In her third year leading the programming of the Jewish and Israel Film Festival, Eowyn Garfinkle’s job never gets easier – especially given the high caliber of options each year.
“There are so many that we consider that are incredible films, and it’s really hard to whittle it down to the 12 or 13 in each festival,” said Garfinkle, the manager of arts and culture at Mayerson JCC. “Our goal is engaging our audience, connecting and fostering community in that way.”
This year’s festival runs Jan. 31-Feb. 26 with a dozen films and 13 events. The festival opens with the coming-of-age story Ethan Bloom, with a young adult happy hour prior to the screening. There will be a sensory screening of the film on Feb. 1.
“This year was a little more difficult to decide on the [festival] opener because we had a handful of really good contenders,” Garfinkle said.
Ethan Bloom stars Joshua Malina (“The West Wing”) as the father of a son who should be getting ready for his Bar Mitzvah, but wants to convert to Catholicism instead. So it’s a funny one, but there’s that kind of family tension and drama within that one.
A number of the films have special events associated with them – speakers or Q-and-A sessions.
“I think it’s a hugely important way to provide additional context,” said Evan Gildenblatt, one of the festival’s board members. “Provide the viewing audience with even more for them to explore the themes of the, to dive deeper into how it relates to their Jewish identity, to their worldview…it’s very important that we’re able to do that.”
One of those events is a discussion between Rabbi Sammy Kanter, the director of Jewish life at the Mayerson JCC, and Dr. Muli Peleg, a political sociologist who specializes in conflict analysis and conflict resolution processes, negotiation processes, leadership models, and democratic sustainability. He is currently an Israel Institute Fellow and Visiting Professor at the University of Cincinnati.
Kanter and Peleg will hold a discussion after the film The Sea, in which Khaled, a 12-year-old boy from a Palestinian village, travels to the sea for the first time on a school trip. But at the military checkpoint, he is denied entry and sent home. Determined, Khaled sneaks into Israel and embarks on a journey to the sea. The film, while controversial in Israel, was the submitted to be Israel’s nominee to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film.
“It’s very real, it’s very topical, but it’s one of those [films] where you feel uncomfortable. I felt uncomfortable,” Garfinkle said. “But that’s where I knew this is a discussion that needs to be had, besides the fact that the film itself is visually stunning.”
The 15 committee members all watch at least five films and bring their thoughts to the committee to help narrow the list. The discussions can get heated as they all have their favorites for inclusion or exclusion.
“With the makeup of our committee, those conversations are difficult,” Garfinkle said. “We certainly have a spectrum of just where people are in their identities.”
Said Gildenblatt: “It seems to kind of fall into place when we have our selection meeting. We have big sheets of paper up on the walls, and the chair is writing under different categories. We try not to have too many films that are in one column, [but] it generally kind of works itself out in the selection.”
Film Festival Schedule
Saturday, Jan. 31: Ethan Bloom
Sunday, Feb. 1: Ethan Bloom (Sensory screening)
Tuesday, Feb. 3: Always Together
Thursday, Feb. 5: Frontier
Monday, Feb. 9: A Letter to David
Wednesday, Feb. 11: The Sea
Thursday, Feb. 12: Matchmaking 2
Sunday, Feb. 15: An American Tail (40th Anniversary)
Tuesday, Feb. 17: Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse
Wednesday, Feb. 18: Among Neighbors
Sunday, Feb. 22: Midas Man
Tuesday, Feb. 24: Once Upon My Mother
Thursday, Feb. 26: The Property
For more information, including screening times, location, and price, go to the Mayerson JCC website.
