2015 spring season - film at the dcjcc

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2015 SPRING SEASONFILM DCJCCat

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THE STURGEON QUEENSWEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 7:30 PMDir. Julie Cohen (50min, USA, 2014) Narrative

Presented at Adas Israel Congregation (2850 Quebec Street NW, Washington, DC) in partnership with MakomDC @Adas Israel

Four generations of a Jewish immigrant family created Russ and Daughters, a Lower East Side lox and herring emporium that thrives to this day. Follow its fascinating history through interviews with two of the original daughters of the store’s name and stalwart patrons such as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and New Yorker writer Calvin Trillin.

ALTINATUESDAY, APRIL 14, 7:30 PMDir. Peter Sanders (79min, USA, 2014) Documentary

Born in a New York mansion to a Sephardic tobacco tycoon from Turkey, Altina Schinasi (1907-1999) quickly eclipsed her guarded childhood to make sexually liberated art with a flagrant audacity that became the trademark of a life lived to the fullest. Along the way, she picked up an Oscar nomination for directing Interregnum, a film on George Grosz; befriended Martin Luther King Jr.; and hid a member of the Hollywood Ten during the Red Scare.

Director Peter Sanders in person.

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BENEATH THE HELMET: From High School to the Home FrontTUESDAY, APRIL 21, 7:30 PMDir. Wayne Kopping (85min, Israel, 2014)Documentary

A coming of age story that highlights five young Israeli high school graduates who are drafted into the army to defend their country. At the age of 18, away from their houses, family, and friends, these young individuals undergo a demanding journey, revealing the core of who they are and who they want to be.

Co-presented by the Israel Action Center at the JCC of Greater Washington.

Two jews walk into a barTHURSDAY, APRIL 23, 7:30 PMNellie’s Sports Bar (900 U St NW, Washington, DC)

Join us for a Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) celebration at Nellie’s featuring food, drinks, and 20 short Israeli animated films and music videos. Drinks and films are included with your ticket. Seating is limited and we expect this event to sell out quickly.

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THE LENGTH OF THE ALPHABETTUESDAY, MAY 5, 7:30 PMDir. Joe Balass (52min, Canada, 2013)In French, Arabic and English with English subtitlesDocumentary

Order of Canada recipient Naïm Kattan considers language, place and home to be the three pillars of his life and work. Director Joe Balass presents a touching portrait of the Iraqi-Jewish Francophone Canadian author—from his youth in Baghdad to his studies in France and his move to Montreal in the 1950s where he flourished. Founder of the first Canadian Jewish newsletter in French, Kattan forged connections between Montreal’s Jewish and Francophone communities.

Director Joe Balass in person.

EL GUSTOTUESDAY, MAY 12, 7:30 PMDir. Safinez Bousbia (88min, Algeria/Ireland/France, 2011)In Arabic and French with English SubtitlesDocumentary

Disbanded by the 1954 Algerian Revolution, an orchestra of young Jews and Muslims in the city of Algiers went silent for sixty years. That is, until filmmaker Safinez Bousbia fell in love with their infectious Chaabi music – Sephardic Spanish rhythms with Arabic sound. She brought the El Gusto orchestra back together, its members 70 to 100 years old, for a joyful reunion and a wildly successful musical tour of Europe, reminiscent of The Buena Vista Social Club.

Presented as part of the Washington Jewish Music Festival

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DAWNTUESDAY, MAY 19, 7:30 PMDir. Romed Wyder (95min, Switzerland/UK/Germany/Israel, 2014) Narrative

Two men wait through the night in British-controlled Palestine for dawn – and for death. One is a captured English officer. The other is a young Israeli freedom fighter whose assignment is to kill the officer to avenge the British execution of a Jewish prisoner. Based on Eli Wiesel’s best-selling novel of the same name.

Director Romed Wyder in person.

Co-sponsored by the Embassy of Switzerland

CLOSER TO THE MOONTUESDAY, MAY 26, 7:30 PMDir. Nae Caranfil (110min, Romania/USA/Italy, 2014) Narrative

The true account of a group of high-ranking Jewish members of the nomenklatura, who, in 1959, staged what was to become known as the coup of the century: They robbed Romania’s National Bank, making it look like a film shoot. And this is only the beginning. Once arrested and prosecuted, they were forced to reenact their parts in the heist for a propaganda movie. Despite its tragic aspect, this incredible story forever shrouded in mystery, gets an unexpectedly light treatment. Vera Farmiga, Mark Strong, and Game of Thrones’ Harry Lloyd star.

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A LA VIETUESDAY, JUNE 9, 7:30 PMDir. Jean-Jacques Zilbermann (104min, France, 2014)In French with English subtitlesNarrative

Three women who were all in Auschwitz, but who haven’t seen each other since the war, get together at Berck-Plage in 1960. This break offers Hélène, Rose, and Lili many firsts: their first real meal together, their first ice cream, and their first swim. There will be laughter, song, and merriment; but the women also find their rekindled friendship burdened by unspoken memories.

TOUCHDOWN ISRAELTUESDAY, JUNE 16, 7:30 PMDir. Paul Hirschberger (85min, USA/Israel, 2014)Documentary

Against all odds, an aggressive new sport is playing out in Israel’s stadiums. Weekend warriors team up, suit up, don helmets over their kippahs, and charge the field in a season of full-contact American tackle football, revealing pieces of themselves and their world along the way. Secular or religious, Israeli-born or not, these Jews, Muslims and Christians are transformed from ordinary citizens into fierce gridiron competitors on a quest for Israel Bowl glory.

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BLUE LIKE METUESDAY, JUNE 30, 7:30PMDir. Hal Rikin (28min, USA/India, 2015)Documentary

An exploration of artist Siona Benjamin’s fascinating life and work. A Jew raised in India, educated by nuns and Zoroastrian teachers, brought up alongside Hindu, Christian and Muslim neighbors, Benjamin has garnered global acclaim for her paintings, which blend Talmudic, Hindu and Islamic references with contemporary Western art influences. Preceded by the 36min film In Search of Bene Israel (2008) about Sadia Shepard’s Indian Jewish grandmother who eloped with a Muslim man and migrated from India to Pakistan and later, to the United States.

WE ARE GRATEFUL TO OUR MAJOR DONORS AND SPONSORS:AnonymousNaomi and Nehemiah Cohen

FoundationScott and Ellen DreyerLouie and Ralph DweckSusie and Michael GelmanShelley and Allan HoltThe Melvin and Estelle Gelman

Foundation - Elise and Marc Lefkowitz

Jacob and Charlotte Lehrman Foundation

Linda and Sid MoskowitzDeborah and Michael Salzberg

DAY SPONSOR DIRECTOR

LIGHTS

PRODUCER Linda Greenberg and Tac TaceloskyLinda Lipsett and Jules BernsteinMelanie and Lawrence Nussdorf

Patty Abramson and Les SilvermanMichele and Allan BermanCyna and Paul Cohen & Sara Cohen

and Norman RichLois and Richard England Family

FoundationDina GoldRichard SollowayMarcia and Ira WagnerDiane Abelman Wattenberg Judith Weintraub

Belman Klein Associates, LTDJacqueline and Edward CohenBrenda Gruss and Daniel HirschTamara and Harry HandelsmanAviva KempnerMarian and Alan MalaskyJoy MidmanSusan Wedlan and Harold RosenAnita Wolke and Kenneth Brooks

YEAR-ROUND PASSESExcited about our year-round film programs? Consider purchasing a pass and save over 50% off buying individual tickets!

Passes are available for individual seasons or the whole year.

To learn more, visit dcjcc.org/filmpass; email [email protected]; or call 202-777-3247.

WJFF.ORG@WJFF/WASHINGTONJEWISHFILMFESTIVAL

Washington DCJCC

Morris Cafritz Center for the Arts

Irwin P. Edlavitch Building

1529 Sixteenth Street NW

Washington, DC 20036

2015 spring season - film at the dcjcc

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