Jewish experience shines through in film festival

Advertiser Staff

Jay Lehmann of Natchez, Miss., holds a jar of pickled pigs feet in his store in "Shalom Y'all," a featured film at the 2nd annual Kirk Cashmere Jewish Film Festival at Restaurant Row theaters.

One highlight of the festival is the Oscar-nominated documentary "My Architect: A Son's Journey," about famed architect Louis Kahn, which made its Hawai'i debut at the Honolulu Academy of Arts recently. Booked by the Restaurant Row theaters for a regular run, the film will be screened continuously through the festival.

The films are presented by Temple Emanu-El. The festival is named after local civil rights attorney Kirk Cashmere, who died in December 2002.

Other films include:

"Bonhoeffer" (2003), the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian who offered one of the first voices of resistance to Adolf Hitler. The New York Times called it "a touching narrative on the nature of faith. Powerful and shocking."

• 7 p.m. today and Wednesday; and 4:15 p.m. Monday

"A Trumpet in the Wadi" (2002), a comedy from Israel based on the best-selling novel about an impossible love between two outsiders in Israeli society.

• 7 p.m. Saturday and Thursday

"All My Loved Ones" (2000), the story a Czech-Jewish family in Nazi-era Czechoslovakia.

• 4:15 p.m. Saturday and Wednesday; 7 p.m. Monday

"Klezmer on Fish Street" (2004) is a look at the resurgence of klezmer music in Poland and the Jewish population's growth and efforts toward reconciliation through music.

• 7 p.m. Sunday; 4:15 p.m. Tuesday; 9:15 p.m. Wednesday

"Robert Capa: In Love and War" (2003) follows the great war photographer Robert Capa (born in Budapest, Hungary, as Andrei Friedmann), who covered five epic conflicts on three continents in his 40 years of life.

• 1:30 p.m. Saturday; 9:15 p.m. Sunday and Thursday

"Undying Love: True Stories of Courage and Faith" (2002), recounts true love stories in the shadow of the Holocaust, including archival footage, film clips from Hollywood and Yiddish cinema and re-enactments.

• 4:15 p.m. today; 9:15 p.m. Saturday and Tuesday

"Shalom Y'all" (2002) tells the story of the Southern Jewish experience as it has evolved from the early 1700s.

Playing with "Shalom Ireland" (2003), about the little-known history of Irish Jewry.

• 1:30 p.m. today; 4:15 p.m. Sunday and Thursday; 9:15 p.m. Monday

"Terrorists in Retirement" (1986), about men who were part of the French Resistance in Nazi-occupied Paris, 1940-44.

• 9:15 p.m. today; 1:30 p.m. Sunday; 7 p.m. Tuesday

All films except "My Architect" are $6 at the door. Festival Flash Passes are $25 for five tickets, $45 for 10 tickets, and $80 for 20 tickets, and are available at Temple Emanu-El in advance or at the theater on the day of performance. Cash or check only accepted at the door. Information: 595-7521, ext. 14.

"My Architect" tickets are $7.75 for evening performances and $5.25 for matinees. A panel discussion on architect Kahn takes place after today's 7 p.m. screening. Call the theater for show times at 526-4171.

Film schedules can also be picked up at the Restaurant Row 9 Theaters or at Temple Emanu-El, 2550 Pali Highway.