03/16/2026
Film Series: Contemporary Jewish Experiences
Colleyville (dir. Dani Menkin, 2024)
Free 48-hour streaming, Sunday, March 22nd through Monday, March 23rd
Talk back with director Dani Menkin and Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker
March 26th at 6pm EDT on Zoom
rsvp: [email protected]
In the safe haven of Colleyville, Texas, on January 15, 2022, Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker and three others find themselves hostages when a stranger disrupts a typical Saturday morning at Congregation Beth Israel Synagogue. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Dani Menkin (On the Map, Picture of His Life) ,this gripping real-life drama unfolds over an eleven-hour standoff, testing their resilience and courage in unimaginable ways. This international event captured the world's attention live on TV and will feature never-before-seen footage from those harrowing 11 hours, providing a unique perspective on the ordeal. RT 80 Min’. Hey Jude Productions, 2024.
Currently living in Los Angeles, California, Dani Menkin is the twice Israeli-Academy-Award-Winning filmmaker of 39 Pounds of Love and Is That You? 39 Pounds of Love was sold to HBO Documentary Films and shortlisted for the American Oscar Awards. Menkin’s award-winning film Dolphin Boy (co-directed with Yonatan Nir) was sold to over twenty countries around the globe and was bought by Walt Disney Pictures for adaptation. His documentary On the Map is being distributed by Lionsgate in North America. Menkin is a speaker and film juror at International Festivals around the world, as well as a film professor in universities in the U.S.
Charlie Cytron-Walker became the Rabbi at Temple Emanuel in Winston-Salem, NC on July 1, 2022. Rabbi Charlie arrives at Temple Emanuel with a history of working to bring a sense of spirituality, compassion, and learning into the lives of the community. He loves finding a connection with people of every age and strives to welcome all who enter the congregation, from interfaith families to LGBTQ+ individuals and families to those seeking to find a spiritual home in Judaism, along with all others. He previously served at Congregation Beth Israel (CBI) in Colleyville, TX since 2006. He was CBI’s first full-time Rabbi. He developed positive relationships with local school districts and helped organized interfaith gatherings including numerous vigils, walks, and relationship building events. He is a past President of the Southwest Association of Reform Rabbis and served on the steering committee of Peace Together. In 2022, he was honored as a Hero Against Hate by the Texoma Anti-Defamation League and recently served as a Special Advisor to the ADL. On January 15, 2022, Rabbi Charlie and three CBI congregants were held hostage by a gunman in the CBI sanctuary. After an eleven-hour standoff, all the hostages were able to escape when Rabbi Charlie threw a chair at the gunman, distracting him long enough for everyone to get out of the building. Since then, he has spoken out on the importance of security training for religious communities, and especially small congregations, as well as the need to build stronger bridges between faith communities, especially on a local level. He has spoken at the White House, testified before U.S. Senate and House Committees, has been published in news sources including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and has been interviewed and/or profiled for outlets from CNN to CBS.
Baruch College
Hillel at Baruch
Baruch College Weissman School of Arts and Sciences
The Center for Jewish Studies at the Graduate Center, CUNY
