Partly Private has been officially selected in the STERLING WORLD COMPETITION at the AFI/SILVERDOCS festival.

| News & Links | SILVERDOCS Announces Festival Slate SILVERDOCS

The screening schedules are as follows:

Thursday June 18th, 2009 at 7:30PM at the AFI Silver Theatre 2

Saturday, June 20th, 2009 at 1:15PM at the Round House Theatre

AFI-Discovery Channel SILVERDOCS 2009 : PARTLY PRIVATE

Best New York Documentary – Partly Private, directed by Danae Elon. (Canada). Award presented by Rachael Ray. Winner receives $5,000 cash. Sponsored by Medallion Financial and the Murstein Family. Winner will also receive the art award “A Map of NYC (with directions to the Tribeca Film Festival),” created by Tom Slaughter.

Jury Comments: “Our pick is a film that explores the relevance of tradition in today’s world. We are reminded that the exploration of one small subject through documentary film is capable of shedding light on a larger world. There were moments in this film that brought the whole world back to New York – they were uniquely New York moments. It explored themes of politics, culture, aestheticism, desirability, sexuality, and sensuality.”

Tribeca Film - Press and Media - 2009 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES AWARDS

An Interview with Award Winning Filmmaker Danae Elon

“Partly Priviate” Wins 2009 Tribeca Film Festival Best New York Documentary Award

“Partly Priviate” Wins 2009 Tribeca Film Festival Best New York Documentary Award | Fest21.com

Faces of the Festival:

Danae Elon

By Kristin McCracken

Tribeca 09: Jewish docs

by Raphaela Neihausen, April 28, 2009

There were several films at Tribeca this year that piqued my personal interest as M.O.T. (Member Of the Tribe).  The first was PARTLY PRIVATE , Danae Elon’s exploration of male circumcision.  While pregnant with a boy, Elon must confront her Algerian-Jewish husband’s strong preference for circumcising their future son, a belief which clashes with her own misgivings as a secular Jew.  What ensues is a trip around the world, questioning different cultural histories and views on the matter.  Particularly entertaining is her visit to Turkey where boys are circumcised at the age of 8 in the equivalent of a bridal banquet hall while wearing regal costumes.  Clowns, roller coasters and big screen televisions serve to entertain the kids in what would otherwise be quite an awful day.  After watching this film, all I can say is that I hope if I am ever pregnant - it’s a girl.

Stranger than Fiction

The great foreskin debate

To snip or not to snip? That was the question facing new parent Danae Elon, who didn’t just wrestle with the controversies of circumcision — she made a documentary about it.

By Joy Press

April 30, 2009 | New parents face an endless barrage of questions: which prenatal tests, what kind of diapers, which nursery school? But one choice is irrevocable: to snip or not to snip? That is the daunting question, one freighted with intense cultural and religious meaning. And yet people often don’t give it much thought at all.

THE FULL ARTICLE: The great foreskin debate | Salon Life

Excerpt:

What’s the reaction when people find out that you made a film about circumcision?

It depends. If the argument has come up in the family, they all say, ‘Oh my God, that’s so interesting. My husband and I had the same argument.’ That has come up a lot. This discussion is very common in having a child. Maybe not in a family where two Conservative Jews marry and everyone knows they’re on the same track….Another reaction is, ‘What’s so funny about that?’ I think once you’re in the theater, you realize it can be very funny. It was very challenging to try to make a documentary that has humor to it, because you need to actually shape it into that. It was great to see people really laugh at the premiere.

Full Interview: Heeb: HQ : Danae Elon: The _Heeb_ Interview

By ALISSA SIMON

Should male infants be circumcised? As the expectant mother of a boy, Israel-born, New York-based helmer Danae Elon (”Another Road Home”) uses “Partly Private” as part of her quest to make “a big choice about his little penis.” Encompassing trips to Israel, the Palestinian territories, the U.K, Italy and Turkey, her humorous personal docu goes beyond the Jewish rite of the bris to provide interesting facts about the hows and whys of foreskin removal. (…) Elon effectively presents both sides in the “to cut or not to cut” debate, including some graphic footage and descriptions. (…) Pic was crisply shot on HD; fluid editing works in synch with Elon’s voiceover narration and jaunty score to underline comic moments.

Partly Private - Review Print - Variety.com

“Partly Private could be this year’s hidden gem. It’s a globe-trotting look at male circumcision in which director Danae Elon (pregnant with a son of her own) humorously explores a complex debate riddled with knee-jerk reactions. Who knows? The film could do for foreskins what “Helvetica” did for fonts.”
– Washington Square News