Genre: Human Interest Director/s: Erik Greenberg Anjou Runtime: 52' & 92' Country/s: United States Year: 2015 IMDB: https://pro-labs.imdb.com/title/tt4239548 Official Website: www.delimanmovie.com Festivals: Official Selection, Louisiana Int'l Film Festival, 2015
Official Selection, New York Jewish Film Festival, 2015
Official Selection, Sidewalk Film Festival, 2015
Official Selection, Boston Jewish Film Festival, 2014 Released: United States, Canada, former Yugoslavia
Official Selection, New York Jewish Film Festival, 2015
Official Selection, Sidewalk Film Festival, 2015
Official Selection, Boston Jewish Film Festival, 2014 Released: United States, Canada, former Yugoslavia
Logline
Ziggy Dreams Pastrami! Fanatics of hot pastrami and other delicatessen make sure that the 160 years old tradition of American Jewish deli eating style will survive.
Synopsis
In Houston, Texas, Ziggy Gruber, third generation owner of a deli, has built arguably the best delicatessen in the United States. His story embodies a Jewish cultural tradition indelibly linked to its salty and nostalgic food.
Notable eaters like Jerry Stiller, Fyvush Finkel, Larry King and lawyer Alan Dershowitz, say only one word (“pastrami”) in the film. Specialists provide a cursory history of the deli’s rise in New York, while owners explain how rising costs have led to the institution’s decline.
Film Review
“Deli Man” is a showcase for some amazing-looking matzo balls, corned beef and chopped liver (a better title might be “You Should Eat: The Movie”) and for Ziggy himself, who bemoans the loss of Yiddish culture and peppers his speech with words like “shteyn” (or “stone,” to describe a blintz that is too heavy). This documentary goes heavy on the schmaltz, in all senses." Ben Kenigsberg, NY Times"Between all the towering corned beef and food talk, “Deli Man” will leave you hankering for the nearest place to get some “haimishe maykholim” (Yiddish for “home-style cooking”)." Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
