The 12th Annual Boston Jewish Film Festival:
A Celebration of Religion, Race and Art

by Denise Wdman

The 12th Annual Boston Jewish Film Festival represents far more than just a showing of many excellent films. The Festival is a celebration of the soul, of art, of love and family, and of politics, religion and race. The event – which runs from November 2nd through the 12th in various venues throughout the Boston area – reaches far and wide, not only geographically, but also in the richness and depth of issues that its 49 films explore.

From the presence of Czech Director Matej Minác at the Opening Night reception and showing of ALL MY LOVED ONES, Minác's testament to family life during the war, to the attendance of French Director Martine Dugowson (MINA TANNENBAUM) at the world premiere of LES YEUX BAISSÉS, a complex drama about two women whose relationship is haunted by their troubled pasts, the Festival's program includes films from 15 countries.

The Festival also embraces the local community. Introductions by New England celebrities such as Congressman Barney Frank; Boston Globe writer Alan Lupo; Ellen Kushner, Host of SOUND AND SPIRIT, 'GBH 89.7 FM; and a performance by members of Voice of the Turtle are commingled with showings of significant films involving Massachusetts residents.

For example, FIGHTER, voted Best Documentary at this year's Newport International Film Festival, retraces Lenox, Massachusetts resident Jan Wiener's remarkable odyssey and escape route in Europe during World War II. The Festival also pays homage to local filmmaker Richard Broadman, who early this year died suddenly, by presenting his last film, BROWNSVILLE BLACK AND WHITE, which examines the relationship of Blacks and Jews in New York during the 1960's.

In addition, the Festival proudly offers three films by distinguished experimental filmmaker and Massachusetts resident, Abraham Ravett. Ravett, who teaches filmmaking and photography at Hampshire College, was born in Poland in 1947 to Holocaust survivors. Raised in Israel, he emigrated to the United States in 1955. Using family films, old photographs and archival footage, Ravett has created EVERYTHING'S FOR YOU, IN MEMORY, and THE MARCH, three important films that struggle to understand those who survived the Holocaust and to memorialize those who did not.

This year's Festival also reaches deep into the essence of the human spirit, whether as individuals, as a family, as friends, or in a lovers' relationship. Isabella Rossellini and Maximilian Schnell star in LEFT LUGGAGE, a film about an intense nanny's devotion to her charge. LEFT LUGGAGE has been described by Film Comment magazine as "a fine tone poem about cruelty versus forgiveness." KADOSH, an Official Selection at the 1999 Cannes International Film Festival, tells the story of an infertile couple, deeply in love, yet torn by the demands of their faith. And COURS TOUJOURS (CUT AND RUN), a French comedy of errors, chronicles the hilarious path of a Jewish father trying to follow the proper circumcision ritual for his newborn son.

Barney Frank will introduce PARAGRAPH 175, a film narrated by Rupert Everett and directed by Academy Award winners Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (COMMON THREADS: STORIES FROM THE QUILT and THE CELLULOID CLOSET). This award-winning documentary comprised of interviews of gay Holocaust survivors, many now in their nineties, exposes the hidden history of homosexual persecution during World War II. THE EINSTEIN OF SEX, a documentary infused with touches of MASTERPIECE THEATRE, brilliantly chronicles the experience of the German sexologist Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, long considered the "founding father of the gay movement."

It seems virtually impossible to orchestrate a Jewish film festival without delving into issues involving race, politics and religion, since these themes are so tightly intertwined with the Jewish experience. Indeed, the Festival burrows richly into these areas with such films as BORDERS, Director Eran Riklis' passionate portrayal of how families and lovers are forever affected by changed borders between Israel and its neighbors; and EMILE HABIBI ­ I STAYED IN HAIFA, about the famed Palestinian­Israeli writer Emile Habibi. Habibi is one of modern Arabic literature's most esteemed writers and the recipient of the Israel Prize for Literature. Although born into a Protestant Palestinian family, Habibi later became a leader in the Israeli Communist Party as well as a member of the Knesset.

Children are also included in this year's offerings. On Sunday, November 5th starting at 10:30 at the Museum of Fine Arts, GOD@HEAVEN, a touching story about a little boy who sends an e-mail to God, will begin the children's program; followed by PERSONAL GOALS, a story of a dad whose goal for his son to be a famous soccer player is thwarted; and SOMETHING FOR NOTHING, an animated tale of love and hope about a poor tailor who creates a special blanket for his grandson.

A violin performance of Bach's La Chaconne – considered one of the most difficult pieces for the violin– by Marylou Speaker Churchill, retired second violinist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, will introduce one of the Festival's most chilling selections: J.S. BACH IN AUSCHWITZ, an exquisite documentary about how the high standards of the Auschwitz Orchestra saved its more than 40 female members.

This year's showings will take place in several locations in the Boston area, including the primary venues of the Museum of Fine Arts and the Coolidge Corner Cinema in Brookline. In addition, there will be screenings at the Harvard Film Archive in Cambridge and Hollywood Hits Discount Theatres in Danvers. In collaboration with the Striar Jewish Community Center in Sharon, The Boston Jewish Film Festival South, for the first time, will host screenings in Sharon and Randolph.

Tickets may be purchased through MajesTix at the Emerson Majestic Theatre by calling 617-824-8000. For further information or for group sales, contact the Boston Jewish Film Festival at 617-244-9899 or visit www.bjff.org.

Denise Widman is an award winning screenwriter whose scripts have placed as a Finalist and a Semi-Finalist in the Massachusetts Film Office Screenwriting Competition. Before turning her efforts to screenwriting, Denise spent several years in marketing and public relations for such entertainment and media companies as The New York Times Company, Bravo, Houghton Mifflin and AT&T.