The Festival’s Program Selection Committee includes Stephen Apkon, Executive Director of the Film Center, Brian Ackerman, Programming Director of the JBFC, and Kaj Wilson, Artistic Director of the Boston Jewish Film Festival.  The selections include films from Brazil, Germany, Israel, France and the United States and cover a broad range from comedies to historical dramas to documentaries.

All events are $6 (members)/$10 (nonmembers) except where noted.  Tickets are available on line at www.burnsfilmcenter.org and at the box office which opens at 4 pm on weekdays and 11am on weekends.  Group sales are available for groups of 20 or more by calling 914-773-7663 x10.

Listed below are the films, speaker events and receptions:

SOUVENIRS
Wed. March 26: *7:30pm ● March 29: 9:30 pm
 *Opening Night with Reception
In the “mischievous, involving memoir” (Variety) that was the surprise winner of the Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award, filmmaker Shahar Cohen takes his father on a European road trip, setting off to track the path the aging man took as a member of the Jewish Brigade in World War II. But that exalted idea quickly becomes a search for wartime girlfriends, and a little something else as well. This is a documentary that plays like a work of delightful, touching fiction — a more entertaining, irreverent, crotchety father/son pair is hard to imagine. Shahar Cohen/Halil Efrat. 2006. 75 min. NR. Israel, in English/Hebrew with subtitles.
Tickets: $10 (members), $15 (nonmembers)

CONSTANTINE’S SWORD
March *27: 7:30 pm ● March 29: 5:00 pm
Director Oren Jacoby follows author, journalist, playwright, and former Catholic priest James Carroll through his controversial history of the Catholic Church and anti-Semitism.  This new film is both a fascinating detective story that works to uncover the roots of religious intolerance and a cautionary tale about the dangers that lurk in America today. Oren Jacoby. 2006. 93 min. NR. US, in English/German/Italian/Yiddish, with subtitles.
*March 27 at 7:30: Q&A w/filmmaker Oren Jacoby who directed, produced, and cowrote Constantine’s Sword. He was last at the JBFC with Sister Rose’s Passion (2005).

GO IN PEACE, RAIN
March 29: 2:45 pm ● March 31: 5:05 pm
Centuries ago the melody of an ancient prayer began to spread, as Jewish communities dispersed through Europe and ultimately around the world. Eventually this haunting tune (with a brand-new set of lyrics) became Hatikvah (The Hope), the Israeli national anthem. By tracking the melody’s wanderings, Reuven Hecker has created a warm, wonderful, and scholarly music-filled documentary that reveals the richness and depth of Jewish musical culture. Reuven Hecker. 2007. 84 min. NR. Israel, in various languages with subtitles.

SIX DAYS
March 29: 7:15 pm ● April 3: 7:15 pm
This mesmerizing documentary on the Six-Day War is “an enlightening history lesson with the narrative momentum of an engrossing drama” (Variety).”Six Days gives The Battle of Algiers a run for its money.” (Time Out New York) Flying along at the pace of a breakneck political thriller, Six Days is a comprehensive retelling of the war that dramatically reshaped the Middle East and altered the modern history of the region in ways that are still felt today. It’s crammed with larger-than-life personalities captured in fantastic archival footage from both sides of the conflict. Ilan Ziv. 2007. 108 min. NR. US/ Israel/France, in English/Hebrew/ Arabic/Russian with subtitles.

STEAL A PENCIL FOR ME
March *30: noon ● April 1: 6:00 pm
Jack and Manja Polak were living a cheerless married life in Amsterdam in 1943 when they were shipped off to a Nazi labor camp. There Jack re-encountered Ina, on whom he’d previously developed a crush. Their clandestine affair took root and blossomed, sustaining them through the horrors of Bergen-Belsen and beyond, into a marriage that endures today. A documentary by Oscar–nominated director Michèle Ohayon, this unusual holocaust story testifies to the persistence of love — even in the most monstrous of places. Michèle Ohayon. 2007. 94 min. NR. US, in English/Dutch with subtitles.
*March 30 at noon: Q&A with Westchester residents Jack and Ina Polak who will celebrate their 62nd wedding anniversary this year.

REFUSENIK (work-in-progress)
March 30: 3:00 pm ● *April 1: 7:30 pm
About a critical chapter in Jewish history, this sweeping new documentary by Laura Bialis recounts the story of the 30-year-long grassroots movement to give Soviet Jews the right to emigrate to Israel. Told through the eyes of activists on both sides of the Iron Curtain—among them, Natan and Avital Sharansky — Refusenik is a gripping account of the heroism and sacrifice that led to freedom for 1.5 million Russian Jews. Laura Bialis. 2007. Approx. 100 min. NR. US, in Russian/English with subtitles. 
*April 1: 7:30pm: Q&A w/AJC executive director David Harris.  Fluent in Russian, David worked with refusniks and émigrés in Moscow, Rome and Vienna.  He is a widely recognized expert on Israel’s security, Jewish communities worldwide, and global anti-Semitism.

BLACK OVER WHITE
March 30: 5:30 pm ● April 2: 6:00 pm
A band that’s hugely popular in Israel and beyond, the Idan Raichel Project features pop songs with lyrics carrying a message of tolerance and melodies blending Ethiopian and other African Jewish traditions with Arab, Caribbean, South African, and other sounds. In this rousing documentary, filmmaker Heymann follows the gifted, dreadlock-wearing Raichel and his band on a 2006 tour in Ethiopia. A joyful musical exploration of identity and the elusive meaning of home. Tomer Heymann. 2007. 50 min. NR. Israel, in Hebrew/Amharic with subtitles.

A HEBREW LESSON
March 31: 7:15 pm
Following the lives of several Hebrew-language students who have recently arrived in Israel, this prize-winning documentary drives home the surprising reality of Israel as one of the most culturally diverse countries on earth, home to both Jewish and non-Jewish immigrants from Europe, Asia, and Latin America. It’s a sharp look at the crazily varied tales that make up modern Israeli life, full of stories that are in turn warm, funny, and heartrending. David Ofek/Ron Rotem. 2006. 123 min. NR. Israel/China/Russia, in various languages with subtitles.
March 31 at 7:15: Q&A w/award-winning co-director/co-writer David Ofek.

THE CHAMPAGNE SPY
April *2: 7:30 pm ● April 5: 9:15 pm
The astounding true story of a blond, blue-eyed Mossad agent living undercover as an ex-Nazi German millionaire in Egypt. Ze’ev Gur Arie (alias Wolfgang Lotz) so thoroughly embraced his covert identity that he turned his back on his real family. Breaking over 40 years of silence, Arie’s son reveals the heavy price he and his mother paid during a life of secrets and deceit. Includes frank interviews with Mossad agents and a wealth of other rare and exclusive material. Best Documentary, Israeli Film Academy. Nadav Schirman. 2007. 90 min. NR. Israel/Germany, in Hebrew with subtitles.
*April 2 at 7:30: Q&A w/Eran Lerman, followed by reception. Eran, a former Israeli intelligence chief, is now Director of AJC’s Israel/Middle East office in Jerusalem.  He is a top strategic analyst on the Middle East, and a regular op-ed contributor to Israeli and US newspapers. 
Tickets: $9 (members), $13 (nonmembers)

PRAYING WITH LIOR
April 3: 5:15 pm ● April *6: 5:30 pm
Affectionate and bubbly, Lior, who has Down syndrome, is a spiritual savant whose devotion to prayer is as deep as his love of life. This documentary draws us into his world on the eve of his bar mitzvah, which he celebrates with joyful abandon, and asks questions about disability while honoring family, community, and the human spirit. Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Boston Jewish Film Festival. Ilana Trachtman. 2007. 88 min. NR. US.
*April 6 at 5:30: Q&A w/Lior, his stepmother Lynne Iser and Gary Rosenblatt, editor and publisher, The Jewish Week, followed by reception.
Tickets: $12 (members), $16 (nonmembers) 
Sponsored by The Jewish Week

THE YEAR MY PARENTS WENT ON VACATION
April 5: 2:45 pm ● April 6: 3:00 pm
It’s 1970 in Brazil, and Mauro’s world has been turned upside down. His leftist parents have been forced underground to escape the brutal regime, and the 12-year-old ends up living in the alien environment of his grandfather’s Jewish community in São Paulo. The one unshakable force in his young life is the regular broadcast of soccer matches on TV - not to mention Brazil’s dream of winning the World Cup for the third time. A gentle, award-winning coming-of-age drama, a wonderful evocation of a time and place. Cao Hamburger. 2006. 105 min. NR. Brazil, in Portuguese/Yiddish with subtitles.

JELLYFISH
April 5: 7:20 pm ● April 7: 7:15 pm
The first feature by two of Israel’s most beloved writers — and straight from its acclaimed debut at the New Directors/ New Films series at Lincoln Center — Jellyfish tells the story of three very different Tel Aviv women: a waitress who takes in a seemingly abandoned child, a bride with a broken leg, and a domestic worker from the Philippines. Their intersecting stories weave an unlikely portrait of modern Israeli life in this “cleverly stylized, serio-comic ensemble piece” (Variety) that won the prize for Best First Feature at the Cannes Film Festival. Etgar Keret/Shira Geffen. 2007. 78 min. NR. Israel/France, in Hebrew with subtitles.

SWEET MUD
April 5: 5:00 pm ● April 8: 5:00 pm
In this forceful, acclaimed drama, Israel’s submission to the 2007 Oscars, filmmaker Dror Shaul challenges romantic notions about kibbutz life through the experiences of his young hero, who must navigate between the community’s philosophy of equality and the stinging reality that he and his emotionally unstable mother must face. Winner of Best Feature at Berlin, the Dramatic World Cinema Jury Award at Sundance, and Best Film from the Israeli Academy. Dror Shaul. 2006. 100 min. NR. Israel/Germany, in Hebrew/French with subtitles.

AVIVA MY LOVE
April 6: 7:55 pm ● April 7: 5:00 pm
This sharp and darkly funny drama broke box-office records in Israel, actually outselling even the latest Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean installments when it was released. The magnificent Asi Levi plays hard-working Aviva, who tends to her kvetchy children, unstable mother, unemployed husband, and exhausting job — and clings, against all odds, to her dream of becoming a writer. Winner of six awards (including Best Picture) from the Israeli Film Academy. Shemi Zarhin. 2006. 107 min. NR. Israel, in Hebrew with subtitles.

THE GOLEM
April 9: 7:00 pm  with live musical accompaniment by the BQE Project 
Widely recognized as the source of the Frankenstein story, the Hebrew legend of the Golem dates to the time of the Talmud. In one of the great films of the early 20th century, set in 16th-century Prague, the character Rabbi Loew creates and brings to life the man-shaped clay figure to protect the Jewish people—but things go terribly wrong. Paul Wegener/Carl Boese. 1920. 85 min. Germany. Silent.

The BQE Project will accompany the silent film with a live performance of an original score by Tom Nazziola. This New York–based ensemble performs in theaters nationwide “with an energy and a spirit that make classic cinema come to life in whole new ways”. (Philadelphia Inquirer).  
Q&A w/Curt Leviant, prize-winning author and translator of dozens of books, including a new translation of The Golem from the original Hebrew, Isaac Bashevis Singer’s More Stories from My Father’s Court, and five volumes of Sholom Aleichem stories. Book signing follows. 
Tickets: $12 (members), $18 (nonmembers) 
The Golem is made possible with support from The David Berg Foundation. Their support also allows the JBFC to present this special program to students completely free of charge during the school day.

RABIN-PERES: EVERYTHING IS PERSONAL
April *10: 7:15 pm ● April 12: 9:45 pm
“The battle between Rabin and Peres is every bit as nasty as the ultimate sports rivalry.” (Jerusalem Post). An extraordinarily gripping exploration of the complex professional and personal ties linking Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, two men with radically different backgrounds and temperaments whose actions—and rivalry—dramatically shaped today’s Middle East. Filmmaker Henig, who has served as media and political advisor to Rabin and other Israeli leaders, uses never-before-seen footage and exclusive interviews to present the two men in a fresh light. Arik Henig. 2007. 88 min. NR. Israel, in Hebrew with subtitles. 
*April 10 at 7:15: Q&A w/Steven Bayme, noted historian and scholar of Israeli politics.  Steve is director of AJC’s Contemporary Jewish Life Department and the Koppelman Institute on American Jewish-Israeli Relations.

BEAUFORT
April 12: 7:15 pm ● April 14: 5:00 pm
“The first great Israeli war film.” (Jerusalem Post). Nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, this cinematic powerhouse of a drama chronicles an Israeli army unit’s defense of a strategic bunker inside a 12th-century Crusader fortress near the Lebanese border at the end of nearly two decades of occupation. This mesmerizing war/antiwar film from the director of the acclaimed Campfire has won prizes the world over--including the Berlin Film Festival’s Best Director award and the Boston Jewish Film Festival’s Audience Award. Joseph Cedar. 2007. 125 min. NR. Israel, in Hebrew with subtitles.

HEARTBEAT DETECTOR
April 12: 2:35 pm ● April 14: 7:30 pm
Heartbeat Detector is a stylish thriller starring the extraordinary Mathieu Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) as the dispassionate in-house fixer for a German petrochemical giant who digs a little too deep into his company’s secrets. Elegant, cool, and enigmatic, it’s a surehanded film that only slowly gives up its mysteries. Nicolas Klotz. 2007. 144 min. NR. France, in French with subtitles. New Yorker Films. 

MY FATHER MY LORD
April 12: 5:30 pm ● April 15: 6:00 pm
“An arthouse dream.” (Variety). Winner of the Tribeca Film Festival, My Father My Lord is a quiet, intense film of shattering power and dreamlike beauty. Filmmaker David Volach drew upon his upbringing as one of 19 children in an ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem family to create this tale of a revered rabbi’s effort to impart his deep faith to his young son. Framed as a variation on the biblical stories of Job, and of Abraham and Isaac, this haunting drama features the brilliant Assi Dayan (son of Moshe) as a true believer forced to confront the limits of his faith. David Volach. 2007. 73 min. NR. Israel, in Hebrew with subtitles.

SIXTY SIX
April 13: 4:30 pm ● April 15: 7:45 pm
The riotous British coming-of-age comedy features Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Rea, and newcomer Gregg Sulkin as the young Londoner Bernie Rubens. Bernie just can’t wait for his bar mitzvah. For once, he figures, he’ll finally be the center of attention, and family and friends will have to put distractions aside. But it’s the summer of ’66, and World Cup fever is mounting as the English team knocks off rival after rival — and what’s worse, it looks like Bernie’s special day will coincide with the final match. A delightful, charming drama. Paul Weiland. 2006. 93 min. PG-13. UK.

CHILDREN OF THE SUN
April 13: 2:35 pm ● April *16: 7:15 pm
The much talked-about winner of the Best Documentary Award at the Jerusalem International Film Festival, Children of the Sun is an unconventional history of the kibbutz movement that inspired so many of Israel’s original settlers. What was it like to grow up fired by such strong idealism? What was the impact of living in the children’s house, the quarters where children were raised together — but largely separate from their parents — practically from birth? Director Ran Tal, who himself grew up on a kibbutz, turns to other members of his generation, using their words and home movies to reveal a thoroughly fascinating, conflicted, and authentic portrait of a disappearing world. Ran Tal. 2007. 70 min. PG. Israel/US, in Hebrew with subtitles.
* April 16 at 7:15: Q&A w/Yoel Magid, Naomi Cohen & Jeff Cohen. Yoel Magid, executive director of the Westchester Reform Temple, Scarsdale, lived for 25 years on Kibbutz Be’eri, where his three children grew up in children’s houses. Naomi and Jeff Cohen’s children grew up in a children's house on Kibbutz Ein Hashofet, where Naomi herself was born and raised. Jeff Cohen is presently a Westchester County Court Judge.

THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER
April 13: 7:00 pm ● April 17: 7:30 pm
A major museum exhibition rocked Germany in 1999 when it took on the widely accepted myth that common Nazi foot soldiers were blameless for the Holocaust and related atrocities. Protest and accusations arose on all sides as people demanded to know if the photographs and other documents on view were legitimate or doctored. Michael Verhoeven (The Nasty Girl) wades into the controversy, peering into Germany’s conflicted soul, revealing one chilling image after another and interviewing historians, experts, and the ever-angry man on the street. Michael Verhoeven. 2006. 97 min. NR. Germany, in German with subtitles.

Special Added Event
BLESSED IS THE MATCH 
May 7: 7:30 pm
 A brand-new documentary about Hannah Senesh, who was only 23 when she was executed by the Nazis after volunteering for a mission to protect other Hungarian Jews about to be sent to Auschwitz. Her heroism and the idealism expressed in her poetry made her an Israeli icon. Roberta Grossman. 2008. 84 min. NR. Israel, in English/Hebrew/Hungarian with subtitles. 
Q&A w/Viktor Polgár, the Hungarian Consul General to New York, followed by a reception. 
Tickets: $9 (members), $13 (nonmembers) 

The American Jewish Committee is our nation’s oldest human relations agency.  Safeguarding Israel and Jewish life worldwide, AJC promotes democratic principles, advances understanding among peoples and supports societies where the rights and dignity of every citizen are respected.

The Jacob Burns Film Center is a not-for-profit cultural arts organization in Pleasantville, New York dedicated to:  presenting the best of independent, documentary and world cinema; promoting visual literacy and making film a vibrant part of the community.  The programs are inspired by the power of film to challenge, educate and inspire; to transport us to worlds beyond our own; and to create community through shared dialogue and cultural experience.  Since the opening in June 2001, over 1,000,000 people have seen over 2,000 films from more than 40 countries.  From students learning critical viewing skills and discussing films with the filmmakers, to creating their own animated shorts, the Film Center uses the visual imagery of film as a catalyst for learning.  To learn more about the Jacob Burns Film Center, visit www.burnsfilmcenter.org.

Comments (1)

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written by Yaniv, May 09, 2008

Great film,

Will reconnect every Jewish person back to his Jewish roots.
Definitely brings back memories from childhood when I was studding about Hanna Senesh at school.

Very recommended!!!

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