LIVE AND BECOME March *16, 18, 23
Radu Mihaileanu. 2004. 143 min. NR. France/Israel, in French/Hebrew/Amharic with subtitles.
This epic story - of a non-Jewish Ethiopian boy who’s airlifted to Israel from a Sudanese refugee camp in 1984 during Operation Moses - will forever change how you think about identity. A breathtaking tale of survival that spans decades, continents, and the spectrum of human emotions, this cinematic tour de force cannot be missed.
*OPENING NIGHT Thurs. March 16 at 7:00: Q&A with actor Sirak Sabahat. Reception to follow. Tickets: $9 (members), $13 (nonmembers)

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SISAI Mar. 18, 21, Apr. 1
David Gavro. 2005. 56 min. NR. Israel, in Hebrew/ Aramaic with subtitles.
This extraordinarily moving documentary about an adopted Israeli man searching for his Ethiopian roots is the natural companion piece to the fictional Live and Become (March 16, 18 and 23). Every bit as compelling, Sisai reveals startling emotional truths with raw inspirational power, transcending this individual’s story to become a contemplation of Judaism and race, fathers and sons, and the lone ache of time and distance.
with
ORDERS OF LOVE
Jes Benstock. 2005. 10 min. NR. UK.
Oozing creativity, this audacious short has the filmmaker sketching his family tree in the hopes of preventing his son from growing up as nutty as his relatives.

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CHRONICLE OF A JERUSALEM COURTYARD Mar. 18 & Apr. 1
Tsvika Nevo & Tom Barkai. 2003. 28 min. NR. Israel, in Hebrew with subtitles.
This intimate film eulogizes the transformation of public space, chronicling the effect of the imminent destruction of an ordinary 19th-century courtyard on the eclectic characters who call it home. Steeped in nostalgia, the film documents the interactions of the residents before their community vanishes completely.
and
ADDES
Avital Livneh-Levi. 2005. 30 min. NR. Israel, in Hebrew with subtitles.
This comic documentary about the controversial renovation of a historic Iraqi synagogue in Jerusalem seems lifted from the pages of an Isaac Bashevis Singer story. While egos collide over the proper way to modernize, it becomes clear that what’s at stake is the preservation of community memory.
and
SELECTIONS FROM JERUSALEM MOMENTS, 2005
16 min.
Every year the Moments project asks 15 prominent filmmakers in Israel to each make a short movie on a given theme. This year the subject is Jerusalem. We present four shorts that reveal very different takes on the city.

THE MAKING OF “FIDDLER” - Live Event
A Conversation with Joseph Stein
Sun. Mar. 19 at 4:30
Join Stefan Kanfer, author of Stardust Lost, an upcoming book on Yiddish theater, for a conversation with legendary Fiddler on the Roof writer Joseph Stein. How did Stein turn the stories of Sholom Alecheim into arguably the most recognizable set of Jewish characters in the world? An afternoon of conversation, anecdotes, and film clips with the two-time Tony Award winner.

ODESSA ODESSA Mar. 19
Michale Boganim. 2004. 96 min. NR. Israel/Russia, in English/Hebrew/Russian with subtitles.
Magnificently shot in Brighton Beach, Israel, and Odessa, this award-winning documentary is a poetic homage to vanished dreams, urban decay, and the heart-wrenching experience of exile. Through overlapping music, conversations, and imagery, director Boganim evokes both the dreamscape of memory and the mysteries of the transitory Jewish soul.
Q&A 7:00: Reel Talk with JBFC faculty member Ara Osterweil

A GREEN CHARIOT Mar. 19, 22
Gilad Goldschmidt. 2005. 47 min. NR. Israel, in Russian with subtitles.
Created by a graduate of Israel’s Orthodox Ma’ale film school, A Green Chariot narrates the story of a recent Russian immigrant to Israel who is thrown into anguish and obsession over his identity when he uncovers a troubling family secret.
and
WASSERMAN: THE RAIN MAN
Idit Sechori. 2005. 58 min. PG. Israel, in Hebrew/English with subtitles.
In this captivating film, a stubborn nonbeliever and his two estranged daughters struggle to reconcile with their observant kibbutz community as an ongoing drought threatens to obliterate their farm and the family history that it represents.

THE FIRST TIME I WAS TWENTY
Mar. 21 & 23
Lorraine Lévy. 2004. 93 min. NR. France, in French with subtitles.
Set in France in the early ’60s, this coming-of-age story stars Marilou Berry (Look at Me) as a wry, talented, zaftig teenager struggling to gain acceptance in an anti-Semitic, exclusively male jazz band. Through self-deprecating humor and willful determination, she transforms the hostility of her peers into admiration.

THE JAZZ SINGER (1981)
Mon. Mar. 20 at 7:30
Richard Fleischer. 1981. 115 min. PG. US.
Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, Richard Fleischer’s modern remake of a classic story stars Neil Diamond as an aspiring pop star who must choose between his family’s religious traditions and a secular rock-’n’-roll life with the girl he loves (Lucie Arnaz).
Q&A 7:30: Actress Lucie Arnaz & New York Times critic Janet Maslin

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THE FORGOTTEN REFUGEES
Wed. Mar. 22 at 7:30
Michael Grynszpan. 2005. 49 min. NR. US.
The Arab countries were once home to large, ancient communities of Jews. Weaving together a tapestry of exiled voices, this potent documentary tells the lost story of the Jews’ modern exodus from their ancestral Arab homes. Unrecognized and alienated, these expatriates long for a return to a home where they are no longer welcome.
Q&A Panel discussion with Rabbi Elie Abadie & Patricia Vaturi Neiman, survivors of the exodus described in the film. Moderated by Laura Lewis, Executive Director, AJC, Westchester Chapter. Reception to follow.
Tickets: $9 (members), $13 (nonmembers)

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MELTING SIBERIA Mar. 25 & 27
Ido Haar. 2004. 72 min. NR. Israel, in Hebrew/English/Russian with subtitles.
A grandson strives to reunite his Israeli mother with the Red Army guard who fathered and abandoned her before she was born. Filmed with amazing candor, this incredible documentary examines the painful reconciliation after a lifetime of heartbreak - including a series of revelatory moments that only the best documentaries achieve.
Shown with:
SHOES OF SIBERIA
Don Flaks. 2005. 2 min. USA
A land of wooly covered eskimos with fur-lined boots? A delightful two minute corrective to our misconceptions of Siberia and it's people, seen through a single lens: it's shoes.

A TREASURE IN AUSCHWITZ Mar. 25 & 28
Yahaly Gat. 2005. 53 min. NR. Israel, in Hebrew/Polish with subtitles.
A young Israeli filmmaker is captivated by the real-life story of buried treasure in the Polish town of Auschwitz (Oswiecim). When he organizes an archaeological dig to unearth the Judaica said to be buried at the site of the destroyed Old Synagogue, he is afforded an opportunity for personal and historical reflection. An unexpected gem.

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MOSHE SAFDIE: THE POWER OF ARCHITECTURE Mar. 25 & 30
Donald Winkler. 2004. 91 min. NR. Canada.
Israel-born Moshe Safdie has been considered one of the 20th century’s great architects ever since his 1967 landmark modular “Habitat” in Montreal, which fused outrageous form and basic function. But Safdie is also a universal citizen, and a man who wrestles with space, form, public policy, and politics, as demonstrated in this lively documentary portrait.

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SENTENCED TO MARRIAGE
Sun. Mar. 26 at 2:00
Anat Zuria. 2004. 65 min. NR. Israel, in Hebrew with subtitles.
This documentary exposes the shocking fact that Orthodox women seeking divorce in Israel are left entirely at the mercy of the patriarchal rabbinical courts. Their bold attempts to remain observant while liberating themselves from a system that their husbands regularly exploit resonates deeply in a society where the promise of equal rights tangles with theology. Winner of Best Documentary at the Jerusalem Film Festival.
with
COHEN’S WIFE
Nava Heifetz. 2000. 24 min. NR. Israel.
Jewish law stipulates that if the wife of a Cohen is raped, she is no longer considered pure enough to remain married to a descendant of the priestly class. Confronted with this doubly horrific scenario, a violated Orthodox woman and her forcibly estranged husband struggle to cope as they await the religious verdict in this disturbing, exquisitely shot film.
Q&A with filmmaker Anat Zuria.

A CANTOR’S TALE Mar. *26 & *29
Erik Greenberg Anjou. 2005. 95 min. NR. US.
White Plains cantor Jacob Mendelson is the larger-than-life subject of this exhilarating festival favorite. Trekking through the Borough Park neighborhood of his youth, Mendelson takes us on a journey to a time when hearing the world’s most renowned cantors was a regular part of the American Jewish experience. It is his mission to insure that this rich cultural heirloom is passed on.
Q&A March 26, 5:00: with Cantor Jacob Mendelson, the subject of the movie. *SOLD-OUT
*Unredeemed tickets may become available for purchase. Sign up at the box office for the stand-by line one hour before showtime.
Q&A March 26, 7:45: with director Erik Greenberg Anjou & Cantor Jacob Mendelson, the subject of the movie. A reception will follow each discussion. Tickets: $12/members; $16/nonmembers. Sponsored by the Westchester Jwish Chronicle.
*Q&A Mar. 29, 7:00: Cantor Fredda Mendelson, wife of Cantor Jacob Mendelson, the subject of the movie. Tickets: $6/members; $10/nonmembers.

BELZEC Mon. Mar. 27 at 7:30
Guillaume Moscovitz. 2005. 100 min. NR. France, in Polish/French/Hebrew with subtitles.
This documentary explores the excavation of Belzec, a little known death camp in Poland, through unsettling interviews with locals and the sole remaining survivor.
Q&A with Krzysztof W. Kasprzyk, Consul General of Poland & Rabbi Andrew Baker, the AJC’s Director of International Jewish Affairs.

FOCUS ON ISRAEL
Thurs. Mar. 30 at 7:30
Yoav Shamir. 2005. 94 min. Israel. Hebrew/English w/subtitles. Cinephil.
Given unprecedented access to all sides of the Israeli disengagement from Gaza, Shamir provides an extraordinary look into one of the most significant historic moments in the State of Israel. Television crews from all over the world broadcast powerful images from this event, but this film doesn't stand on the periphery, taking us directly into the events in a deeply human way.
Discussion with AJC Executive Director David Harris. Reception to follow. Tickets: $9/members; $13/nonmembers

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METALLIC BLUES Apr. 1 & 3
Danny Verete. 2004. 90 min. NR. Canada/Germany/ Israel, in English/German/Hebrew with subtitles.
This tragicomic road movie revolves around two Israeli used-car salesmen who buy a precious car and attempt to sell it in Germany. As everything goes awry, they’re forced to confront the history they’ve denied in their dream of getting rich quick.

OUT OF THE FOREST Apr. 1 & 4
Limor Pinhasov, Ben Yosef & Yaron Kaftori. 2003. 90 min. NR. Israel, in Russian/Polish/ Lithuanian/Hebrew/English with subtitles.
On the border between Poland and Lithuania lies Ponar where masses of European Jews were marched into the forest, stripped, and killed. Narrated through the ghostly diary of a local gentile witness, this extraordinary documentary unfurls as a series of unexpected and mounting disclosures that undermine the village’s present-day account of its history.

TRIBUTE TO THE SAM SPIEGEL SCHOOL: CELEBRATING 15 YEARS
April 2 at 4:15
Approx. 80 min., Ruth Diskin Films
Jerusalem’s Sam Spiegel Film and Television School is an international leader in the field. Seeking to teach students to transmit Jewish identity in present-day Israel, the institution encourages students to create personal films based on their experiences and perspectives. Recent features by Sam Spiegel graduates include Nir Bergman’s award-winning Broken Wings and Ra’anan Alexandrowicz’s James’ Journey to Jerusalem, which was screened at the Cannes Festival. The mission is beautifully expressed here in David Ofek’s Home and four other short films by Spiegel graduates.

RASHEVSKI’S TANGO Apr. 2 & 3
Sam Garbanski. 2003. 97 min. NR. Belgium, in French/Hebrew with subtitles.
The death of a matriarch sets off a soul-searching quest by three generations of Rashevskis who struggle to maintain tradition. However, for this motley collection of interfaith couples, converts, haredim, and nonbelievers, it’s the tango, not organized religion or chicken soup, that keeps the family in synch.

SHORT Apr. 2 & 4
Edan Alterman. 2005. 51 min. NR. Israel, in English & Hebrew with subtitles.
At 5’4”, Israeli comedian and television star Edan Alterman explores the hardships of being short through personal revelations, interviews with well-known Israelis, and sensitive conversations with adolescent boys who strive for height and acceptance.
with
THE LOSER WHO WON
Jack Feldstein. 2004. 20 min. NR. Australia.
This animated short hilariously narrates the trials and tribulations of its pathetic protagonist and the aged matchmaker who attempts to locate the girl of his dream.

Closing Night: Wed. Apr. 5 at 7:30
JUDAISM AND RACE, a work-in-progress
A stirring work-in-progress by Avishai and Shari Mekonen that will transform ideas about what it means to be Jewish in the contemporary world. Judaism and Race reveals a diverse spectrum of new faces, voices, and identities, in a film that perfectly encapsulates many of the important themes of this year’s film festival.
Q&A with David Elcott, Director of U.S. Interreligious Affairs for the AJC, filmmakers Avishai & Shari Mekonen, Rabbi Rigoberto Emmanuel Vinas of the Lincoln Park Jewish Center and Associate Rabbi/Cantor Angela Buchdahl of Westchester Reform Temple. Reception to follow.
Tickets: $9/members; $13/nonmembers. Sponsored by AIX Restaurant & Bar.

SPONSORED BY

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

WITH SUPPORT FROM

Thanks to the following for their generous support:
Andrew and Froma Benerofe
Marvin Israelow and Dorian Goldman
Richard and Heidi Rieger
Silverweed Foundation
Michael Sonnenfeldt and Katja Goldman
Lee and Stephany Spiegel
Howard and Mindy Unger

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