Home » Jazz Musicians » Erik Keith Greenberg Anjou

Erik Keith Greenberg Anjou

Erik Keith Greenberg Anjou is a writer, film director and producer. He is a graduate of Middlebury College, Northwestern University and the American Film Institute. His film endeavors encompass both the narrative and documentary arenas.

Erik Anjou first move as producer is "A Cantor’s Tale". He did it simply because he felt, if he didn’t step forward and takes responsibility for making the movie, then it wouldn’t get done. He thinks the same about his second documentary, "Eight: Ivy League Football and America", and "The Klezmatics : On Holy Ground" film. Anjou's considers himself a writer and director first and equally.

On "A Cantor Tale ", the tradition of Eastern European Jewish cantorial music is alive and well in modern America in no small part thanks to the efforts of Brooklyn-born Cantor Jacob Mendelson. "Jackie," as he is affectionately called by everyone, explores the American roots of "hazzanut"(Jewish liturgical music) while taking us on a musical voyage that spans the Atlantic, originating in his birthplace of Boro Park, Brooklyn and reaching all the way to Jerusalem. There’s music in the air, everywhere.

The experience of hearing the world’s most renowned cantors in the synagogue was part of a lifestyle that provided American Jewry with a rich cultural heirloom. It is Cantor Mendelson’s mission to insure that this legacy is passed on to this and the next generation and generations to come, in a way that is both true to its origins and relevant to the modern world.

This feature-length documentary provides a nostalgic journey through family, neighborhood, and tradition. It also treats us to appearances by renowned cantors and aficionados Joseph Malovany, Ben-Zion Miller, Alberto Mizrahi, Matthew Lazar, Neil Shicoff, Jackie Mason and Alan Dershowitz. Source: Erik Keith Greenberg Anjou

Awards

Warsaw Phoenix-Warsaw Jewish Film Festival Best Documentary-WorldEye Film Festival, Tel Aviv Audience Award- Washington, DC Jewish Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary- Miami Jewish Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary-San Diego Jewish Film Festival Special Director's Award-Detroit Jewish Film Festival Festival Favorite-Houston Jewish Film Festival


Tags

“The cantor Jacob Mendelson is a documentary filmmaker’s dream...Judging by Erik Greenberg Anjou’s charming film A Cantor’s Tale, he’s succeeding”. Jeanette Catsoulis, New York Times

"With its outlandish stories, obsession with masculine ego, and focus on an absurd, forgotten subculture, A Cantor's Tale is the stuff Ben Stiller movies are made of: All that's missing is the part for Owen Wilson...". Matt Singer, The Village Voice

... "A Cantor's Tale warmly portrays a time when Broadway producers would try to lure big-name cantors out of the pulpit and into the footlights...". Nathaniel Popper, Wall Street Journal

Read more

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.