Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival: the First Time I Was Twenty and the Tribe May 5, 2007

Sixteen-year old misfit Hannah lives in the Paris suburbs with her garage-mechanic father, doting mother and two svelte sisters. But she is not happy. She senses she's destined for bigger things. Musically talented, she chooses an instrument with a figure similar to hers - the double bass - and dreams of joining the male-dominated high school jazz band. After she has passed the audition, the other band members, keen to uphold their male traditions, stop at nothing to discourage her. In 'The Tribe,' what can the most successful doll on the planet show you about being Jewish today? Narrated by Peter Coyote, the film weaves together archival footage, graphics, animation, Barbie dioramas and slam poetry to take audiences on an electric ride through the complex history of both the Barbie doll and the Jewish people from Biblical times to present. By tracing Barbie's history, the film sheds light on what it means to be an American Jew in the 21st Century.