The film was shown at the Avalon Theater with director Ferne Pearlstein in attendance
By Will Locascio – Art & Entertainment Editor
The job of an independent film director is rarely a simple, or glorious one, yet it is driven by passion and devotion to the art of storytelling. Ferne Pearlstein is a New York City based award winning and critically acclaimed documentary filmmaker. Her first project, “Sumo East and West,” was released in 2003, and followed the globalization of Japanese sumo wrestling as other cultures became indoctrinated into the traditional Japanese sport.
Pearlstein’s second body of work, however, was established as an idea far before “Sumo East and West,” was created, yet it didn’t hit the public eye until 2016, nearly 20 years after the inception of the idea. This passion project is called, “The Last Laugh,” a comedic documentary analyzing the limits, as well as benefits, of dark humor through the lens of the Holocaust. Colorado Mesa University (CMU) held a screening of the film as well as a Q&A panel with Pearlstein herself afterwards on Tuesday, April 4th at the Avalon Theater. I found the concept of the film quite interesting and wanted to learn more, so I reached out to Pearlstein individually and set up a conversation with her the morning of “The Last Laugh,” screening in downtown Grand Junction.
On the topic of the two decade long process of “The Last Laugh,” coming to fruition in the film world, Pearlstein outlined a fascinating origin story. Pearlstein and a colleague, Kent Kirshenbaum were discussing the controversial Holocaust-based graphic novel, “Mouse,” with an elderly Holocaust survivor who found no amusement from the content of the piece. This response sparked something in Kirshenbaum’s mind right before Pearlstein went off to Stanford for film school. During this time period, Kirshenbaum wrote a 25 page essay on anti-semitism and the question of, “Was there humor in the Holocaust?”
Pearlstein reminisced on meeting back up with Kirshenbaum after film school, saying,
“I saw him two years later when I was doing my thesis film for Stanford and he handed (this paper) to me and said, ‘Make this into a movie.’ That was 1993, but it took me until 2011 to raise enough money for it.”
“The Last Laugh,” gained traction quickly once it made its debut in 2016 at Tribeca Film Festival, and for very good reason. The screening of the film at the Avalon Theater was an eye-opening experience. The movie was filled with wonderful interview footage with many titans of entertainment, including Mel Brooks, Sarah Silvermann, Jeff Ross, and Gilbert Gottfried, all while following the tale of one main character, an elderly Holocaust survivor named Renee Firestone. Firestone had truly been through the worst imaginable conditions and remained with a heart-warming, tangible appreciation for life and the world around her. This provided a truly emotional and admirable character to guide the movie through its observation on comedy and the limits of humor in the face of tragedy.
Pearlstein has been touring the world for the last seven years since the movie’s release, unveiling her creation to various different collections of people. When we discussed what she hoped to present to the CMU and Grand Junction resident audience from this film, Pearlstein said,
“I think that the film has really resonated with people because no matter what they’re going through, no matter what difficulty they are going through, it can be really relatable. It doesn’t just have to relate to people who went through the Holocaust or had family members who went through the Holocaust. It’s a way to find humor for survival in any difficult situation. I hope people can relate to it on their own personal terms.”
The movie certainly presented a variety of coping mechanisms and ponderings on where the limit of dark humor could possibly be. I was struck by the insight and effectiveness of the clips scattered throughout the movie from dozens of tv shows, musicals, and movies that gave context and substantial background info to push forward the Pearlstein’s storytelling goal.
The live Q&A has been an essential aspect of Pearlstein’s intentions while touring this movie around the world,
“This is the first film I’ve ever worked on that the conversation has sometimes been more interesting than the film. Each one has been more interesting than the last… You know, I expected a lot of pushback on the film, I would say I’ve gotten less pushback on this film than my film about Sumo wrestling. My husband and I always joke that we made a film about bad taste but we made it tastefully.”
The crowd at the Avalon Theater was enormously impressed by “The Last Laugh,” which was made evident in the Q&A panel directly following the film where many questions from audience members were preceded by words of praise for Pearlstein and her dedication to stick with the creation of the film for such a long time as an independent filmmaker.
“The Last Laugh,” screening at the Avalon Theater was an equally hilarious and impactful addition to CMU’s Holocaust Awareness week that left its audience with an entertaining reminder of the tragic history behind this period of history.
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