Maxime Giroux's moving film Felix and Meira opens in Texas this week! Click through for my interview with one of the lead actors, Luzer Twersky.
Director Maxime Giroux with Luzer Twersky – Behind the Scenes. All photos courtesy of Oscilloscope.
Luzer plays Shulem the orthodox Hasidic husband of Meira (Hadas Yaron) in the movie. His powerful performance has garnered him two best actor awards at the Torino International Film Festival and Amiens International Film Festival. We started our conversation by discussing how both of us have unique Israeli names.
I asked Luzer about why he took a meeting with Producer Nancy Grant about playing this role.
But Luzer wasn't just an actor on the set. He helped with the authenticity behind the Hasidic community.
Luzer with Maxime
I asked about working with wonderful actress Hadas Yaron and the adorable baby in the film.
Hadas with Luzer.
In the film music plays a pivotal part in the changing of the characters. In particular, Wendy Rene's haunting "After Laughter" song becomes a central catalyst for some of the film's most emotional sequences.
I asked Luzer about two of my favorite scenes that both really showcase the incredible changing arc of his character.
* Warning -These next 2 clips contain spoilers to Luzer's character's fate in the film.
Luzer expands on a pivotal scene he has with Felix (Martin Dubreuil).
The film takes place in Montreal for a majority of the movie but also ventures to Brooklyn and to Venice, Italy. I asked Luzer about being able to shoot in NYC and he talked about one particular sequence that become quite REAL to him.
We jumped to another filmmaker Luzer has worked with, Pearl Gluck aka Luzer's Scorsese!
One of the projects Pearl is trying to finish up is entitled, The Turn Out and I asked about this important film.
I ended my chat with Luzer by asking a personal question about how he self-taught himself English when he was breaking away from the Hasidic community. Shout out to Public Radio!
Felix and Meira opens here in Dallas this Friday at the Angelika Film Center. Do not miss this moving film about love, loss and battling traditions. One of the year's most powerful films.
