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The San Diego Jewish Film
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Arranged [ Film Details ]
Special Screening for “Mommy and Me” February 12 presented in partnership with JCC Shalom Baby. THE JOY F. KNAPP
CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
As Seen Through These Eyes [ Film Details ]
Guest Artist: Director Hilary Helstein Guest Speaker: Survivor Dina Babbitt invited Preceded by:Diary of Niclas Gheiler [ Film Details ] Niclas Gheiler meets Adolph Hitler when he fights alongside him during World War I and is horrified to see his rise to power in Germany. As a Jew, Gheiler is forced to flee his homeland. This short, based on the diary of the filmmaker’s grandfather, was created using footage and photos found on the internet with added text, sound effects and music. Guest Artist: Director George Aguilar (UCSD graduate)
Aviva My Love [ Film Details ]
Community Partner: UJF Women's Division
Preceded by A Kiss is a Kiss is a Kiss [ Film Details ] When eight strangers are paired into four odd couples, it’s funny enough. When they are asked to kiss each other, hilarity ensues. An Israeli female soldier and a Palestinian man and a right wing settler and a left wing Tel-Aviv resident, are among the couples.
Beaufort [ Film Details ]
Guest Speakers: Jean-Jacques Surbeck
Dear Mr. Waldman [ Film Details ]
Guest Artist: Actress Evgenia Dodina (February 16 screening) Community Partner: San Diego Jewish Genealogy Society
Encounter Point [ Film Details ]
Guest Speaker: Robi Damelin invited. Rabbi Aliza Berk Director, The Jewish Healing Center and Rabbi Michael Berk, Congregation Beth Israel (February 10 screening) Community Partner: Rabbi Aliza Berk, Director, The Healing Center, Jewish Family Service
The Eternal Light: A Historical Perspective [ Film Details ]
Community Partner: San Diego Yiddish Clubs Preceded by:Under the Roller Coaster [ Film Details ] Home is where the heart is, and for Mae Timpano, it rested under the Thunderbolt Roller Coaster on Coney Island. Director Lila Place tells Mae’s story in this short documentary that reawakens memories of a lost era.
Freedom on the Fence [ Film Details ] WORLD PREMIERE
Presented in collaboration with the Gotthelf Art Gallery
The Galilee Eskimos [ Film Details ] WEST COAST PREMIERE
Sponsored by Southwest Airlines
Preceded by Brandon [ Film Details ] A sheltered young woman collides with reality on her very first date, when she is fixed up with a geek. Brandon is the charming and funny thesis film by Rachel Israel, which she completed while studying at the Rhode Island School of Design.
Community Partner: JCC Singles & Young Adult Division, UJF of San Diego County
Preceded by A Kiss is a Kiss is a Kiss [ Film Details ] When eight strangers are paired into four odd couples, it’s funny enough. When they are asked to kiss each other, hilarity ensues. An Israeli female soldier and a Palestinian man and a right wing settler and a left wing Tel-Aviv resident, are among the couples. Guest Artist: Director Melanie Yashar
Little Heroes [ Film Details ] TEEN SCREEN NIGHTS*
Co-Presented by The Coalition of
San Diego Jewish High School Youth Groups
2008 UNDERWRITER KICK-OFF SELECTION
Guest Artist: Actress Evgenia Dodina
A Love to Hide [ Film Details ]
Co-Presented with J*Pride, Lawrence Family JCC, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS Guest Speaker: Laurie Baron, Nasatir Professor in Modern Jewish History, SDSU
Preceded by:The Elephant [ Film Details ] Unrequited love pushes a loveable, animated elephant to drastic measures in this irresistible short.
Making Trouble [ Film Details ] CLOSING NIGHT
Community Partner: Hadassah
Marti—The Passionate Eye [ Film Details ]
Guest Artist: Photographer Marti Friedlander invited
Not All Were Murderers [ Film Details ]
Orthodox Stance [ Film Details ]
Guest Speakers include Rabbi Yonah Fradkin, Director of Chabad in San Diego County and Rabbi Michoel Shapiro “The Fighting Rabbi” of Chabad La Costa - February 17 screening only Community Partner: Chabad of San Diego
Community Partner: Jewish American Chamber of Commerce, San Diego Chapter
Six Days [ Film Details ]
Panel discussion to follow
OPENING NIGHT
Guest Artists: Director Paul Weiland invited.
So Long Are You Young [ Film Details ]
Guest Speaker: Inspirational speaker Dr. Edith Eva Eger
Three Mothers [ Film Details ]
A Touch Away (Episodes 1–4) [ Film Details ]
Guest Artist: Actress Evgenia Dodina
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San Diego Center for Jewish Culture Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS 4126 Executive Drive · La Jolla, CA 92037 858.457.3030 · www.lfjcc.org |
Rochel and Nasira are both first year
teachers at a public school in Brooklyn,
New York. They share a passion for their
careers and a devotion to their faiths. Even
though Rochel is an Orthodox Jew, and
Nasira is an observant Muslim, the two
quickly form a close friendship and lean on
each other while they are both going through
the process of arranged marriages. Their
friendship is frowned on by some, but they
are undeterred. A feel good movie for all
faiths, Arranged was the recipient of the Best
Feature Film award by the Brooklyn
International Film Festival.
During the Holocaust, many artists in
concentration camps gathered scraps of
paper, charcoal and sometimes paint to
record the horrors of their daily existence.
Some of these testaments to Nazi atrocities
were hidden away and later recovered after
the war. Director Hilary Helstein has brought
together artwork, archival footage and
interviews with survivor artists—including the
late Simon Wiesenthal—for a gripping
documentary narrated by renowned poet
Maya Angelou.
Winner of six Israeli Academy Awards,
Aviva My Love is the bittersweet tale of a
working-class woman trying to realize her
dream. Aviva takes in the small details of life
and writes charming stories, which she
hopes to publish someday. But life as the
matriarch of her family is about all she can
handle, and Aviva cares for others at the
expense of herself. When a famous author
takes an interest in her work, Aviva jumps at
the chance to be mentored, but is this the
path to make her dreams come true?
Israel is preparing to withdraw from Lebanon.
It is the early 1960s in Israel, and
ten-year-old Hilik wants only to make his
Holocaust survivor parents happy. When
Hilik’s father, Moishe (Schindler’s List Rami
Heuberger), thinks that his son from his first
marriage miraculously survived and is now
advisor to President Kennedy, Hilik attempts
to make his father’s dream come true. The
family’s stability is threatened when Moishe
comes to terms with the fate of his family
during the Holocaust. Nominated for three
Israeli Academy Awards, Dear Mr. Waldman
is a compelling coming-of-age story that
teaches about the healing power of love.
Bereaved families, both Israeli and
Palestinian, come together to heal and to
spread their grassroots movement for peace
and nonviolence. These loved ones of those
who have died in the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict work together to overcome their
hatred and grief to find a peaceful solution.
A powerful documentary by first-time
filmmakers, Encounter Point has won
numerous awards, including recognition from
the Bahamas International Film Festival,
Barcelona Docupolis, the Bend Film Festival
and the San Francisco International
Film Festival.
The Eternal Light radio and television series
ran on NBC from the 1940’s to the 1980’s
featuring Jewish artists, performers, authors
and great thinkers of the time. This Emmy
Award winning documentary features original
footage from many of these memorable
episodes. Narrated by Tony Award winning
actress Marian Seldes, The Eternal Light
includes interviews with Elie Wiesel,
Theodore Bikel, Gene Wilder and Alan Arkin,
among many others. Recipient of the 2007
Emmy for Religious Programming.
As World War II drew to a close, fences were
constructed around the rubble that was once
Warsaw and other major cities in Poland.
These empty, chain-link tableaux were
quickly covered in posters by artists who
desperately needed to speak out through
their art after years of suppression. The
tradition took hold and blossomed through
the Cold War. Freedom on the Fence
documents the history of poster art in Poland
with rich images of this little-known art form.
The film is followed by a discussion with the
filmmaker and panel, a luncheon and tours
of the Jewish/Polish Posters exhibit in the
Gotthelf Art Gallery.
The aged founders of a kibbutz in the hills of
Galilee in Israel have woken up to find that
they have been abandoned. Old and infirm,
they are left to fend for themselves after their
children sell the indebted kibbutz to the bank.
At first, the old-timers wallow in self-pity, but
they quickly remember their pioneer spirit and
take a stand to save the kibbutz, refusing to
act like old Eskimos who go off to die in the
snow. This poignant comedy is guaranteed
to make anyone feel young at heart.
Various Tel Aviv urbanites experience life
altering moments, and these strangers’ lives
zig-zag around each other until they finally
intersect. Keren, a bride, loses her chance
for a dream Caribbean honeymoon when she
breaks her leg. Batya, a catering waitress at
Keren’s wedding, takes in a mysterious little
girl. Joy, a wedding guest, is dealing with
guilt and grief over leaving her son behind in
her native Philippines. Directors Shira Geffen
and Etgar Keret employ magical surrealism
to show joy in the unexpected on everyday
life. Jellyfish was the recipient of the
prestigious Camera d’Or for Best First
Feature at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
Four children embark on an adventure to
rescue two teens who have had an accident.
Erez feels that he has to prove himself in the
wake of his father’s death, Alicia and her
special needs brother try to fit in as
immigrants to Israel and Lior is a troubled
youth from a Kibbutz. As their journey
progresses, the four become good friends
and learn life lessons.
Chen is caught between his Russian-born
mother and Israeli father when he discovers
a young girl and ballroom dancing. The
dance teacher, a former champion (Evgenia
Dodina) encourages him to join. Chen quickly
learns to love to dance, but he hides his new
passion from his macho father. But armed
with a tango, waltz and cha-cha, Chen tries
to overcome family problems and to win over
the dance partner of his dreams. Love and
Dance is the uplifting story that bridges the
cultural divide through young love and the
love of dance.
Sara is forced into hiding after witnessing
the murder of her parents and sister by the
Nazis in occupied Paris. She finds shelter
with her childhood friend Jean and his lover
Philippe. However, Sara’s new-found security
is threatened by Jean’s meddling brother,
and soon Jean and his lover must also fear
from the Nazis as their affair comes to light.
A Love to Hide is a stirring love story set
against the backdrop of the Holocaust
Can we talk? Making Trouble is a documentary tribute
to Jewish American comedians Molly Picon, Fanny Brice,
Sophie Tucker, Joan Rivers, Wendy Wasserstein and Gilda
Radner. These legendary performers challenged notions of
what it means to be Jewish, funny and female. Produced
by the Jewish Women’s Archive, Making Trouble includes
performances, interviews, archival footage and the latest
generation of women comics—Judy Gold, Cory Kahaney,
Jackie Hoffman and Jessica Kirson—who lend their
commentary about the revered Jewish women comedians
while lunching at Katz’s deli in New York. A must see for
anyone who likes to laugh. Recipient of Special Mention
at 2007 Jerusalem Film Festival.
Marti Friedlander, New Zealand’s most
famous photographer, has not forgotten her
past. Friedlander recounts her life—
beginning with growing up in a Jewish
orphanage in England—and shares her
artwork in this striking documentary. After
getting her start in photography in Bohemian
London during the 1950s, Friedlander
followed her husband to New Zealand, which
was hardly the center for Jewish culture at
the time. Archival footage traces 40 years of
social change that Friedlander has captured
in black-and-white photos. Full of life and
enthusiasm, Friedlander has never missed a
moment to interact with her subjects, and
this comes through in her work and the film.
Michael and his mother struggle to evade
the Nazis and survive in Germany throughout
the war. The two go from one hiding place to
another, relying on the kindness of others to
keep their Jewish identities secret. Michael
and his mother encounter good samaritans,
who range from eccentric to ideological to
opportunistic. Throughout their journey,
Michael tries to hang onto his childhood, as
it quickly slips away. Not All Were Murderers
is based on the true life story of German
actor Michael Degen (Leo and Claire).
In this corner. . . undefeated, 24-year old
Brooklyn, New York welter-weight Dmitriy
Salita, a Ukrainian Jewish immigrant boxer
whose relentless body punches in the ring
echo his relentless observance to Jewish
law. Cameras follow him through his
grueling training, boxing matches and the
challenges he faces as an Orthodox Jewish
boxer. In the words of his trainer Jimmy
O’Pharrow: “Kid looks Russian, prays
Jewish and fights black.” A story in the
spirit of Rocky with more than a touch of
Yiddishkeit, this documentary is sure to
get audiences cheering.
Life is not going well for Malka, Yafit and
Irena. Malka’s husband has been laid off
while she leads her factory’s workers against
the management. Yafit falls in love with a
security guard, who is plotting to rob the
bank where she works and makes her an
unwitting accomplice. Irena suffers an
abusive husband, who is also plotting to rob
the bank. The three women take control and
try to outwit the robbers, grab the money
and lead new lives in this screwball romp. 
It is June 1967, and Egyptian President /
Gamal Abdel Nasser’s dream of Pan-Arabism
provokes a war that reshapes the Mideast
and focuses the world on the previously
unknown West Bank. In Six Days, Israel
smashes the Arab armies, and it is the film’s
thesis that the victory’s repercussions are still
being felt today, both politically and socially.
Stunning archival footage, including an
intimate look at Egyptian President Nasser
before the war, along with first-hand
accounts, make this a comprehensive
documentary on the Six Day War with a
fresh perspective.
Bernie Rubens has planned every detail of his Bar Mitzvah.
Bernie hopes that this will be the biggest day of his life, and
he will finally be the center of attention in his eccentric family.
However, the fates conspire against him. His Bar Mitzvah is
jeopardized as his family experiences one misadventure after
another, and England threatens to make it all the way to the
1966 World Cup Final . . . on Bernie’s Big Day. Would anyone
show up for Bernie’s party? Helena Bonham Carter (A Room
with a View, Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix) and
Stephen Rea (The Crying Game, V for Vendetta) join a
star-studded cast in this quirky comedy.
A Southern Jewish businessman takes
pen to paper and writes: “Youth is not a
time of life—it is a state of mind.” It is the
beginning of his poem, “Youth,” which makes
its way around the world and winds up on
the wall of General Douglas MacArthur’s
office in postwar Japan. “Youth” not only
inspires the General, but it is soon adopted
by the Japanese people. First-time filmmaker
Judith Schaefer traces the history of this
influential poem and its author in an
inspiring documentary.
Nominated for nine Israeli Academy Awards,
this epic tale traces the lives and loves of
Jewish triplets born in Egypt in 1942. Sisters
Rose (legendary actress Gila Almagor), Flora
and Yasmin move to Israel, where personal
dramas consume them. Throughout the film,
the three sisters take turns visiting Rose’s
daughter Rucha to videotape their memories.
Soon, secrets are revealed and old ghosts
are dug up in an effort to reconcile and
forgive. Lush cinematography and the
hypnotic vocal talents of Miri Mesika come
together to make this a feast for the senses.
Forbidden love blossoms in the Orthodox
neighborhood of Bnei Brak in Tel Aviv, when
Zorik, a young, secular Russian immigrant,
and his family move in next door to Rochale
and her Haredi family. Rochale is destined
for an arranged marriage, but she cannot
ignore the sparks that fly when Zorik is near.
A Touch Away, an eight-part miniseries,
broke rating records in Israel when it was
broadcast in 2007. Festival goers are treated
to the first four episodes in a special preview.
You will beg for more! (The series, in its
entirety, will be screened as a special event
March 3 and 6 at the JCC.)