Audience Awards For
San Diego Jewish Film Festival Announced
SAN DIEGO – The winner of the “Audience Award for Best Feature Film” at the 17 th Annual San Diego Jewish Film Festival, was the Brazilian film Olga, a dramatic tale based on the true story of Olga Benario, a brilliant, committed political activist who coordinated Communist activities in the USSR, France and Britain before escaping to Rio de Janeiro as the wife of Brazilian Communist leader Luis Carlos Prestes, only to be deported to Germany by the Gestapo. Olga was directed by Jayme Monjardin and was also the winner of Cinema Brazil’s Grand Prize in Art Direction, Costume Design, and Makeup.
The “Audience Award for Best Documentary” went to Knowledge is the Beginning, which follows the ethnically diverse members of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and their conductor, Daniel Barenboim, through workshops and a European tour.
The winner of the “Audience Award for Best Short Subject Film” was Beautiful Music, a remarkable tale of pianist and composer Devorah Schramm, who taught piano to a 9-year-old blind and severely autistic Palestinian girl. This testament to the human spirit offers hope for the ability of individuals to reach across cultural barriers.
Ballots were cast by Film Festival ticket holders to name this year’s favorites. Audiences rated the films on a scale of 1 (Excellent) to 5 (Did Not Like). The scores for each film were tallied and the winners based on the lowest average point total.
Second and third in the “Audience Award for Best Feature Film” category were Out of Sight and WhiteBalance respectively. In the “Audience Award for Best Documentary” category, The Rape of Europa and Yiddish Theatre: A Love Story tied for second, with The World Was Ours and Nobody’s Business tied for third. Distant Memory was second in the “Audience Award for Best Short Subject” category, with Pesya’s Necklace third.
“This year’s Film Festival featured a number of exceptionally moving films,” said Film Festival Producer Sandra Lynn Kraus. “I received many expressions of appreciation from people who were touched and grateful to have been able to see outstanding films not available to the general public.”
The 17 th Annual San Diego Jewish Film Festival featured nearly 50 films, more than any previous Film Festival. Among the highlights were the California premiere of the feature film Brother’s Shadow and a “Films and Forum” afternoon with innovative filmmaker Alan Berliner, which concluded with a conversation moderated by KPBS Film Critic Beth Accomando. Film Festival guest artists included actor Scott Cohen (Kissing Jessica Stein, “Gilmore Girls,” “NYPD Blue,” “Law & Order”), Academy Award-winning director Freida Lee Mock, directors Rex Bloomstein, Todd Yellin, Bonni Cohen, Nicole Newnham, Dan Katzir, John Mounier, and young San Diego filmmaker Melissa Bloom.
The affiliated Not Quite Kosher Film Festival at San Diego State University screened the Academy Award-nominated short subject film West Bank Story (which also won The Joyce Forum Award at last year’s San Diego Jewish Film Festival).
The San Diego Jewish Film Festival is the largest international film festival in San Diego and one of the most popular Jewish film festivals in the country. The total line-up of films included 48 feature, documentary, and short-subject films from 8 countries. They were showcased in four local San Diego theatres during the 11-day festival, February 8-18, 2007. The San Diego Jewish Film Festival is a program of the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS.
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About the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture
The San Diego Center for Jewish Culture is the largest Jewish institution in San Diego dedicated solely to presenting high quality, nationally recognized programs which are unique to San Diego County . The mission of the SDCJC is to expand and enrich cultural life in San Diego by presenting the finest in Jewish artistic expression, encouraging the preservation of Jewish culture and heritage, and nurturing new creativity in the arts. A core belief of the SDCJC is to promote respect for diverse cultures and build community tolerance.
The SDCJC offers a wide variety of multi-disciplinary artistic programs that explore cultural identities and perspectives, promote cross cultural understanding, and highlight human themes of family, tolerance, compassion, and hope. These programs, including the San Diego Jewish Film Festival, the San Diego Jewish Book Fair, New Jewish Plays Project, the Celebrating Jewish Music Concert Series, a Holocaust Education Program, and the J*Company Youth Theatre, foster ideas of cultural appreciation and respect. Its facilities feature a 500-seat theatre, a Judaica library, an art gallery, and a community Holocaust Memorial Garden . Approximately 40,000 tickets are sold or provided annually to residents, visitors, and students for San Diego Center for Jewish Culture events.
About the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS
The mission of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS is to provide social, cultural, educational, and recreational programs to individuals and families of all ages, religions, races, and financial, physical and mental abilities. Likewise, the JCC provides equal opportunity employment to individuals of all religions and backgrounds. The JCC welcomes San Diego ’s diverse Jewish community and the community at large. The Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS is located at 4126 Executive Drive in La Jolla . |
