By Jessica Hanewinckel
It?s that time again?time to settle into your seat, grab some popcorn and prepare to be transported into the world of Jewish film. The 23rd annual San Diego Jewish Film Festival may have just come on your radar recently, but the people at the Lawrence Family JCC and the Center for Jewish Culture have been working long and hard to make this festival another success.
Over the coarse of the past year or so, the dozen members of the festival?s film selection committee have spent countless days watching films (400 or so) to winnow down the pool to just under 50, which you?ll be able to view this month.
Many factors come into play when selecting which films make the cut, though film festival producer Sandra Krause and festival chair Saundra Saperstein say they strive for a selection that appeals to a broad section of patrons. This year, it just so happens that many of the festival selections tell the stories of some of the most influential people in the visual arts, performing arts and entertainment industries.
?It?s an effort to balance the festival,? Saperstein says. ?We have people who are very interested in Jewish history and so on, but we have a big audience both within the Jewish community and without who are interested in broader topics, so this is an opportunity, since we have very good films that deal with people in the arts, to really make it very eclectic and really have broad appeal.?
Though many of the arts-related films in this year?s festival tell the stories of little-known Jewish artists, there are a few big names you?ll recognize immediately: ?Bert Stern: Original Madman,? Joe Papp in Five Acts,? ?Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis,? ?Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir,?? ?Show Stopper: The Theatrical Life of Garth Drabinsky,? ?The Art of Speigelman,? and ?Under African Skies? (about the making of Paul Simon?s ?Graceland,? all feature prominent characters in the arts and entertainment world. Other films about music, photography, film and stage entertainment further broaden the arts category.
This year is certainly a celebration of everything that is film, entertainment, live theater, art and photography, but if those don?t suit your tastes, other options abound as well. ?Blank Bullet? offers an edge-of-your-seat experience for fans of espionage thrillers. ?Melting Away? explores LGBTQ issues from a very different perspective ? that of a transgendered son, now daughter, disowned by her family but returning in secret as a nurse to care for her dying father. ?Dorfman,? starring Sarah Rue, is a light coming of age romance sure to delight moviegoers. ?Battle for Brooklyn? sheds light on an issue not commonly known outside of New York city limits: many long-time residents were forced to vacate their homes under eminent domain in the past few years so that the Barclays Center could be built to house the Brooklyn Nets basketball team. ?Hitler?s Children? is a Holocaust film of a different stripe. It examines the lives of the descendants of those who became infamous for their dealings with the Nazi party and their murders of Jews.
In addition to a new crop of films, the film festival is introducing several fresh elements Krause and Saperstein say they hope will draw new patrons and create a new, more exciting atmosphere around screenings:
?
? A new venue. Carlsbad?s Dove Library will hold several ticketed film screenings as well as a free community reception and free screening of ?Under African Skies.? One of the festival?s screenings will also be part of the Dove?s own film series.
? Live music will entertain moviegoers outside of the venues at both opening and closing nights, an idea Krause brought back with her from the Cinema South Film Festival in the Negev, which she attended last June on behalf of the San Diego Jewish Film Festival and the Jewish Federation of San Diego County.
? A Day in the Negev will feature film shorts that depict daily life in the Negev and that were created by students at Sapir College near Sderot. A student and professor from that program will speak at the event and to various groups over the course of a week in an effort to strengthen connections between San Diego and Sha?ar HaNegev, its partner city in Israel.
?It?s a way to bring the community together to let them know what life is like over there,? Krause says. ?With everything going on in the last few months, it?s certainly a time that everybody?s a little nervous, and I think [the audience will] find it very interesting to see what the perspective is from someone who actually lives there. We?re trying to connect the two communities through cinema.?
? A centerpiece film, which will be offered one day only in two separate screenings. This year?s will be ?Stories From an Undeclared War,? a documentary that tells the true story of inspirational Long Beach, Calif., teacher Erin Gruwell and her high school students. You might recognize the story from the 2007 feature film, ?Freedom Writers,? starring Hilary Swank. Gruwell and a few of her former students from that famous class will speak at both screenings, one of which is for teens only and is free to attend.
? An ?I Love New York? genre will be added to the usual mix of history, politics, comedy, etc. Like the arts theme, a New York theme also presented itself in many of the films in this year?s festival.
?
For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.sdcjc.org/sdjff/ or call the Box Office at (858) 362-1348. For a complete calendar of screenings, http://sdjewishjournal.com/site/4759/film-fest-schedule/.
?
And now, take a sneak peek at some of the films you can view this month?
?
http://sdjewishjournal.com/site/4754/film-fest-featured-films/
Source: http://sdjewishjournal.com/site/4720/film-fest-lights-camera-action/
jodie foster amber alert seahawks natalie wood patriots Sandy Hook Hoax 2014 Corvette
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন