That’s a Wrap on the 20th Long Beach Jewish Film Festival

That’s a Wrap on the 20th Long Beach Jewish Film Festival

Dana Schneider-Chanzit | Director of Jewish Life & Culture

We are grateful for the over 250 people who joined us in celebrating 20 years of the Long Beach Jewish Film Festival this January. We are especially thankful to our sponsors Rosecarrie & Alan Brooks, Al & Ruth Rudis, Andrea & Don Kaiser, Lois & Phil Wachovsky, Evan Braude & Bonnie Lowenthal, Lauren & Stuart Friedman, Yael Marcus, Beverly August, Jessie Butler, Christine Carson, Rick & Arlene Freeman, Ellen Goldenberg, and the CSULB Department of Jewish Studies for their generosity in supporting the continuation of this meaningful event.

I have had the honor of being the lead staff for the Long Beach Jewish Film Festival for the past four years. This program is one of my favorites to be a part of.

The Festival has a dedicated committee that watches 20-25 films each year and votes on the best five films to share with our community. The Film Festival voting meeting is one of the liveliest meetings of the year. The committee gathers in person to discuss all the films. There are always passionate pitches for many of the films as to why they should or should not be included in the festival. The committee is led by Yael Marcus. As the Chair, she has had the difficult job of working with the committee to find films that educate, entertain, and are in line with the mission of the Festival. This year was no exception – the committee picked five excellent films, plus two additional films for teens and families.

Each year, certain films are awarded the prestigious titles of Best in Festival and Audience Choice. The committee elects the former, and the latter is voted for by festival goers. The committee was proud to name Matchmaking, an Israeli comedy blockbuster, as Best in Festival. Viewers voted for Farewell, Mr. Haffman, a French WWII-era drama, as Audience Choice. One of the things I love most about the Festival is that we have an opportunity to use the power of film to teach history, to educate, to entertain, and to help create dialogue around difficult subjects. The Festival is also an opportunity to highlight Jewish Life, and Jewish stories from around the world. This gives not only the Jewish community but the greater Long Beach community an opportunity to connect and learn with us.

We hope this year’s Festival left you feeling moved, connected, educated, and wanting more. Thank you for being a part of this yearly tradition of Jewish culture.