Educational Media Reviews Online

Attending a Jewish summer camp in Alberta for the first time at the age of 9, Hart Snider recounts one very fateful event that took place. In an effort to counter the anti-Semitic teachings of a school teacher in a nearby town, the Jewish community in Edmonton decided to send that teacher’s former students to the summer camp, all in the spirit of promoting cultural understanding. And what better way to foster fellowship then a friendly game of basketball?

Tackling fear and prejudice can be a tall order for any film, but that Snider is able to do so with honesty and humor all from the perspective of a child in five minutes is quite remarkable.

Of note is the animation by Sean Covernton. He uses a more traditional hand-drawn cartoon-like style for the film’s opening and closing sections, juxtaposing them with an angular and kinetic computer-generated style for the fantastic basketball game sequences. It’s a technique that is both impressive and very effective.

The lilting, nostalgic waltz theme by Adam Damelin, perfectly matched to the film, would not be out of place in a “Charlie Brown” cartoon.

The disc audio is in English and French, with French subtitles.

Recommended for all libraries.