| A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff | |
| Director: | Alicia J. Rose |
| Producer: | Lara Cuddy |
| Starring: | Alicia Jo Rabins |
| Music: | Alicia Jo Rabins |
| Cinematography: | Asia Brown |
| Runtime: | 75 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff: The Film is a 2021 musical documentary film starring Alicia J. Rabins & directed by Alicia J. Rose based on the 2012 one-woman show created & written by Rabins.
The film tells the story of fraudulent investor Bernie Madoff and the system that allowed him to pull off his pyramid scheme for decades – through interviews, ancient spiritual texts, and the unique perspective of an obsessed artist watching the events unfold from her residency in an abandoned office building in Manhattan's financial district.[1]
A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff premiered at the 44th Portland International Film Festival. North American rights to the film were acquired by Freestyle Digital Media in August 2022.[3]
A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff was met with positive reviews from publications such as The Atlantic and The Forward.[4] [5] Kristi Turnquist of The Oregonian describes the film as "an original -- lyrical, emotional and thoughtful".[6] A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff won the Terry Porter Visionary Award at the Sarasota Film Festival.[7]
Elisabeth Vincentelli of The New York Times gave the film a less than positive review. She described A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff as a "hybrid of documentary, memoir and musical-mystical essay" and stated that it felt "shaggily shapeless, as if Rabins and Rose were unsure what, exactly, they were trying to say".[2]