JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL
2007 Central Florida Jewish Film Festival
November 18 & 19, 2007
Every year, Enzian Theater hosts the Central Florida Jewish Film Festival in cooperation with the Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando.
Mensch Passes, Series Passes and Individual Tickets ON SALE NOW!
TICKET
INFORMATION |
Mensch
Passes
All 4 films, first priority
seating |
$55 |
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Series
Passes
All 4 films, second priority
seating |
$30 |
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| Individual
tickets |
$9 |
Purchase below |
Live and Become
" Fascinating, entertaining, and enormous in scope…deeply and profoundly human."—John Griffin, MONTREAL GAZETTE
A little-known moment in modern history is captured in the latest masterwork from Radu Mihaileanu (Train of Life): the migration of the Ethiopian Jews (or “Falasha”) to Israel in 1984 through a co-operative mission of the US and Israeli governments called Operation Moses. This engrossing epic focuses on an Ethiopian boy in a Sudanese refugee camp who pretends to be a Jewish orphan at the behest of his starving Christian mother. But from the moment Soloman (renamed Schlomo) is rescued and arrives in Israel, he is bound up in the lies upon which his very survival depends and must live terrified that discovery is around every turn. Adopted by a politically minded but non-religious middle-class family in Tel Aviv, young Schlomo (excellently played at different stages in life by three different actors) grows up having to deal with the burden of his deception, the skin color that defines his outsider status, his secret longing for his homeland, and the principles of Judaism he comes to know. Winner of nine international film awards and a multiple nominee at both the French and Israeli Academy Awards, LIVE AND BECOME is an acutely observed and emotionally searing film about culture, identity, belonging, and the immigrant experience.
France/Israel, 2005, 140 min, Not Rated, Directed by Radu Mihaileanu, In French, Hebrew, and Aramaic w/ English subtitles
Unsettled
"Hootnick manages the near-impossible: He delivers a film that is fair to both sides in the heart-rending debate, one that captures with honesty and intimacy the bonds that unite all Jews even as they wrestle with one another."—Lyn Payne, HERITAGE FLORIDA JEWISH NEWS
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance 2007 and the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2007 Florida Film Festival, UNSETTLED is an extraordinary chronicle of the young people--settlers and soldiers alike--whose lives are upended by Israel’s 2005 pullout from the Gaza strip. For thousands of Israeli settlers, their place in the Promised Land was thought to be permanent; now they are obstacles in the path to peace in the Middle East. The film puts the audience in the middle of this highly emotional story of Israeli citizens pitted against one another. Tension fills the days leading to forced evictions, the violent arguments as neighbors disagree, and the inevitable confrontations with young soldiers honor-bound to separate their brethren from their homes. On the streets, on front porches, on the beaches, and in kitchens, the human consequences of ancient hostility and contemporary policy show the real story behind the diplomatic negotiations and newspaper headlines. For young Israelis, the summer of 2005 will change the meaning—and for some the very location—of “home.”
USA/Israel, 2006, 80 min, Directed by Adam Hootnick, In English and Hebrew w/ English subtitles
The World Was Ours
A multi-ethnic, multi-cultural center located in what was then Poland and is now Lithuania, the city of Vilna was an artistic and intellectual crossroads for the people of eastern Europe. Known as “the Jerusalem of Lithuania,” Vilna was also the vibrant home of a thriving Jewish intellectual community, and served as a cultural capital for European Jews. The first documentary to chronicle Jewish life in Vilna before it was destroyed by the Nazis, THE WORLD WAS OURS honors survivors’ desires for the world to remember Vilna, the art and scholarship that was born here, and the amazing Jewish people and artistic giants such as Chaim Soutine, Jacques Lipchitz, and Jascha Heifetz who created this unique and exceptional community that was so dedicated to culture and education. Narrated by Mandy Patinkin.
USA, 2007, 58 min, Directed by Mira Jedwabnik Van Doren
Preceded by:
Dark Night
An Israeli military jeep returning from a late night patrol strikes a land mine while still in hostile territory. The two surviving soldiers soon find themselves trapped in an enemy town teeming with militants, and they seek refuge in a house that happens to be inhabited by a Palestinian couple. As the night progresses, the situation becomes more desperate in this suspenseful and accomplished work that was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film in the Student Film category and won an Audience Choice award at the 2006 NY Israeli Film Festival.
Israel, 2005, 30 min, Directed by Leonid Prudovsky, In Hebrew, Arabic, and Russian w/ English subtitles
Arranged
Florida Premiere!
"Heartfelt, endearing, and culturally provocative…sweetly funny moments."—Toddy Burton, THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE
Set in Brooklyn, ARRANGED is the insightful story of an unconventional friendship between two first-year New York school teachers--Rachel (Zoe Lister-Jones), an Orthodox Jew, and Nasira (Francis Benhamou), a devout Muslim. The two young women discover that they have more in common with each other than anyone else at their new school, especially when it comes to their struggles with dating and matchmaking—both happen to be going through the process of finding a husband through an arranged marriage while upholding their family traditions. As tensions in Rochel’s home push her to question her religious and family expectations, Nasira’s support (despite her own issues) is a touching testament to their evolving friendship. Loosely based on the experiences of Yuta Silverman, an Orthodox Jewish woman from Borough Park who befriended a Pakistani Muslim woman, ARRANGED is a lovely romantic comedy/drama about being yourself and standing up set amongst the culture clashes common in the big city. Lead actresses Zoe Lister-Jones and Francis Benhamou will be in attendance for Q & A.
USA, 2007, 89 min, Directed by Stefan Schaefer and Diane Crespo
Click here to view last year's schedule.
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