She's A Curious Cook...

Arts: Marsha Bornstein, Director, Jewish Film Festival 

By now you've seen our June issue with all of the wonderful and inspiring ladies that have landed the honor of our Most Admired Woman awards. You can read all about their missions and how they're giving back to the community in our magazine but here's a little extra insight on what makes these women unique. 

Today's Woman: How do you select the films? 

Marsha Bornstein: "We have a film committee at the JCC, and we screen about 40 films. I look for films that have won awards to bring to the committee and for great stories that educate and inspire people. And we’ve always had a Holocaust film because if you look around the world today, everyone needs to remember what happened so it doesn’t keep recurring. The committee and I will view films from about July through October, and then we start our discussion. It’s a very honest committee, and we have mutual respect, but we will certainly fight for the film that we want. In the end, we really try to keep it varied, with different genres and films from different countries. I don’t always show the films that I might have chosen – I take myself out of the voting –  but I feel that if we’ve done our jobs, these films are going to be thought-provoking and inspire discussion." 

TW: How do you relax?

MB: "I don’t have much downtime. My friends say I like it that way because I’m always filling it up, and that’s absolutely true. Generally, I’ll read when I’m at home. I’m a big reader. I do love movies, too, of course, but I don’t watch that many at home. I like to go to the theater because at home I get interrupted too much. We also have a lake house, and we like to go there with the kids and boat and swim. We do a lot of family stuff. And I like to cook and bake – desserts are my specialty. The kids and grandkids will generally come over for dinner Friday nights. Family time is the most important thing to me. That’s my priority. And I like to spend time with my friends. If the weather’s pretty, I’m going to find something to do outside."  

TW: What are you currently struggling with?

MB: "I don’t know if it’s a struggle, but some days I feel like I’m just trying to stay afloat. I love life, and I like to live it to its fullest, so I’m busy day and night. It’s my own fault, but it makes me happy. I think that raising three kids, I just got busier and busier and learned to multitask and do things faster and faster, and I’ve retained that. I’m blessed that I have the energy – and I think I have the energy because I like to do it – but I’m gone frequently four or five nights a week. My husband likes to go out too, so if there’s something going on in town, we’ll do it. I do work out in the mornings, and that helps keep me going strong. I think as you age, that’s the best thing you can do. If you keep your mind and body moving, you can keep on going."

TW: Do you have a personal motto?

MB: "I don’t think so, unless I’m not aware of it. But my daughter would probably say, “She always tells me it freezes beautifully.” When I was working and had three children at home, I would cook a lot on the weekends and freeze it. Now I guess I keep telling my daughter to do that too."

TW: What would you do if you had unlimited time and money? 

MB: "I would travel more. My husband and I travel a lot, but we both still work, so I’m waiting for retirement for us to do some longer trips. We went to China in October, which was fascinating, and we’ve been all over Europe and to South America and Central America, and we’re currently thinking about going to Machu Picchu. But I want to go to places that take longer, such as Australia, New Zealand, and Southern Asia, and spend several weeks there exploring. Or even just take some time to drive across the country here."

TW: What do you want to learn or get better at?

MB: "There are always things I want to learn. If I see a movie, I’m always coming home and learning about the subject. I spend too much time on the computer, particularly at night, and that’s terrible for me because then I can’t get to sleep, but I’ll just be exploring and learning. I guess what I do is more like informal education, but I’ve often thought about taking classes at Bellarmine or UofL. Something in the humanities — maybe English because I love literature. I haven’t had time, and I may never have time, but that’s OK because I do a lot of reading on my own."