‘a really cool
‘a really cool connection’ Producing a prodigy’s PBS special by Vanessa Denha Garmo When Anmar Sarafa saw Ethan Bortnick perform in 2008 at the Townsend Hotel he never thought he would be the executive producer of his PBS special, but that’s exactly what happened less than five years later. “I always viewed Ethan not only as an extraordinary talent but someone with an extraordinary heart,” said Sarafa. “His desires to use his talent to help others are amazing. He has raised millions of dollars for various charities around the country.” Sarafa was instrumental in arranging for Ethan to perform in Royal Oak to raise money for the Adopt- A-Refugee program about two years ago. Ethan’s parents, Gene and Hannah, are both Jewish immigrants from the Ukraine. Gene can relate to the Iraqi refugees having been a refugee himself when he was a young boy. His family depended on support from others while they worked to support themselves. “It is a really cool connection,” noted Sarafa. “He is Jewish and I am Chaldean and we have so many similarities. We were working to help others through Ethan’s talents.” When it was time to work a joint project together, Gene Bortnick knew it was a natural fit. “It was the most incredible experience working with Anmar,” said Gene Bortnick. “His family values are important just as they are in the Jewish community. Family is the most important thing. When we talked about going into business together on this project it was a no-brainer for me. I knew his values matched our values. As a result this has been the most incredible and amazing project I have ever worked on. I hope to expand and work with Anmar more in the future. Jewish families and Chaldeans are so similar. We are both so close to our families. We were refugees and so many Chaldeans today are refugees. We could relate to each other. Coming together in business for me with Anmar was the easiest thing.” Meanwhile, his son Ethan is a 12-year-old musical sensation and has headlined more than 100 shows across the globe, drawing rave reviews from audiences. Although a Florida native, Ethan has found roots in Michigan. “He has called Detroit his second home,” said Sarafa. “He has a huge fan base here. His career has really taken off here. His road somehow comes back to Detroit.” Beyond his amazing talent as a musician, Ethan has made a name for himself as one of the world’s youngest philanthropists. Through his appearances at benefits and charity galas, he has helped raise more than million for non-profits around the world. Ethan has joined some of music’s biggest names including Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Black Eyed Peas, Justin Bieber and Tony Bennett as the youngest of the allstar lineup that recorded “We Are The World 25 For Haiti.” After their first meeting, Sarafa quickly became an informal advisor to Gene Bortnick. Over the years, the Bortnicks have been approached by several people to work on various projects including films and concerts and they shared the ideas with Sarafa for his input. When Ethan was filming the movie “Anything Is Possible” in Ecorse, Gene approached Sarafa about producing a project with them. As a result of the film, Ethan is now known as the first person in the history of Hollywood to write the songs and score the music in a movie he starred in. The movie was released in September on DVD. Ethan is also the only performer to get the rights from the Jackson es- Anmar Sarafa (right) with Gene and Ethan Bortnick. 28 CHALDEAN NEWS NOVEMBER 2013
tate to record the song “We are the World” to be released on CD and DVD worldwide, which is part of the upcoming PBS special. It was also the first time that Gene recruited an executive producer. “First and foremost, Ethan is Gene’s son. He is protective of him,” noted Sarafa. “It was not easy for Gene to approach me because he had been doing all of this on his own for so long. We have become close like brothers. His family is like my family. His kids call my dad Karim Baba.” As an investment manager, Sarafa evaluated the prospect from a business perspective and agreed to work with Ethan if the project made financial sense. They had looked at different projects including a film but the film model was more of a challenge and they decided to produce a PBS special that Gene had imagined. “We partnered with the agreement that Gene would stop worrying about financing — that I would take care of it — and he can focus on the creative, which he never had an opportunity to do prior,” said Sarafa. “We started with a handshake and went from there.” During the process, Gene was contacted by Simon Cowell’s “America’s Got Talent” for Ethan to audition and perform. He ran the idea by Sarafa and both agreed to do the show with the agreement NBC would not interfere with the PBS special. However, when Ethan was chosen for the show NBC reneged on their original agreement and wanted full control over Ethan’s work. NBC did not want Ethan to do the PBS special. Even though Sarafa had already made a significant investment in the show, he agreed to pass on it if Gene really wanted Ethan to do “America’s Got Talent.” “Gene told NBC no way,” said Sarafa. “It really shows Gene and Ethan’s commitment to the PBS special.” During every one of Ethan’s shows, he takes questions from the audience and is always asked what has been his favorite performance. Up until having filmed the PBS special, he would always answer, “all of them.” However, last month during a concert in New York he said the most fun he has had was doing the PBS special. “He said it was so challenging but so fun,” said Sarafa. “His emotion and connection to the audience was so obvious.” “Ethan is so grounded and so humble,” said Sarafa. “It is such a testament to his family. They are such wonderful people. His dad is so talented. He brought the team together, the musical director, the band, the orchestra – it was amazing to see him work. It such a testament to his talent.” Gene drafted a celebrity stellar team. Julia Knowles, who has directed several television series, documentaries and music shows, including MTV Music Awards and “Eric Clapton Live in Concert,” was the film director for Ethan’s PBS special. Ethan’s music director is best-known as the music director for Billy Joel — David Rosenthal. During the PBS show, Grammy Nominated Jazz Vocalist Jane Monheit performs with Ethan and so does Glee star Damian McGinty. The project was a significant learning curve for Sarafa. “As an investment manager, I was able to evaluate the project from an investment perspective but I was not able to evaluate it from a creative perspective,” he said. “That is where Gene and I partnered well. He handled the creative end and he is so good at it.” When asked why ventured into such a project, Sarafa said it was much more than just an investment. “I wanted to say I enjoyed the journey,” he said. “I didn’t want to say I did this great project for my ego. I wanted to enjoy the journey and be part of the team and the process. From the creative side, I was along for the ride.” Bortnick learned from Sarafa as much as Sarafa learned for Bortnick. “Gene was able to learn about how to budget properly. Gene was able to get this amazing talent because they believe in Ethan – this 12 year old – and I this project.” “I agreed to be the executive producer because of Gene. I knew he was not going to sleep until this show was perfect. It was the first time he had the opportunity to be free to focus on the creativity.” The show was filmed on July 11 and will air on PBS stations across the country. Ethan will also perform at Campus Martius for the Christmas Lighting Show. He will be on tour with a couple of stops planned for Detroit in 2014. “This is so different from anything else we have done,” said Gene. “Everything we have done up to this point has been put on stage from our knowledge, song selection to production, and what’s in our heart. It has been an incredible project and most important project in Ethan’s career thus far.” “I went into this with my eyes wide open,” said Sarafa. “I thought my return would be okay. I was more concerned in understanding the risk factors and not losing money. In retrospect, I think we made a good informed decision but I would never have imagined how great this show would have turned out. 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