Festival features Jewish perspective
Five films focusing on the Jewish experience from around the world will be shown starting today at The Art House at Restaurant Row.
The screenings, which compose the first Kirk Cashmere Jewish Film Festival, are presented by Temple Emanu-El and honor the late civil-rights lawyer. Two other films with open-ended runs — "Shanghai Ghetto" and "Max" — also are part of the festival.
Admission is $5 for screenings till 6 p.m. as well as all day Tuesday, $7.75 for evening shows.
The schedule:
"God is Great, I'm Not," a French film directed by Pascale Bailly, at 7 p.m. today, Sunday and Thursday; 9:30 p.m. Saturday and Tuesday; 1 p.m. Wednesday. Stars Audrey Tatou ("Amélie") as Michéle, 20, who splits with her boyfriend, meets François, who's a veterinarian and Jewish. She decides to convert to Judaism.
"Autumn Sun," an Argentine film directed by Eduardo Mignogna, at 9:30 p.m. today and Monday; 7 p.m. Saturday and Tuesday; 4 p.m. Monday and Thursday. Norma Aleandro stars as Clara Goldstein, an independent but lonely Jewish single woman living in Buenos Aires. Anticipating a visit from her judgmental brother from Boston, she advertises for a Jewish boyfriend, only to discover that the man who answers the personal ad isn't Jewish, so she has to train him for the masquerade.
"Mamadrama: The Jewish Mother in Cinema," an Australian film directed by Monique Schwartz, at 4 p.m. today, Sunday and Tuesday; 1 p.m. Monday and Thursday. An insightful look at the way Jewish mothers have been represented in movies over the years, with hilarious cultural commentary, interviews and excerpts from Schwartz's earlier films exploring Jewish motherhood, from silents and early Yiddish classics on up to more contemporary pieces such as "Come Blow Your Horn," "Goodbye Columbus," "The Jazz Singer," "Portnoy's Complaint" and "Torch Song Trilogy."
"Minyan In Kaifeng: A Modern Journey to an Ancient Chinese Jewish Community," a British film directed by Steve Calcote and J. Shulman, at 1 p.m. today and Tuesday; 4 p.m. Saturday; 9:30 p.m. Sunday; 7 p.m. Wednesday. A documentary about the Jewish diaspora, with Leonard Nimoy narrating, examining the history of the Jews of Kaifeng, beginning in ancient Persia and evolving over a thousand years in the heart of the Middle Kingdom. Since the last rabbi of Kaifeng died more than a century ago, today's descendants of the ancient Chinese Jewish community have never celebrated Shabbat or any Jewish holiday. A look at two curious families who try to reconnect to their past.
"The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg," a U.S. film directed by Aviva Kempner, at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; 7 p.m. Monday; 4 and 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. As Hitler was invading Europe, a handsome young Jewish baseball player was challenging Babe Ruth's home run record. This documentary reveals how Detroit Tiger Hank Greenberg transcended American religious prejudice, shattered stereotypes and became an American hero. Part social history, part American legend, blending archival footage from the '30s and '40s with a sprinkling of celebrity, too.
Also showing:
"Shanghai Ghetto," directed by Amir Mann and Dana Janklowicz-Mann. A story of survival amid hardship, narrated by Martin Landau, about German Jews in the late '30s who find refuge in the Japanese-occupied city of Shanghai.
"Max," directed by Menno Meyjes, opening today. A fictional tale loosely based on the years just after World War I when young Adolf Hitler was an aspiring painter with a love for the classical period. As the war vet's aspirations fail to match his hopes, Hitler's interests turn elsewhere, to hatred of Jews. The film asks, could one man's failure in art be the key to the resulting terror? Starring John Cusack as Max Rothman, Noah Taylor as Hitler.
