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December 19, 2003/Kislev 24 5764, Vol. 56, No. 13
Film festival begins in Sun Lakes
JESSICA BARBER
Staff Writer
From the aftermath of the Holocaust to the life of baseball great Hank Greenberg, the Sun Lakes Jewish Film Festival covers it all.
The first-ever event features seven films - four feature-length and three shorter films - to be shown Jan. 11-Feb. 22 at Pollack Tempe Cinemas.
The festival, according to organizers, is the culmination of a family history project and the desire to create cultural independence for the East Valley Jewish community.
"It all started with Hank Greenberg," recalls Sid Israel, festival director. "Gloria (Sid's wife) is Hank's niece (by marriage), and she wanted to show the film 'The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg' in Sun Lakes to the residents there."
The documentary, a 12-year project by Aviva Kempner in the 1970s-1980s, reveals how the former Detroit Tiger transcended religious prejudices during the World War II era to become an American hero. The film uses social history and sentimental interviews with Greenberg's family and friends to paint a vivid picture of life in the 1930s and '40s for a young Jewish baseball player. The documentary has won 12 awards at film festivals around the country, and will be the third featured screening of the festival on Feb. 15.
"Now is the time to show it," says Israel. "And I figured as long as I'm showing one ... we should have a festival. Film festivals are appearing all over the world. Let's put Sun Lakes on the map."
With the help of three sponsoring organizations - Chabad of the East Valley, Temple Havurat Emet and Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation - the Israels and the event's publicity chairwoman, Judy Hippner, chose the festival's six remaining films from more than 80 they reviewed.
The festival begins Jan. 11 with "The Quarrel," a feature-length film produced by David Brandes. The film tells the haunting story of two Holocaust survivors who run into each other in Montreal in 1948 - and pick up an old argument right where they left off. One, a pious man who runs a Yeshiva for Jewish orphans, has strengthened his faith as a result of his suffering. The other, a secular writer who has long lost his religious beliefs, has only been driven further from God.
Brandes, a native of Canada and a former television journalist, will speak in person about the film following its screening. His experience in film ranges from his work on the movies "My Life as a Dog" and "American Hero." He has also held positions on the boards of the Center for Jewish Culture & Creativity and the Heartland Film Festival.
"The Quarrel" is paired with a shorter film, "Deaf Heaven," featuring Yiddish actor Davis Opatoshu. The film follows Paul, whose partner is dying of AIDS, and Jake, an Auschwitz survivor, who meet at a Los Angeles health club. The film draws a parallel between AIDS and the Holocaust through stories of love, guilt, survival and the importance of bearing witness.
The second pair of films, "Left Luggage" and "Advice and Dissent," will be shown Jan. 25.
"Left Luggage," starring Isabella Rossellini and Chaim Topol, tells the story of a rebellious young philosophy student struggling to come of age in Belgium during the 1970s. Chaja, whose parents are concentration camp survivors, is unable to accept her Jewish identity until she becomes a nanny for a Hasidic family and develops a deep connection to the family's youngest child - and to Jewish tradition.
The shorter feature, "Advice and Dissent," tells the story of a businessman so desperate to divorce his wife he asks a rabbi to place a curse on her. The rabbi refuses, but offers the man peculiar advice that gives way to a series of unexpected events.
The final pair of films, to be shown on Feb. 22, features "Dad on the Run" and "Zahor."
The first, "Dad on the Run," is a comedy about Jonah, a young musician and new father, who learns at the last minute that, according to an "obscure Jewish custom," he must rush to bury the foreskin of his just-circumcised son. The film, set in the Paris nightclub scene, is in French with English subtitles.
The festival's final film, "Zahor," is dedicated to keeping alive the memory of victims of Hitler's Nazi Germany. The 22-minute film focuses on vintage photos and films of Holocaust victims, striving to present them as people, and not as skeletons in striped uniforms so often portrayed in the media.
The last day of the festival also features "An Afternoon and Evening of Jewish Music and Song" with Lawrence and Gray Musical Combo.
The two local musicians "have a repertoire of Hebrew and Jewish songs for an hour of beautiful music," says Israel. "We intend to be dancing in the aisles and clapping."
The duo will perform after each screening on Feb. 22.
Film festival organizers plan to have speakers each day, although details have not yet been decided. Each pair of films will be shown twice on its assigned day, at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available for advance purchase or at the door.
Half of the festival's proceeds will be donated to the construction of the Maricopa County Public Library, Ed Robson Branch in Sun Lakes. The other half will be divided among the sponsoring synagogues for community programming and charitable works.
"These films will help (the audience) share a view of the world through a Jewish lens, linked by the Jewish cultural experience and a heritage of humanity and understanding throughout the ages," says Israel. "We can hope to see ourselves ... in a new light, while gaining a better understanding of our lives in relation to a shifting world."
Details
- What: Sun Lakes Jewish Film Festival
- Who: Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation, Chabad of the East Valley, Temple Havurat Emet
- When: 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sundays, Jan. 11, Jan. 25, Feb. 15 and Feb. 22
- Where: Pollack Tempe Cinemas, 1825 E. Elliot Road, Tempe
- Cost: $5 per performance, $16 for series
- Call: 480-895-0322
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