JCC Book and Arts Fair Announces Izzy Bleckman

As part of the 53rd Annual JCC Book and Arts Fair, members of the Buffalo Community are invited to experience a multi-media event, offering a rare opportunity to view archival news-story footage and hear first-hand accounts from legendary CBS ("On the Road") cameraman, Isadore "Izzy" Bleckman. The event, produced by photographer Marty Kerker and journalist/ former TV News Anchor Rich Kellman will be presented on Sunday, June 23 at 2:00 pm in the Maxine and Robert Seller Theatre, JCC Benderson Family Building, 2640 N. Forest Rd. in Amherst.

Bleckman has worked in television, film and video for more than 40 years, first with Movietone News and then with CBS, doing his Emmy Award-winning camera work for "The CBS Evening News", "On the Road" with Charles Kuralt, and "CBS Sunday Morning". He has been all around the world documenting everything from the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald to a six-week stint in China photographing the Tiananmen Square demonstrations of 1989.

Since Izzy's retirement from CBS News in 2002, he has continued to work in film, including the documentaries, Picture Man (on photographer Milton Rogovin) and The last of the Grain Scoopers. He also served as editing consultant on the documentary "Luminous Shadows: The Artists of Eastern Cuba", and was a consultant on Acorn Media's release of the "On the Road" DVD collection.

The event on Sunday, June 23 will also include the theatrical debut screening of the film, Risking Everything: A Story of Niagara's Freedom Seekers, directed and produced by Bleckman and his wife, researcher and writer Mary Roseberry. This compelling documentary tells the story of the many African Americans who made their dangerous journey from slavery to freedom by crossing the Niagara River from Lewiston NY into Canada. Lewiston was one of the last "way stations" along the U.S./Canada border, along with Buffalo and Niagara Falls.

The film also follows the making and installation of the Freedom Crossing Monument in Lewiston by renowned local sculptor Susan Geissler. Hundreds of hours of the monument's construction and installation were filmed by Bleckman, and his daughter Sheera Bleckman. Following the monument's installation, Bleckman and Roseberry spent another year researching the history, interviewing individuals, and documenting the area's involvement in helping slaves gain their freedom.

Tickets $10/General $5/Student

Tickets may be purchased at either JCC Member Services Desk or online www.jccbuffalo.org.