“Night Will Fall,” a documentary about the making of the ultimate Holocaust documentary, which Alfred Hitchcock and others were piecing together from footage fresh from liberated camps, only to have the project canceled. “Night Will Fall” features some of the raw, graphic, brutal footage while telling the story of how the original documentary finally was completed after seven decades.
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“Magic Men” and “The Last Mentsch” are parallel tales of Holocaust survivors who go back to their home countries late in life (Greece for “Magic Men,” Hungary for “Last Mentsch”). “Both are stories that are Holocaust stories, but they’re not Holocaust stories,” Marx said. They explore what it means that we’re losing the last survivors.
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“Zero Motivation,” a comedy about young Israeli women doing their military service as office workers at an isolated southern base. “It’s really an interesting look at the absurdity,” much like “M*A*S*H” or “Catch-22,” Wardell said. “It made an impression on me.”
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“Soft Vengeance: Albie Sachs and the New South Africa,” a documentary about a human rights lawyer who returned from exile to help write the post-apartheid South African Constitution. “It really ties in issues of human rights and the rule of law, standing up for things that matter, not stepping down in the face of tyranny, danger and threats,” Wardell said. “It’s a terrific film. I hope people take the time to see it.”
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“Avalon,” the Barry Levinson film about a Jewish immigrant family in Baltimore, in a special 25th-anniversary screening. Wardell, who is from Baltimore, is a big fan. “Levinson’s best work comes from these personal stories he tells.” No one involved in the selection process got everything he or she wanted, Wardell said, because it’s not a festival for any particular person. “It’s not arbitrary. We didn’t just check off a lot of boxes,” he said of the selection process. “There’s a reason why this is the pre-eminent festival in the region. No other festival comes close.”
Can’t-Miss Events Special events and guests worth the price of admission include the following:
• The opening night gala at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre is the only scheduled screening of the fantastic documentary “Above and Beyond,” which tells the story of the American World War II veterans who helped Israel cobble together an air force to win its War of Independence. Producer Nancy Spielberg is scheduled to appear. Jan. 28, 5 p.m. for the red-carpet reception ($300, $150 for those 39 and under); 7:30 for the film only ($18). • The Access young-adult group of the American Jewish Committee holds its Gen-Y Night with the searing drama “24 Days,” about a kidnapping in France, at Atlantic Station on Jan. 29. An $18 ticket includes a cocktail reception at Strip at 6 p.m. and the film at Regal Cinemas Atlantic Station at 8. • The Art Party with Creative Loafing takes place Feb. 7 at the Mammal Gallery. For your $18, you won’t see a film, but you will join local artists for a party celebrating Jewish comedians and will walk away with some art and a bag of swag. • Want to hear what it’s like to spend two years working on a documentary, only to have the story change when you’re weeks away from your world premiere? Michael Levine, director of “Streit’s: Matzo and the American Dream,” can tell you during Q-and-A sessions after screenings Feb. 12 at 6:45 p.m. at Lefont Sandy Springs and Feb. 13 at 11:35 a.m. at United Artists Tara Cinemas.
The following screenings were sold out by midday Tuesday, Jan. 13. Visit ajff.org for updates and other options for specific films: • “Beneath the Helmet,” both screenings. • “Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem,” early screening. • “1913,” Feb. 15 screening. • “24 Days,” Feb. 2 and 4 screenings. • “Apples From the Desert,” all screenings. • “Avalon,” only screening. • “Belle and Sébastien,” all screenings. • “Chagall-Malevich,” all screenings. • “Dancing Arabs,” Feb. 14 and 15 (Lefont) screenings. • “Deli Man,” Feb. 8 screenings.
• You can catch “Deli Man,” a documentary about the rise and decline of the great Jewish deli, at 11:10 a.m. Feb. 1 at Regal Cinemas Atlantic Station or 11 a.m. Feb. 16 at United Artists Tara Cinemas, but the Feb. 8 screenings at Lefont Sandy Springs with the General Muir deli reception are sold out. • Closing night is almost sold out, but if you are lucky enough to get your $18 tickets, you can look forward to “Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem” at either 6:50 or 9:15 at Woodruff Arts Center, a post-film dessert reception presented by Metrotainment Bakery, and maybe an appearance by the great Bikel himself. Visit ajff.org to order these and other tickets, or call 866-214-2072 (phone orders incur a $2.50 service charge).
Tickets Visit ajff.org to see the availability and purchase tickets for each film. You also can call 866-214-2072 to buy tickets, but you’ll pay a service fee of $2.50 per order. Many screenings sell out quickly, but you can purchase tickets for other shows at the venue box offices during the hours of festival screenings. Tickets for most shows are $9 before 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and $13 other times. People 65 and older, 12 and under, or with a valid student ID can get $10 tickets.
• “Dough,” all screenings. • “The Farewell Party,” Feb. 17 screening. • “Félix and Meira,” Feb. 11 screening. • “Gett,” Feb. 5 and 7 screenings. • “The Go-Go Boys,” Jan. 29 screening. • “Hester Street,” only screening. • “Horses of Gold,” Feb. 10 screening. • “The Last Mentsch,” Feb. 5 and 8 screenings. • “Little White Lie,” all screenings. • “Mr. Kaplan,” Feb. 7 and 9 screenings. • “My Italian Secret,” Feb. 6 and 8 screenings. • “The Physician,” Feb. 6, 9, 10 and 16 screenings. • “A Place in Heaven,” Feb. 4 screening.
Venues Aside from opening night at the Cobb Energy Center and closing night at the Woodruff Arts Center, the film screenings are at five locations: • Regal Cinemas Atlantic Station in Midtown. • Georgia Theatre Company Merchants Walk in East Cobb. • Lefont Sandy Springs. • Regal Cinemas Avalon in Alpharetta. • United Artists Tara Cinemas west of Toco Hills.
Sold Out! • “The Prime Ministers,” Feb. 10 screening. • “Raise the Roof,” Feb. 8 screening. • “Regarding Susan Sontag,” only screening. • “The Return,” Feb. 18 screening. • “Secrets of War,” both screenings. • “Serial (Bad) Weddings,” Jan. 31 and Feb. 4, 13 and 14 screenings. • “Streit’s,” Feb. 12 screening. • “You Must Be Joking,” Feb. 15 screening. • “Zero Motivation,” Feb. 3, 6 and 14 screenings.
JANUARY 16 ▪ 2015
The docudrama about artists at Terezin uses voiceovers while the characters on screen never speak. The result, Pilcher said, is lyrical.
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