See the best in new and newly restored Jewish cinema at JEWISHFILM.2009
12th annual film festival will be held at Brandeis and Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art
"Waiting for Armageddon"
JEWISHFILM.2009
The National Center for Jewish Film's 12th Annual Film Festival
March 25-April 5, 2009
WALTHAM, Mass.– The National Center for Jewish Film and Brandeis University in cooperation with The Consulate General of Israel to New England will present JEWISHFILM.2009, The National Center for Jewish Film's (NCJF) 12th Annual Film Festival from March 25-April 5, 2009. Screenings will take place at the Wasserman Cinematheque at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., with two screenings at The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.
Jewishfilm.2009 will present 12 films from six countries, along with eight visiting filmmakers and more than a dozen special guests. Two films are North American premieres, eight are New England premieres, three are Boston premieres.
For complete schedule & tickets: www.jewishfilm.org or 781-736-8600. Photos and screeners available.
Highlights include Jewishfilm.2009’s opening night film “Waiting for Armageddon,” a controversial new documentary about the impact of Evangelical Christians on American foreign policy in the Middle East and the role Israel plays in their theology and public policy. Director Franco Sacchi and two of the film’s producers are from the Boston area; all three will join with Brandeis University professor Jonathan Sarna for a discussion following the film.
Jewishfilm.2009 will screen two critically-acclaimed documentaries about innovative American icons: Andrew & Jon Cooke’s portrait of the godfather of comics and the graphic novel, “Will Eisner” Portrait of a Sequential Artist,” and Judd Ehrlich’s salute to the eccentric Fred Lebow, founder of the New York Marathon, “Run for Your Life.” All three filmmakers will be present at the festival. Both films also offer fascinating portraits of New York City.
Family is at the center of Jewishfilm.2009's three Israeli feature films: “Father’s Footsteps,” “Lost Islands,” and “Shiva/Seven Days.” Each is a period drama, set a decade apart—in the early 1970s, early 1980s, and early 1990s, respectively. As is often the case in Israeli cinema, war intrudes on each narrative, to varying degrees. “Lost Islands” was Israel’s top grossing film of 2008. “Seven Days” screened at the Cannes Film Festival.
The 1937 Yiddish feature film “The Jester”—the most recent film restoration from The National Center for Jewish Film—will have a special screening at The Institute of Contemporary Art. NCJF Executive Director Sharon Pucker Rivo will discuss the film’s restoration, which included the preservation of extremely rare color toned sections. And Hankus Netsky Director of the Klezmer Conservatory Band will discuss the film’s music. This will be the third screening of the film in North America, following sold out shows at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and Lincoln Center in New York City.
“Forgotten Transports: To Estonia” treats the issue of the uniqueness of women's experience in the holocaust - a subject of growing interest to scholars and artists. Czech director/producer/writer/researcher Lukas Pribyl ‘96 will discuss “To Estonia,” one of four films that comprise his “Forgotten Transports” film project.
Jewishfilm.2009 will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Tel Aviv with a program of two new documentaries: “The Green Dumpster Mystery” and “Tel Aviv.”
JEWISHFILM.2009 PROGRAM CALENDAR
• Wednesday, March 25, 7 p.m. @ Wasserman Cinematheque, Brandeis University,
“Waiting for Armageddon”
• Thursday, March 26, 7 p.m. @ Wasserman Cinematheque, Brandeis University,
“Lady Kul El-Arab”
• Saturday, March 28, 5:30 p.m. @ Wasserman Cinematheque, Brandeis University,
“Lost Islands”
• Saturday, March 28, 8:30 p.m. @ Wasserman Cinematheque, Brandeis University,
“Lost Islands”
• Sunday, March 29, 1:00 p.m. @ Wasserman Cinematheque, Brandeis University,
“A Woman's Pale Blue Handwriting”
• Sunday, March 29, 4 p.m. @ Wasserman Cinematheque, Brandeis University,
“Will Eisner: Portrait of a Sequential Artist”
• Sunday, March 29, 7 p.m. @ Wasserman Cinematheque, Brandeis University,
“Father’s Footsteps”
• Tuesday, March 31, 7 p.m. @ Wasserman Cinematheque, Brandeis Univeristy,
“Forgotten Transports: To Estonia”
• Thursday, April 2, 7 p.m. @ The Institute of Contemporary Art / Boston,
“The Jester”
• Saturday, April 4, 7 p.m. @ The Institute of Contemporary Art / Boston,
“The Seven Days”
• Sunday, April 5, 1 p.m. @ Wasserman Cinematheque, Brandeis University,
“Green Dumpster Mystery”/”Tel Aviv”
• Sunday, April 5, 3:45 p.m. @ Wasserman Cinematheque, Brandeis University,
“The Seven Days”
• Sunday, April 5, 7 p.m. @ Wasserman Cinematheque, Brandeis University,
“Run for Your Life”
Bottom image photo credit: Will Eisner, "The Spirit and the Immigrants," 1999-2000
