New Netflix movie showcases barmitzvah

When Eli Golden started 8th grade at a Westchester public school last autumn, he had the ultimate answer to the standard question: “What did you do over the summer?”

While his friends and classmates recounted tales of sleepaway camp, lazy afternoons and summer school, “I was just filming a little movie, that’s all,” Golden, 14, said in a recent Zoom interview with the New York Jewish Week. And it’s true: Golden had, in fact, spent last summer in Ontario, Canada filming Netflix’s movie adaptation of 13: The Musical, which premieres on the platform on 12 August.

Golden stars in the film as Evan Goldman, a 13-year-old who is prepping for his upcoming barmitzvah and living his best life on the Upper West Side. When his parents get divorced, he is forced to move with his mother back into her childhood home — inconveniently located in the small town of Walkerton, Indiana.

“Representation in this movie for Jewish people is amazing,” Golden said. “When I was younger, I’d always watch Christmas movies. I never watched a Chanukah movie. I feel so lucky that I’m able to be the representation that when I was younger I didn’t have.”