Go Away With … Anka Muhlstein

Born in Paris, New York-based author Anka Muhlstein has written biographies of James Mayer de Rothschild, Robert Chevalier de la Salle and Queen Victoria. Winner of the Academie Francaise and the Goncourt Prize for Biography, she and her husband, Louis Begley, co-authored “Venice for Lovers.” In her latest book — “The Pen and the Brush: How Passion for Art Shaped Nineteenth-Century French Novels” (Other Press, $18.95) — Muhlstein take readers into the world of an elite artistic community that included Proust, Cezanne and Balzac.

Israeli Film Festival a traveling showcase

More than two decades ago, an Israeli rock star affectionately known to his fans as Poogy decided to create his own film festival. An avid lover of the arts and an actor himself, Poogy invested $35,000 of his own money into the venture and formed a fest designed to showcase the work of Israeli filmmakers. He was unsure of how film fans would react to his project, but he was certain that it was something he had to try.