The Jewish Community Center of Saratoga Springs presents Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me (film and discussion)

“Puerto Rican, Jewish, colored, and married to a white woman. When I move into a neighborhood, people start running in four ways at the same time.” –Sammy Davis, Jr. The entire community is welcome to join The Jewish Community Center of Saratoga Springs as they present a documentary Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me. It will be held on Wednesday, August 22 at 7pm iocated at 84 Weibel Avenue. The event is part of the 2018 Saratoga Jewish Cultural Festival and is sponsored and supported for marketing and promotion by a generous grant from the Jewish Federation of Northeast NY. The cost is $5 per person and includes a dessert reception following the performance. Reservations can be made to 518-584-2370. I want to live, not merely survive And I won’t give up this dream Of life that keeps me alive. I’ve gotta be me, I’ve gotta be me The dream that I see makes me what I am. – “I’ve Gotta’ Be Me” Music and Lyrics by Walter Marks A thrilling, enlightening and redemptive documentary that examines the lesser known aspects of the extraordinary dancer, singer, impressionist and actor Sammy Davis, Jr. Star-studded interviewees pay tribute to the legendary, charismatic, chameleon, multi-talented entertainer who blazed a trail across the shifting tides and flashpoints of 20th century America. Defying societal norms concerning interracial romance, religion and political affiliation, Davis courted controversy many times, but always with grace and honesty. This film finally restores the deserved respect that has eluded the entertainment legend for so long. SYNOPSIS Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me is the first major film documentary to examine Davis’ vast talent and his journey for identity through the civil rights movement. Dazzling audiences since he was 3 years old, Harlem-born Davis was a dancer, singer, vaudevillian, impressionist and actor of jaw-dropping artistry and unparalleled charisma. Entering showbiz at a time of racial tension and social upheaval, he found himself frequently courting controversy even while breaking barriers, caught between the bigotry of ‘50s and ‘60s white America, and an ambivalence about his own black identity. He performed alongside Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra as a member of the Rat Pack. Invited by President Nixon, Davis and was the first African-American to sleep at the White House. As a result, he was labeled by some as a sellout to his race. His conversion to Judaism in 1954, after a serious car accident, changed his persona to another persecuted minority. Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Sam Pollard captures the nimble talent and high-wire-act tension that typified the performer’s life, utilizing electrifying performance excepts, never-before-seen photographs. Sammy Davis, Jr. had the kind of career that was indisputably legendary, so vast and multi-faceted that it was dizzying in its scope and scale. And yet, his life was complex, complicated and contradictory. Davis strove to achieve the American Dream in a time of racial prejudice and shifting political territory. He was the veteran of increasingly outdated show business traditions trying to stay relevant. He frequently found himself bracketed by the bigotry of white America and the distaste of black America. As the most public black figure to embrace Judaism, he had his identity challenged quite often. Featuring new interviews with such luminaries as Billy Crystal, Norman Lear, Jerry Lewis, Whoopi Goldberg and Kim Novak, with never-before-seen photographs from Davis’ vast personal collection and excerpts from his electric performances in television, film and concert, Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me explores the life and art of a uniquely gifted entertainer whose trajectory blazed across the major flashpoints of American society from the Depression through the 1980s. And yet, Davis inspired African Americans with his showbiz successes and his alignment with Martin Luther King. He also baffled progressive admirers by campaigning for Nixon and going to Vietnam. He was a performer and a patriot, and as devoted to Judaism as he was to entertainment. For the uninitiated, who mainly think of Davis as the singer of "The Candy Man" and the butt of Rat Pack jokes, this film reveals the complexities of his career. Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me is an American Masters Pictures production, directed by Sam Pollard and produced by Sally Rosenthal and Michael Kantor. Sam Pollard is an accomplished feature film and television video editor, and documentary producer/director whose work spans almost 30 years. His first assignment as a documentary producer came in 1989 for Henry Hampton's Blackside production Eyes On The Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads. One of his episodes received an Emmy. Eight years later, he returned to Blackside as co-executive producer/producer of Hampton’s last documentary series, I'll Make Me A World: Stories of African-American Artists and Community. For the series, Pollard received a Peabody Award. Between 1990 and 2010, Pollard edited a number of Spike Lee’s films: Mo' Better Blues, Jungle Fever, Girl 6, Clockers and Bamboozled. Pollard and Lee also co-produced a number of documentary productions for the small and big screen: Spike Lee Presents Mike Tyson, a biographical sketch for HBO for which Pollard received an Emmy; Four Little Girls, a feature-length documentary about the 1963 Birmingham church bombings that was nominated for an Academy Award; and When The Levees Broke, a 4-part documentary that won numerous awards, including a Peabody and 3 Emmy Awards. Five years later, he co-produced and supervised the edit on the follow up to Levees, If God Is Willing And Da Creek Don’t Rise. Since 2012, Pollard has produced and directed Slavery By Another Name, a 90-minute documentary for PBS that was in competition at the Sundance Film Festival; August Wilson: The Ground On Which I Stand, a 90-minute documentary for American Masters; Two Trains Runnin’, a feature-length documentary that premiered at the Full Frame Film Festival; and The Talk: Race in America for PBS. Founded in 2016 by executive producer Michael Kantor, American Masters Pictures is PBS’s theatrical imprint for documentaries co-produced by American Masters, the award-winning biography series that celebrates our arts and culture.