Mendy Shoots Scenes for ‘A Modest Suggestion’

ELDERSBURG — Actor Mendy Pellin sat patiently while crew members used yellow rope to tie his wiry arms to the back of a chair.

Pellin, a Hasidic Jew with a straggly beard, remained in the most compromising of positions for an hour until his movie director got all the takes he desired.

Once freed from the rope, Pellin smiled broadly.

Even for physically uncomfortable scenes, Pellin remained enthusiastic while on the set of “A Modest Suggestion,” a full-length movie being filmed at Waganer Digital Studios in Eldersburg through next week.

Pellin’s Jewish character is kidnapped by four nameless businessmen who must decide whether to kill him. The comedy attempts to poke fun of the ridiculous ideals behind anti-Semitism, director Israel Orange said.

“I want to change people’s attitudes about anti-Semitism and bigotry in general,” said Orange, who is also Jewish. “The way people react now to anti-Semitism is they get upset at the action when they should be getting upset at the whole idea.”

Executive producer Mark Jaffee grew up in South Africa and attended a school where he was the only Jew. He said he got mocked and ridiculed by his classmates. He said he hopes the humorous film will make the audience look at anti-Semitism in a completely different way.

Actor Peter Boyer, who plays one of the businessmen responsible for kidnapping the Hasidic Jew, said nobody would be offended if they looked past the anti-Semitic central message and simply came to realize the satirical nature of what is taking place in the film.

“Somebody once told me if you don’t catch any flack, you’re not doing something significant,” said Pellin, who hosts Web casts at www.chabadtube.com that mimic the presentation style of Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show.”

Pellin, a New York native, is the lone actor in the movie that does not hail from the Baltimore area. The rest of the cast features veteran actors, many of whom are regulars in the regional theater scene. Stunt coordinator and Carroll County native Jeff Wilhelm also took part in Friday’s filming.

Filming has already been completed at an Owings Mills bagel shop and a Pikesville synagogue. The remainder of the flick will be filmed at the Eldersburg set, less than a mile away from department and grocery stores off Md. 32 in Eldersburg.

Once filming is complete, producers will take two weeks to complete the post-production process. Jaffee said he plans on submitting the low-budget movie for consideration to the Berlin International Film Festival. Movie makers have also started a Facebook page to generate interest in the production.

“It’s going to be sad when we stop filming,” Jaffee said, “because we’ve all really become a family.”