Films
Sunday, November 6 -
Opening Night - A French Affaire, dinner and film -
at the JCC of Greater Columbus, 1125 College Ave., Bexley.
The Names of Love
Directed by Michel Leclerc
France, 2010
Feature, 102 minutes
In French with English subtitles
Rated PG equivalent
Film begins at 7 p.m. (Film preceded by dinner reception at 5:30 p.m.)
Baya Benmahmoud, a young, extroverted liberal, lives by the old hippie slogan: "Make love, not war" to convert right-wing men
to her left-wing political causes by sleeping with them. She seduces many and so far has received exceptional results - until she
meets Arthur Martin, a Jewish middle aged, middle-of-the road scientist. Bound by common tragic family histories (the Algerian War
and Holocaust under Vichy), the duo improbably falls in love. Amid the bubbly amour, humorous lasciviousness and moments of sheer
madness, filmmaker Michel Leclerc injects satirical riffs on such hot-button sociopolitical issues as Arab-Jewish relations,
anti-Semitism, immigration, and racial and cultural identity.
Winner 2 Cesar Awards, 2011: Best Actress - Sara Forestier; Best Original Screenplay - Baya Kasmi and Michel Leclerc
Click here to view The Names of Love trailer.
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Tuesday, November 8 -
at the The Drexel Theater, 2254 East Main St., Bexley.
Vidal Sassoon: The Movie
Directed by Craig Teper
USA, 2010
Documentary, 90 minutes
In English
Rated PG equivalent
Film begins at 7 p.m. (Sponsored in part by
Michael Garcia A' Salon.)
This first-time, deeply intimate look into the life of Vidal Sassoon, from his early days in an orphanage, to his time as a
soldier, his beginnings on Bond Street, and ultimately, the revolution he caused, which continues to this day. Vidal Sassoon
The Movie was filmed over the course of 3 years and features unprecedented access to Vidal, candid interviews with former
staff, family members, reporters and historians. Together they explore the life and legacy of the most influential hairdresser
in the world, whose influence far outreaches the industry he changed forever. Millions revere the legend, yet so few know the man.
Click here to view Vidal Sassoon The Movie trailer.
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Thursday, November 10 -
Kristallnacht Commemoration at the Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Greater Columbus, 1125 College Ave., Columbus.
La Rafle (The Roundup)
Directed by Roselyne Bosch
France, 2011
Feature, 124 minutes
In French, German and Yiddish, with English subtitles
Rated PG equivalent
Film begins at 7 p.m. (Presented in partnership with Jewish Family Services and
the Holocaust Education Committee of the Columbus Jewish Federation. A special Kristallnacht
Commemoration will follow with a guest speaker at 9 p.m)
In picturesque Montmarte, three children wearing a yellow star play in the streets, oblivious to the darkness spreading over
Nazi-occupied France. Their parents do not seem too concerned either, somehow putting their trust in the Vichy Government. But
beyond this view, much is going on. Hitler demands that the French government round up its Jews and put them on trains for the
extermination camps in the East. The collaborators start to put the plan into effect, thereby commencing the darkest period in
France's history.
Click here to view the La Rafle trailer.
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Doc-Sunday, November 13 -
at the Gateway Film Center, 1550 North High Street, OSU South Campus.
Precious Life
Directed by Shlomi Eldar
USA and Israel, 2011
Documentary, 90 minutes
In English, Hebrew & Arabic
Rated PG equivalent
Film begins at 11 a.m. (A post-screening discussion will follow.)
Born without an immune system, four-month-old Palestinian boy Mohammad Abu Mustafa will die without a bone marrow transplant, a
procedure that can only be done in an Israeli hospital. A desperate plea from his doctor to save Mohammad's life leads Israeli
journalist Shlomi Eldar to document this complex and emotional story. As Israeli and Palestinian doctors put aside their
differences to protect the child, we are forced to confront the more personal ramifications of the embargo of Gaza.
Click here to view the Precious Life trailer.
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Sholem Aleichem:
Laughing in the Darkness
Directed by Joseph Dorman
USA, 2010
Documentary, 93 minutes
In English and Yiddish
Rated PG equivalent
Film begins at 1:15 p.m. (Presented in partnership with the
Women of
Tifereth Israel, Tifereth
Israel Men's Club, and The Melton Center for Jewish Studies.
A portrait of the great writer whose stories became the basis of the Broadway musical, Fiddler on the Roof,
Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness tells the tale of the rebellious genius who created an entirely new literature.
Plumbing the depths of a Jewish world locked in crisis and on the cusp of profound change, he captured that world with
brilliant humor. Sholem Aleichem was not just a witness to the creation of a new modern Jewish identity, but one of the very men
who forged it.
Click here to view the Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness trailer.
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Crime After Crime
Directed by Yoav Potash
USA, 2011
Documentary, 93 minutes
In English
Rated PG equivalent
Film begins at 3:15 p.m.; post-screening discussion to follow. (Presented in partnership with
Jewish Family Services and the National
Council for Jewish Women).
Crime After Crime tells the dramatic story of the legal battle to free Debbie Peagler, an
incarcerated survivor of domestic violence. Over 26 years in prison could not crush the spirit of this
determined African-American woman, despite the wrongs she suffered, first at the hands of a duplicitous
boyfriend who beat her and forced her into prostitution, and later by prosecutors who used the threat of
the death penalty to corner her into a life behind bars for her connection to the murder of her abuser.
Her story takes an unexpected turn two decades later when two rookie land-use attorneys step
forward to take her case. Through their perseverance, they bring to light long-lost witnesses, new
testimonies from the men who committed the murder, and proof of perjured evidence. Their
investigation ultimately attracts global attention to victims of wrongful incarceration and abuse, and
becomes a matter of life and death once more.
Awards - Audience Choice Award, Atlanta Jewish Film Festival; Audience Choice Award, San Francisco International Film Festival;
Best Editor, Milan International Film Festival;
Golden Gate Award for Investigative Documentary Feature, San Francisco Int'l Film Festival;
Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film & Digital Media, Council on Foundations FF;
Justice Matters Jury Prize, Washington DC International Film Festival;
Pursuit of Justice Award, California Women's Law Center.
Click here to view the Crime After Crime trailer.
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Symposium Tuesday, November 15 -
at the Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Greater Columbus,
1125 College Avenue, Columbus.
Between Two Worlds
Directed by Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman
USA, 2011
Documentary, 70 minutes
In English
Rated PG equivalent
Film begins at 7 p.m. (Chinese Kosher Dinner* precedes film at 6 p.m.; panel discussion to follow at 8:30 p.m.)
Between Two Worlds is a groundbreaking personal exploration of the community and family divisions that are redefining
American Jewish identity and politics. The filmmakers' own families are battlegrounds over loyalty to Israel, interpretations of
the Holocaust, intermarriage, and a secret communist past. Filmed in the United States and Israel, this first-person documentary
begins with a near riot at a Jewish Film Festival in San Francisco, reveals the agonizing battle over divestment from Israel on a
university campus, and shows the crackdown on dissent in Israel itself.
*Ticket options are for Film Only ($8 for JCC members, $10 for non-members), and Dinner and a Film ($28 members, $30 non-members).
Reservations are required (as seating is limited to 75) by calling (614) 559-6258.
Click here to view the Between Two Worlds trailer.
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Thursday, November 17 -
at the Arena Grand, 175 West Nationwide Blvd.
Mabul
Directed by Guy Nattiv
Israel, 2011
Feature, 100 minutes
In Hebrew, with English subtitles
Rated PG equivalent
Film begins at 6 p.m. (Presented in partnership with Jewish
Family Services.)
Everything is complicated in Yoni's life. He's almost 13, real gifted, but physically undeveloped and struggles daily to grow up
before his threatening up-coming Bar Mitzvah. He sells homework in order to secretly buy a body building wonder powder, which so
far does nothing, he stretches every night with heavy weight tied to his legs and screams with full force in front of the wind to
thicken his girlish, unstable voice. His new classmates, a year older and two heads taller, bully him at every chance they get and
his parents barely say a word to each other and communicate through him, if at all. As if all this isn't enough - only a week
before the ceremony - his autistic brother, Tomer, 17, hidden for years in a hostel that is now shut down - returns home. This
shakes not only Yoni's life, but the unstable foundation of the entire family.
Awards - nominated for several Ophir Awards, including Best Film and Best Actress; shown at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.
Click here to view the Mabul trailer.
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The Infidel
Directed by Josh Appignanesi
United Kingdom, 2010
Comedy, 105 minutes
In English
Rated PG equivalent
Film begins at 8 p.m.
Mahmud is a loving husband, doting father and an admittedly "relaxed" Muslim. A normal guy living an everyday life. That is
until a chance discovery turns his life upside down, throwing him into a full-scale identity crisis: it turns out he's adopted,
and was actually born Jewish.
Click here to view The Infidel trailer.
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