Central JCC film fest aims to promote pride
The 11th annual JCC of Central NJ Jewish Film Festival will again present a roster of quality Jewish-themed films from around the world.
The five screenings will be at the Rialto Theater in Westfield.
The aim of the festival is to promote awareness and pride in the Jewish people’s diversity; strengthen community consciousness of Jewish identity, history, and culture; provide a forum for cultural dialogue; and create an international showcase for filmmakers whose work explores Jewish and Israeli themes.
All films start at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 19 — Dough. In this relevant and gently humorous story about overcoming prejudice and finding redemption in unexpected places, a Jewish baker fighting to save his bakery sees his sales skyrocket after his apprentice accidentally drops cannabis in the dough.
Tuesday, April 26 — A Borrowed Identity. A gifted Palestinian Israeli boy is given the chance to go to a prestigious Jewish boarding school in Jerusalem. Faced with the discovery that he will have to sacrifice his identity in order to be accepted, he must make a decision that will change his life forever.
Monday, May 2 — The Last Mentsch. A man who escaped Auschwitz, only to exterminate his own Jewishness as he recreates himself with a non-Jewish identity. An emotional narrative of friendship and healing that explores the cost of forgetting the past and the power in remembering it.
Wednesday, May 11 — Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem. The documentary ties Sholom Aleichem’s litany of Yiddish characters and stories with Theodore Bikel’s portrayals that breathe new life into the Yiddish author’s 19th- and early 20th-century tales of Eastern European life.
Tuesday, May 17 — Remember. With help from a fellow Holocaust survivor (Martin Landau), a widower (Christopher Plummer) with memory loss embarks on a journey to find the former Nazi responsible for the deaths of their family members.
Tickets cost $14, $12 for JCC members, seniors, and students in advance; $15 at the door. Series subscriptions cost $65, $55 for JCC members, seniors, and students. Tickets may be purchased at the JCC in Scotch Plains or at jccnj.org.
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