Mashhad: Available Exclusively on ChaiFlicks

Noam Dromi, Managing Director of Reboot Studios, sat down with filmmaker and actor Matthew Shear to discuss his new film Fantasy Life, a deeply personal story where Jewish identity isn’t a premise, but a lived cultural environment shaping how characters think, joke and relate to one another. In this conversation, Shear reflects on the origins of the film, the role of intergenerational memory and the subtle, often uncomfortable ways we navigate identity, assimilation and inheritance. Rather than positioning itself as an “issue film,” Fantasy Life offers something more intimate and textured, rooted in character, humor and emotional honesty. Watch the video conversation or read the written Q&A to learn through our conversation with Shear about the making of the film, the ideas behind it, and the cultural questions it raises.

Underscoring that there is no singular way to “look Jewish” or “be Jewish,” Reboot Studios collaborated with Paramount Global on This is What Jewish Looks Like, a video short for Jewish American Heritage Month that celebrates the rich tapestry of Jewish identity. The visual techniques in the piece challenge stereotypes and preconceived notions of identity, especially important at a time when tensions are high among American Jews. Photographer Brian Molyneaux captured portraits of individuals who identify as Jewish, highlighting the rich diversity within the Jewish community across various dimensions such as age, gender and race. See the video short here.

This week, we’re sharing two powerful reflections from the creators behind The Nita & Zita Project, a film Reboot Studios is proud to have supported through fiscal sponsorship and creative development. Together, these pieces trace the remarkable journey of two Jewish immigrant sisters who transformed themselves into international burlesque performers in the 1920s, and later into reclusive, visionary artists in New Orleans whose handmade worlds continue to inspire generations. Through deeply personal essays by producing partner Sharon Gillen and director Marci Darling, Nita and Zita emerge not just as figures of the past, but as guides for the present, women who chose visibility over erasure, creativity over fear and devotion to each other as a form of resilience. Read Gillen and Darling’s reflections.