January is Jewish Film Festival month
BHEC presents “Holocaust in Film” series The Birmingham Holocaust Education Center and Emmet O’Neal Library are presenting “The Holocaust in Film,” a four-part series of free screenings. The final film in the series, “Amnon’s Journey,” ties in with the Violins of Hope programs planned for the city in March and April. Amnon Weinstein is a master violin maker in Israel who, since 1996, has restored violins played by Jews in the Holocaust, usually as a way to try and save their lives. Several of the violins will be in Birmingham for exhibits and educational programs, and a concert with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra on April 14. The 2009 documentary will be screened on Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. The series starts on Jan. 18 at 6:30 p.m. with “Remember,” a revenge thriller involving a Holocaust survivor facing the onset of dementia, and sets off on a quest to find the former Nazi responsible for the deaths of his family members. “Line 41” will be screened on Jan. 22 at 6:30 p.m., about a survivor who starts the search for the brother he lost in the Lodz ghetto, 70 years later. On Jan. 25 at 6:30 p.m., the series continues with “Last Laugh,” a documentary that explores the ethical and historical implications of “Holocaust humor.” Comedians including Mel Brooks, Sarah Silverman, Carl Reiner and Gilbert Gottfried are interviewed, along with actor Robert Clary, who was in Buchenwald as a child. The screenings will be followed by discussions led by Andre Millard of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival will run from Jan. 10 to 14 at the Manship Theatre. Tickets are $8.50 and are available through the Manship’s website. Two free tickets to opening night are offered on the film festival website, brjff.org, to those who sign up for the festival email list. The Mobile Jewish Film Festival offers its most diverse lineup yet, running from Jan. 11 to 28 in six different venues. Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for students and seniors, except for the free film on Jan. 11 at the Mobile Museum of Art, though reservations are necessary for that screening. Jewish Cinema Mississippi will open on Jan. 23 at the Malco Grandview Theatre in Madison, with all films at 7 p.m., except the final matinee on Jan. 28. The festival is sponsored by Beth Israel in Jackson and the Jewish Culture Organization at Millsaps College. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students. A festival pass is $40 for adults by Jan. 16 and $20 for students.
This Year’s Films: “The Women’s Balcony,” an Israeli dramedy that was the country’s film of the year, starts with the collapse of a women’s balcony at a synagogue during a Bar Mitzvah. The overwhelmed older rabbi and a younger rabbi clash as husbands and wives are caught in between the battle lines over the role of women in the congregation. Baton Rouge: Jan. 10, Manship Theatre, 7 p.m. Mobile: Jan. 21 at Ahavas Chesed, 3 p.m. Rabbi Steven Silberman introducing, and a dessert reception following. Jackson: Jan. 27 at Malco Grandview, 7 p.m.
Cinema Israel in Montgomery The Jewish Federation of Central Alabama will present the first in its Cinema Israel series, “A Borrowed Identity,” Jan. 21 at 3:30 p.m. at Temple Beth Or in Montgomery. The 2014 film is an adaptation of two autobiographical novels by Arab-Israeli author Sayed Kashua and in some markets was released under the title “Dancing Arabs.” In the film, a gifted Palestinian teen is accepted to an elite Israeli school and tries to fit in with his peers. On Feb. 4, the series continues at 3:30 p.m. at Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem with “The Wedding Plan,” a 2016 film about an Orthodox woman who is unwed in her 30s. After her fiancé admits he does not love her, she breaks off the engagement, but keeps the wedding hall and figures God will provide a groom — hopefully before the date of her wedding. “The Women’s Balcony” will be on March 11 at Temple Beth Or, followed by “Above and Beyond” on May 6 at Beth Or, and finishing with “Bethlehem” on June 10 at Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem.
“As Seen Through These Eyes” is narrated by Maya Angelou and details a group of people who fought Hitler with the only weapons they had — charcoal, pencil stubs, shreds of paper and their memories. Mobile: Jan. 11 at the Mobile Museum of Art, 2 p.m. Museum Director Deborah Velders will introduce the film. Admission is free but reservations are necessary.
“Keep Quiet” next at NOLA JCC series
“Keep the Change” is a romantic comedy with a man who has autism and finds it difficult to accept that being different isn’t a hindrance to his budding romance. The film won best narrative feature at the Tribeca Film Festival. Baton Rouge: Jan. 11, Manship Theatre, 7:30 p.m.
The Cathy and Morris Bart Jewish Cultural Arts Series at the Uptown Jewish Community Center in New Orleans continues its films on Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. with “Keep Quiet,” a film about Hungarian politician Csanad Szegedi, who is known for his anti-Semitic, neo-Nazi positions. He then discovered that his maternal grandparents were Jewish and his grandmother was an Auschwitz survivor who then hid her Jewish background, fearing further persecution. Stunned by the revelation, Szegedi embarks on a three year journey to embrace Judaism, finding a rabbi that embraces him even when others in the community are skeptical, to put it mildly. The film has a 100 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. On Feb. 22 at 7 p.m., “The 90 Minute War” mockumentary starts with breaking news — after decades of failed negotiations, Israel and the Palestinians have decided to hold a winner-take-all soccer match to decide who will remain in the Holy Land — of course, then agreements have to be made on the venue, the referee and pretty much everything else.
“Denial” is a legal drama is about the libel suit that David Irving brought against Emory Professor Deborah Lipstadt, who called Irving a Holocaust denier in her groundbreaking book on the subject. But Irving sued in British court, where libel laws are different — meaning the writer has to prove what she wrote was true, and by extension, the Holocaust was being put on trial. Baton Rouge: Jan. 13, Manship Theatre, 7:30 p.m. Lipstadt will Skype in for a discussion after the film.
January 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 13