Stories of identity, survival, comedy featured in 15th Jewish film festival

National Center for Jewish Film programs run April 18-29

From the U.S. premieres of recently restored comedies, to a spotlight on Polish films and a focus on identity, the 15th annual National Center for Jewish Film film festival – JewishFilm.2012 – offers viewers a wide variety of options.

The festival, comprised of 15 films in all, is being held at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), the Institute of Contemporary Art and the West Newton Cinema from April 18 to 29. It includes numerous premieres, as well as six visiting filmmakers and other guests.

The National Center for Jewish Film, which is based at Brandeis, is an independent nonprofit film archive, distributor, resource center and exhibitor, and owns the largest collection of Jewish film outside of Israel. The preservation and restoration of rare and endangered films are the NCJF’s priority, but it also provides programming consultation to some 5,000 educators, artists and programmers annually.

The festival kicks off tonight at the Museum of Fine Arts with the North American premiere of “Never Forget to Lie,” by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Marian Marzynski, and was featured in the Boston Globe last weekend.

Having survived the Holocaust in Poland as a Jewish child hidden by Christians, he for the first time explores his feelings about Poland, the Catholic Church and the ramifications of an identity forged under the directive “never forget to lie.” Marzynski, a cinema verite pioneer who began his 40-career in media in his native Poland as a journalist and popular television host has worked alongside Roman Polanski and taught American filmmakers like Gus Van Sant, and directed such documentaries as “Shtetl,” “Anya” and “Settlement,” will be on hand for a Q&A following the screening.

“All three Polish films present deception as the central mechanism for survival,” says Lisa Rivo, co-director of the festival.

“Joanna,” which also takes Poland, will have its New England premier April 19 at the MFA. The film is a gripping drama from Feliks Falk about the consequences visited upon a Polish woman who is hiding an 8-year-old Jewish girl in her apartment in German-occupied Krakow during World War II.

In “My Australia,” 10-year-old Tadek and his brother are arrested in 1960s Poland for beating up Jewish kids; their mother then reveals that the are, in fact, Jews and are relocating to Israel. The film is based on director Ami Drozd’s childhood. 

The Israeli feature “The Policeman,” from Nadav Lapid, and the German satire “Hotel Lux,” continue the international theme.

Meanwhile, Joel Katz’s “White: A Memoir in Color,” documents a powerful, personal exploration of race, ethnicity and identity and family – questions Katz pursues after he and his wife elect to adopt a mixed-race child. A Q&A with the filmmaker will follow the screening on April 29 at the West Newton Cinema.

“In this age of reality TV, this film is something very different,” Rivo says. 
"Katz turned the camera on himself and gives a very sensitive, thoughtful view of the topic.”

“Punk Jews,” profiles Hassidic punk rockers, Yiddish street performers, Jewish activists and more – who are defying norms – asking what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century. A Q&A with Director Jesse Zook Mann and Producer Evan Kleinman will follow the screening on April 25 at the Museum of Fine Arts.

Beverly Siegel’s “Women Unchained,” will have its Boston premiere at the MFA on April 25. The documentary explores the experiences of women whose husbands refuse to grant them a Jewish divorce. Following the screening, there’ll be a Q&A with Siegel, as well as Lisa Fishbayn of the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute.

On a lighter note, three 1920s silent film comedies starring Max Davidson, who made more than 200 films, have been restored and will be screened in the U.S. for the first time at the Museum of Fine Arts on April 22: “Why Girls Say No,” “Jewish Prudence” and “The Boy Friend.”

For tickets and a full schedule of screenings and guests, visit The National Center for Jewish Film website.