Jewish Film Festival 2021 Featured Films (prior to Mar 2021)

YULE AT THE SHUL SPECIAL MOVIE

Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles – This confection of a movie is sponsored by Jody Shapiro in celebration of her 80th birthday. It is about an amazing event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York celebrating their exhibit about Visitors to Versailles. As part the festivities, Ottolenghi, a renown Israeli chef, was invited to search out the most innovative pastry chefs in the world to design special cakes for the opening celebration of the event. 2020 English, 76 min.

Viewing Window: December 23-31; Discussion: December 25, noon with Erica Walsh

VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL MOVIE

Saul and Ruby’s Holocaust Band – The band’s music are an integral part of the heartwarming story of two nonagenarians who live to entertain their peers. 81 minutes.

Viewing Window: February 12-14; Discussion Guests Saul Dreier and Ruben Sosnowicz, February, 14th, 4:00 p.m.

APRIL 2021 FESTIVAL FEATURE FILMS

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit — Based on a young adult semi-autobiographical novel by Judith Kerr, the early days of Hitler’s rise to power causes a well-respected German-Jewish family to flee Berlin and find sanctuary in Switzerland. This is an appropriate movie for Ages 10 and up and a great start to understanding what it must be like to be a refugee fleeing from danger. German with subtitles. 119 minutes

Viewing window: April 4-6; Discussion, 7 PM, April 6th.

A Cantor’s Head – This eye-opening documentary tells the tale of talented and much loved Cantor Jack Mendelson who suddenly finds himself at odds with his longtime New Jersey congregation. Woven into the drama are precious musical moments. 86 minutes.

Viewing Window: April 8-10; Discussion featuring Cantor Jack Mendelson, 4 PM, April 10th

THE OTHER STORY – Anat is a rebellious young woman who wants to flee the chaos of secular hedonism for the disciplined comforts of faith. Sari is a young woman who wants to leave behind her oppressive religious upbringing for sexual and spiritual freedom. When Anat and Aari cross paths in Jerusalem, it soon changes both of their lives in startling and unexpected ways. 2018. 1:52 hr, Hebrew w/English subtitles

Viewing Window April 11-13; Discussion Guest Rabbi Mike Lotker (invited), April 13, 7 p.m.

Mossad – This is this is the Israeli answer to Airplane. It is a comedy spy film chock full of good and bad jokes (some are real groaners.). Who knew that defending Israel against the bad guys could be so much fun?

Viewing Window: April 15-17; Discussion 7 PM, April 17th.

Broken Mirrors – Shira Haas, extraordinary star of the TV series, Orthodox, plays an Israeli teenager who confront her military father after learning about a secret from the past. 104 minutes 2020 Hebrew/English subtitles.

Viewing Window: April 17-19; Discussion 7 PM, April 19th

Shared Legacies: The African American Jewish Civil Rights Alliance – Beginning in the early 20th Century, an alliance evolved in response to shared experiences of bigotry and discrimination. The film chronicles its history using archival material and interviews with Susannah Heschel, daughter of Rabbi Abraham Heschel, members of the King Family, and Harry Belafonte. 97 minutes.

Viewing Window: April 20-22; Discussion Guests Mr. Chris Harrison, Rabbi Lisa Hochberg-Miller, and Rev. Benjamin Thomas, Jr., April 22, 7:00 – 8:30 PM

THOSE WHO REMAINED – A lyrical story of the healing power of love in the midst of conflict, loss, and trauma. Those Who Remained reveals the healing rocess of Holocaust survivors through the eyes of a young girl in post-Wold War II Hungary. 2019 1:28 hr Hungarian w/English subtitles

Viewing Window: April 23-25; Discussion Guest Ron Bale, April 25