Festival Archives - 2010

Summary:
A SPECIAL FUNDRAISING SCREENING FOR THE 2011 FILM FESTIVAL AND FOR THE JCC FESTIVAL HA'RIKUD: ANITA Anita lives with her devoted mother above the shop her late father buit in a commercial district of Buenos Aires. Into their sweetly sedate domestic life the outside world intrudes with unexpected fury with the bombing of the Jewish Agency Offices. As Anita wanders the city lost,... more details »

Genre: Narrative
Run time: 105 min.

Summary:
Based on the life of Gretel Bergmann, a German-Jewish high jumper. With Hitler in power and the 1936 Summer Olympics scheduled for Berlin, the United States threatens to boycott the Berlin Olympics if there are no Jews on the German team. Forced to join the Germans, Gretel Bergmann is now an Olympian. Hitler has his token Jewish athlete but how can he guarantee she won't win a medal? With... more details »

Genre: Narrative
Run time: 100 minutes

Summary:
A New York couple, together for four years and battling codependency, decide to intricately strategize their own break up. Based on an actual experiment devised by director/actor Daryl Wein and writer/actress Zoe Lister-Jones, the film loosely interprets a year in their lives exploring alternatives to monogamy and the madness that ensues. An uncensored look at young love, lust and the pangs of... more details »

Genre: Narrative
Run time: 88 minutes

Summary:
 Eli is a feisty 12 year old redhead with a penchant for pranks. His world of playful mischief is disrupted when his father, the Hertzelia city architect, is being investigated for taking bribes. The scandal infiltrates the local papers as well as the school grounds and Eli finds himself in a precarious position, trapped between loyalty and disillusionment, innocence and maturity. Reluctant... more details »

Genre: Narrative
Run time: 91 minutes

Summary:
 Based on his own life, Director Jean-Jacques Zilbermann, scripted this intelligent, moving and very funny story of Simon Eskenazy, a divorced Jewish Klezmer clarinet player. Trying to finish his new recording, Simon's hypochondriac mother and the ex-wife he has not seen in 10 years  (accompanied by the 10 year old son he never knew he had) all arrive on his doorstep. But... The film... more details »

Genre: Narrative
Run time: 100 minutes

Summary:
 “Jubanos: The Jews of Cuba”, tells the humbling story of the 1500 Jews who remained in the country despite the difficulties. When the Cuban Revolution hit in 1961, religion was banned, leaving the Cuban Jewish Community struggling to sustain itself for nearly three decades and getting help along the way from a friend thousands of miles away. With exclusive interviews from... more details »

Genre: Documentary
Run time: 43 minutes

Summary:
 "My Father Joe" is a story of a child's shocking first realization of a parent's fallibility. After escaping Nazi-occupied France with his family, 10-yr. old Jacov finds his small, predictable world of Montreal's St. Laurent Street shattered when his father's life is painfully exposed. Based on a short story by Jack Englehart. The film, written and directed by Vancouver award winning... more details »

Genre: Short
Run time: 9 minutes

Summary:
 A raw, yet tender film about a father and his son and the elusive quest for redemption. Directed by renowned, award-winning Israeli filmmaker Amos Kollek. Years after moving to America in order to pursue his fame and flee from the responsibilities of parenthood, an ambitious novelist discovers that no matter how far he runs, his past will always catch up. Moshe abandoned his wife and... more details »

Genre: Narrative
Run time: 100 minutes

Summary:
 A road trip to Romania filled with Yiddish and Klezmer music. Singer Elizabeth Schwartz, husband Yale Strom and their daughter journey through Romania in search of their roots and the lost Jews of Romania. This film is filled with wonderful live performances and many heartwarming moments that will have you clapping in your seats. Elizabeth Schwartz’s grandparents may have left for... more details »

Genre: Documentary
Run time: 61

Summary:
"Srugim"—the title refers to the knitted kippot worn by modern Orthodox men— the storyline follows a group of 30-something modern religious singles in the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem as they attempt to navigate the frequently contradictory worlds of contemporary Israel and traditional observance. Viewers of faith will appreciate the sympathetic portrayal of the dati (religious)... more details »

Genre: Narrative
Run time: 90 minutes

Summary:
 Yishai Orian, the director of the movie and the owner of an old Volkswagen Beetle is about to become a father. His mechanic says that the car will not last long, while his wife complains that the car is unsuitable for a baby. Attempting to keep his beloved car, Yishai goes on a journey that begins with the previous owners of the Beetle, continues to Jordan to renovate the old car, and ends... more details »

Genre: Documentary Narrative
Run time: 70 minutes

Summary:
“Nobody has ever accused me of being shy or humble – it would be hypocritical for me to start now.” ”Where I Stand” chronicles the epic life of rogue newspaperman Hank Greenspun. From his entanglements with legendary mobster “Bugsy” Siegel to smuggling guns for the Haganah - using the basement of the Copacabana as a warehouse no less - Greenspun’s... more details »

Genre: Documentary
Run time: 88 minutes

Summary:
 What obligation does a "bystander" have to speak out against the injustice he sees before him? This is the question Sidney Bloch, a professor of Psychiatry in Sydney, Australia, has been grappling with for the past forty years. Growing up as a privileged white in South Africa during apartheid, he left the country the minute he graduated and has been wracked with guilt over his inaction... more details »

Genre: Documentary
Run time: 56 minutes