Jewish Film Festival offers humor, drama with an international flavorIn its third year, the Phoenix Jewish Film Festival has grown into a five-night celebration of international Jewish film. The festival, to be held Nov. 15-19 at Harkins' Camelview 5 theater on Goldwater Boulevard north of Camelback Road in Scottsdale, will feature five films: "Afula Express," "Like a Bride," "Europa Europa," "The Imported Bridegroom," and "Over the Ocean" - each representing a different country.A review and discussion will follow each film. Discussion leaders will include Rabbi Albert Plotkin, rabbi emeritus of Temple Beth Israel; Janet Arnold, director of the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company; Francie Noyes, public-relations director for Gov. Jane Hull; Fred Linch, local film lecturer; and Libby Weiner, a student of Jewish literature and the Holocaust. "Afula Express" (Israel) will kick off the nightly presentations at 7 p.m. Nov. 15. It's a bittersweet comedy about a car mechanic who moves to Tel Aviv with his girlfriend to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a magician. "Like a Bride" (Mexico) is the story of two young Jewish women coming of age in the 1960s in Mexico City. They ultimately have to defy their families to pursue happiness. It will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 16. "Europa Europa" (Poland/France) is the story of a German Jewish teen-ager who survives World War II by concealing his identity and living as a Nazi for seven years. It will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 17. "The Imported Bridegroom" (United States) is about a turn-of-the-century widower from Boston who returns to the "old country" for spiritual nourishment - and to find a suitable husband for his Americanized daughter. Guess who doesn't like the "catch" he finds? It will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18. The festival will be capped by "Over the Ocean" (Israel). This 1995 film won nine Israeli Academy Awards. It's a warm and humorous movie about an immigrant Russian Jewish family struggling to adjust to their new life in Tel Aviv. It will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19. The festival is a community venture, co-sponsored by Beth El Congregation, the Jewish Community Center, the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix Israel Office, Sylvia Plotkin Judaica Museum, Temple Beth Israel, Temple Chai, Temple Kol Ami, Temple Solel and Har Zion Congregation. Series tickets are $33; single admissions are $7.50. Student tickets are $5. Series tickets can be used one for each program, five for one program, or any other combination. Tickets are available from the co-sponsors. For Visa and MasterCard purchases, call 274-1800. Tickets also will be available at the box office an hour before each screening. For further details, call Temple Chai at 971-1234. 
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