding of director Andrea Oberheiden and PR rep Wyman Brent

The projects of the Al Jolson documentary work of AJ-Images and the founding of the Vilnius Jewish Public Library by Wyman Brent not only linked on a professional level but also merged on a personal one. Andrea and Wyman exchanged vows on the 22nd of August at The Grove in Marion, South Carolina.
Since it was Al Jolson who brought the two together, the world's greatest entertainer was present at the ceremony in image, voice, and spirit. For more information, please check out their wedding page.

On their wedding trip to the USA, Andrea and Wyman also worked on the Jolson documentary and attended the Long Island Jolson Festival in New York on August 18th, 2012.

The Association of Jewish Libraries' 47th Annual Convention | June 17-20, 2012

We accompanied Wyman Brent on his trip to Los Angeles where he talked about the Vilnius Jewish Public Library at the 47th annual convention of the Association of Jewish Libraries. The footage will be used for both our major documentary projects: "On the Road to Al Jolson" and "Wyman Brent & The Vilnius Jewish Library".

Welcome, Wyman Brent!

We welcome Wyman Brent as our new team member! Wyman will function as our public relations officer for international affairs. Please check out our new contact data at: "Contact us".

AJ-Images.com Media Productions on the move!

Well, our website has stayed the same, but the people behind it have moved to a new location. Please check out our new contact data at: "Contact us".

AJ-Images.com once again in Lithuania

After having visited Al Jolson's homeland in the summer of 2010, we once again traveled to Lithuania. We were looking forward to seeing the country during the winter time as we attended the opening of the Vilnius Jewish Public Library on December 16, 2011. We were excited to see a huge collection of Jolson material on display and we even traveled to Lithuania with more material in our luggage. The opening of the Vilnius Jewish Library is not just a huge milestone in Jewish cultural history, but also a major step in bringing Al Jolson back to his country of origin.

October 20 - October 23, 2011: "Jolson trip" to Bromley, UK

Jens attended the Bromley Meeting (October 21-23) held by the IAJS. Jens gave a presentation about the work of Wyman Brent, founder of the Vilnius Jewish Public Library. The library opened a few weeks later on December 16, 2011 with an amazing Al Jolson collection on display. Thanks to all those who have donated! A big thanks to the Int'l. Al Jolson Society to make it happen.

Article in "The Jewish Quarterly":
"The Messiah of Vilnius"

Check out the article "The Messiah of Vilnius" in the current fall issue of the UK newspaper "The Jewish Quarterly"! It covers Wyman Brent's final success of opening the Vilnius Jewish Public Library in 2011, 70 years after the invasion of Lithuania by the Nazis. Al Jolson and AJ-Images are mentioned at the end of the article.

Page 1

Page 2

September 25 - October 6, 2011: "Jolson trip" to the USA

Jens went on our last Jolson trip to the USA before our graduation. He met with some veterans who saw Jolson perform on his USO tours, several Jolson relatives, as well as some other important interviewees such as Joe Franklin.

The trip led Jens to places in New York, New Jersey, Arizona, Connecticut, California, and Florida.

May 19-22, 2011: Jolson Festival in Philadelphia

Jens will make a short trip to the USA in May of 2011 in order to attend the Jolson Festival in Philadelphia held by the Int'l. Al Jolson Society. Jens will hold a presentation on our trip to Seredzius, Al Jolson's birthplace. He is looking forward to especially attending this Jolson Festival since the very first Jolson Festival we attended was being held in Philadelphia back in 2006 when we just had started to work on our Jolson project.

Lithuania, Here We Come
Our article in the 'Jolson Journal' of the Int'l. Al Jolson Society

Click on the PDF icon to read the new article about our 2010 trips to Lithuania and our work with the Vilnius Jewish Library!

 

New Radio Piece:
Wyman Brent and the Vilnius Jewish Library

Here you can listen to a radio piece aiming at German listeners who want to donate to the Vilnius Jewish Public Library. The language is English and German. Please click on the player below to listen in.

New Article:
Because It's My Dream - Wyman Brent and the Vilnius Jewish Public Library

Because It's My Dream - Wyman Brent and the Vilnius Jewish Public Library

December 23, 2010 - January 28, 2011:
Wyman Brent, founder of the Vilnius Jewish Public Library, in Northern Germany again

Wyman Brent will be back in Germany! While we mainly focused on getting donations for the Vilnius Jewish Public Library during his first visit, we will now focus on publicity for both his library and our Jolson project.

 

Promo Video: Wyman Brent and the Vilnius Jewish Public Library

December 2010:
New documentary project: Wyman Brent and the Vilnius Jewish Library

We are happy to announce that the work on our Al Jolson project led us to another major film project we will be working on for the next years: Wyman Brent and the Vilnius Jewish Library. Check out the projects section in the menu for further information.

November 8 - December 2, 2010:
Wyman Brent, founder of the Vilnius Jewish Library, in Northern Germany

We are proud to be able to support the Vilnius Jewish Library, the first Jewish library in Lithuania since 1943, founded by Wyman Brent (a Gentile from California who now lives in Vilnius). Mr. Brent will spend 3 weeks with us in Northern Germany to attend the Kristallnacht ceremonies in Kiel and to meet with political, cultural, and educational officials in Kiel, Rendsburg, Hamburg, and Berlin.

Furthermore, it is planned to have a big Al Jolson event with us at the Vilnius Jewish Library after its grand opening in spring of 2011.

For more information about the Vilnius Jewish Library, please visit: vilniusjewishlibrary.wordpress.com

Mr. Brent is still looking for donations (books and DVDs by Jews and/or about Jews or Jewish topics).
His email: vilniusjewishlibrary@yahoo.com

October 22-24, 2010: "Jolson trip" to England

Our short "Al Jolson entertaining American Troops" and our documentary "A Look at Al Jolson" will be screened at the Int'l. Al Jolson Society's Bromley Meeting which takes place on October 23-24. This year's event not only commemorates the 60th Anniversary of Al Jolson's passing but also the 60th Anniversary of the Int'l. Al Jolson Society itself.

We will also give a presentation about our recent trips to Seredzius, Al Jolson's birthplace.

October 6-10, 2010: Short "Jolson trip" to Lithuania

We made a short but exciting second trip to Al Jolson's home country! We had some important interviews on this trip, and we also had the chance to take two of Al Jolson's relatives from the USA along with us, Jon and Francesca Hess. We also met Wyman Brent, founder of the Jewish Library in Vilnius, to which we donated some Jolson items for the collection. The most exciting thing was the meeting with Jonas Pikoraitis, the mayor of Seredzius, and Ri�ardas Juška, governor of Jurbarkas, to discuss our idea of a potential Al Jolson plaque in his hometown. In that context, we were the subject on radio and TV, and in a local newspaper.

http://www.jurbarkotv.lt/2010/10/seredziuje-ruosiamasi-iamzinti-zemiecio-al-jolsono-atminima/

http://www.jurbarkas.lt/go.php/lit/Viesejo_tarptautines_Alo_Jolsono_bendrij/1352/1

 

June 23 - July 14, 2010: Trip to Lithuania

We finally did our long planned trip to Al Jolson's home country! Besides filming the places of Al Jolson's childhood, we joined a Jewish American travel group on their way back in Eastern European history.

On the one hand, this trip was absolutely amazing; on the other hand, this trip was very demanding due to a sprained toe, several car accidents, an enormous heat (no air-con in our car, no air-con in any of our hotels), trouble with Polish police officers, and eventually a virus that really wore us out.

Seredzius:

June 8-17, 2010: Short trip to Omaha, Nebraska

Time to move on, and another solo trip for Jens. We were asked to represent the Int'l. Al Jolson Society at the Korean War Veterans Reunion at the Air and Space Museum in Omaha, Nebraska.

We felt happy to be able to support the Int'l. Al Jolson Society's search for veterans who saw Jolson perform for American servicemen. Jens came back with some great interviews for our Jolson documentary, too!

May 20-24, 2010 -- CANCELED DUE TO ILLNESS

Jens will be on a solo trip again, due to Andrea's constitution. This time it's for a shooting trip to the Int'l. Al Jolson Society's Jolson Festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

New Promotional Video: "What we do"

Promo Video to get a short glimpse of the work of German documentary filmmakers Andrea Oberheiden and Jens J. Reinke.

AJ-Images Magazine Promotional Video

Watch our AJ-Images Magazine promo video! If you are interested in film, theater, or literature, you might even like to become a contributing writer!

AJ-Images Education Promotional Video

If you are interested in German Language History, Yiddish, Film History, or Art History, please visit our "Online Education" section to find out more!

AJ-Images Promotional Video for Jolson Fans!

Attention, Jolson friends! Here you can see what we have done so far, what's up next, and how you can participate!

 

November 12, 2009:
Our film short "Al Jolson entertaining American Troops" on German TV!

Kiel TV will broadcast our 14 min. film on Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 3.45 pm and again on Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 1.25 pm. If you click on the link, please scroll down to "Donnerstag" (= "Thursday").

November 6, 2009:
Radio segment "Al Jolson Overseas" on TopShelfOldies Internet Radio!

DJ Stu from TopShelfOldies (located in New Jersey) broadcasted "Al Jolson Overseas" during his show "The Pop Shoppe" as a special tribute to Veteran's Day. He also played another Jolson tune. Check it out!

 

November 5, 2009:
Radio segment "Al Jolson Overseas"

With Veteran's Day coming up, we created a 6 min. radio segment called "Al Jolson Overseas". It's an excerpt from our actual film "Al Jolson entertaining American Troops" featuring Jim Downs, a Korean War veteran who saw Jolson perform in Korea in 1950. Check it out!

 

November 2009:
New trailer to "Rudy Wissler's 15 Minutes"

As a teenager, singer and actor Rudy Wissler provided his voice for the young Al Jolson in the Academy Award winning biopic "The Jolson Story", produced by Columbia Pictures in 1946. Although his work was one reason for the enormous success of that film, he was not mentioned in the credits.

October 16-24, 2009: Trip to England

We were able to make a short trip to London in the middle of October. Due to Andrea's constitution, traveling back and forth (by car) took us more than a week. This experience will help us in regards of our last US trip which has to take place in spring of 2010.
We were in London because of John Lithgow's fabulous show "Stories by Heart" which he performed at the National Theatre. Jens had to make a solo trip to London on October 26th (via plane) because of additional shooting assignments.

September 2009: Trip to Lithuania - CANCELED DUE TO ILLNESS

We had to cancel our trip to Lithuania again. It, and our last huge US trip in connection with our Jolson film, will take place next year, due to Andrea's physical constitution.

July 10, 2009:
Premiere of "Al Jolson and The Jazz Singer"

Our recently completed documentary was screened at the movie theater Die Pumpe here in Kiel!

May 14-18, 2009:
Trip to England

Short trip to Aberdeen/ UK for an interview with actor Allan Stewart, star of the musical "Jolson & Company". A single trip for Jens, since Andrea's illness kept her from coming along.

April 2009:
New film: "Al Jolson entertaining American Troops"

Short documentary (14 min.) about Al Jolson's contributions during WW2 and the Korean War. Motive was a museum exhibition which did not include Jolson's support of American servicemen.

November 15, 2008:
"Al Jolson and The Jazz Singer": 1st Prize at Film Competition!

Our documentary has won the first prize at the film competition "Tiefenschärfe", held by the public TV channel KielTV.

Not only was it a wonderful delight for director Andrea Oberheiden, who regarded this as a present for her birthday, having taken place one day earlier. It also was a major suprise for both of us to be again among the winners of this film contest, since we already won with "A Look at Al Jolson" last year.

Below you can watch a video with excerpts from the broadcast as well as a video of the award ceremony.

Articles:

Offener Kanal Flensburg Offener Kanal Kiel IMDb site

October 29, 2008:
"Al Jolson and The Jazz Singer" at film festival in Lübeck, Germany!

Our documentary (85 min.) was screened at the 50th Nordische Filmtage Lübeck at the CineStar Filmpalast Stadthalle in Lübeck. With a click on the right image, you can see an excerpt from the event.

Filmtage Lübeck 2008 Website

Filmtage Lübeck 2008 Schedule

Filmtage Lübeck 2008 Film database

October 19, 2008:
Bromley Jolson Society Meeting

We were invited to the Jolson Society Meeting in Bromley (UK). Our documentary "Al Jolson and The Jazz Singer" was screened there (until a technical catastrophe). It was great having met a bunch of new 'Jolsonaires'!

September 2008: Trip to Berlin

We met German actor Hans-Werner Bussinger who had dubbed John Lithgow in the comedy series "3rd Rock from the Sun" and in "Cliffhanger". Bussinger's insights will be part of our planned documentary on John Lithgow. - Note: Hans-Werner Bussinger passed away on September 19, 2009.

July 22, 2008:
Commemorating the 1st anniversary of actor Ulrich Mühe's death

July 2008: Jolson on TopShelfOldies

In his July 4th program, "The Pop Shoppe", DJ Stu alias Stuart Weiss from New York featured some special tunes. Among them is not only a great Jolson song from 1913 (!), but also a funny tune sung by Tiny Tim from the 1970s, being perfectly in line with today's gas prices. Below you can listen to the tunes.

Tiny Tim

German Band

If you like music from the 40s to the 60s, tune in every Friday night at 7 p.m. EST: www.topshelfoldies.com

For requests contact DJ Stu at:

djstu43@verizon.net

May/June 2008

Our 6th and so far longest trip to the USA in connection with our Jolson film project took place from May 15th to June 23rd. We furthermore started with interviews for our project on John Lithgow.
The trip basically led us to New York, Ohio, Massachussetts, Florida and California, but we did some tremendous ground touring throughout the whole country.

April 2008: Jolson on TopShelfOldies

In his April 4th program, "The Pop Shoppe", DJ Stu alias Stuart Weiss from New York again featured some Jolson tunes. Below you can listen to them.

 

If you like music from the 40s to the 60s, tune in every Friday night at 7 p.m. EST: www.topshelfoldies.com

For requests contact DJ Stu at:

djstu43@verizon.net

February 2008: Trip to Chicago

From February 15th until February 26th we made our 5th trip to the USA.

This time we mainly focused on John Lithgow, who gave a performance at the Symphony Center in Chicago with "Carnival of the Animals" for which he had written the narration. Besides that, we continued with film shootings for our Jolson project.

You do not know who John Lithgow is? Please click on the following video:
For more information, please go to "Artists".

November 2007: Jolson Birthday Special on TopShelfOldies

In his November 16th program, "The Pop Shoppe", DJ Stu alias Stuart Weiss from New York featured a Jolson tune to celebrate Andrea's birthday. Below you can listen to his program.

 

A Look at Al Jolson: 1st Prize in Film Competition

Offener Kanal Kiel

We are very happy to announce that our film "A Look at Al Jolson" has won the 1st prize at a film competition in the section "documentary".

The public channel of our hometown Kiel, Kiel TV, hosts an annual statewide film festival with several categories. "A Look at Al Jolson" was chosen as the best documentary among 74 other films.

In the course of this event both, "A Look at Al Jolson" and "A Tribute to Rudy Wissler" were screened on TV. We are very happy that we could manage to bring Jolson on a TV screen and to attract some interest by the TV station itself, the audience and other filmmakers during the festivities.

Below you can watch some excerpts from "A Look at Al Jolson" and the award ceremony.

 

October 20, 2007

We were invited to present two of our films at the Jolson Meeting in Bromley/ UK. Unfortunately we couldn't be there, because of a sudden illness. Besides "A Tribute to Rudy Wissler", some excerpts from our Jazz Singer documentary were shown (see: "Projects").

Here's the trailer to our Jazz Singer tribute:

September/October 2007

Our 4th trip to the USA took place from September 25th to October 11th. We were in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami to make further interviews for both, our Jazz Singer Documentary and our feature-length documentary "You ain't heard nothin' yet - On the trail of Al Jolson".

March 2007

We made our third trip to the USA from March 11th until March 28th. This time we took pictures and had some interviews in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
On March 14th we attended a live TV talk show called "The New Yorkers" in New York City to talk about our film short "A look at Al Jolson" and about our feature-length Jolson documentary. The show appeared on the public channel 26 and started at 11.30 p.m. EST.

Because of several requests - here you can find the trailer feat. Clive Baldwin and Tony Babino:

TV talk show: "The New Yorkers" on March 14th, 2007

 

August 2006

Jens made the second trip to the USA from August 10th to 14th to join the renaming of a part of Broadway in "Al Jolson Way" and to make some interviews. On this trip we got our invitation for the TV talk show "The New Yorkers". We attended it in March 2007. You can see an excerpt above.

May 2006

We made our first trip to the USA (after having the idea for our Jolson documentary) from May 15th to 31st. We were able to attend a great (our first) convention of the International Al Jolson Society in Philadelphia and talked to a lot of interesting and supportive people. We even found a Korean War Veteran who saw Al Jolson perform in 1950, shortly before his death. We learned a lot about Al Jolson on this trip, and it really encouraged us to continue with all our efforts, and to believe in this huge project.