PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
The Arts Council
Contact: Kevin Ledgewood
205-758-5195, x6
2012 JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL AT THE BAMA THEATRE
(Tuscaloosa) The Arts Council will present the 10th Annual Jewish Film Festival March 24 – 27, 2012 at the Bama Theatre. The festival will open on March 24 with a reception featuring a Jewish Food Festival and Klezmer music with The Promised Band at 6:30 p.m. Admission to both the food festival and screening of the opening film, The Yankles, is $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Advance tickets are only available from the Temple Emanu-El sisterhood, and the food festival will be limited to 200 patrons. Tickets for individual films – including the opening film without the Food Festival – will also be on sale at the box office prior to screenings for $7-$6-$5.
Tuscaloosa’s inaugural Jewish Film Festival took place in 2003 through a partnership between Temple Emanu-El and The Arts Council. The festival was established with the goals of introducing local audiences to the best of Jewish filmmaking and expanding cultural and social understanding.
To purchase tickets for the opening night reception, call 759-3230 or email jfftuscaloosa@gmail.com. Visit www.bamatheatre.org for a complete synopsis of films, trailers and festival details.
The Bama Theatre is located at 600 Greensboro Avenue in downtown Tuscaloosa. For more information about The Arts Council or Bama Theatre, patrons can follow the group on Facebook at “The Arts Council – Bama Theatre – Cultural Arts Center” and on Twitter. Call 205-758-5195 for further information.
Schedule & Admission
Saturday, March 24
-6:30 p.m.: Food Festival (limited to 200 patrons) with music by The Promised Band
-7:30 p.m.: The Yankles (film only $7 / $6 / $5)
Admission to both the food festival and screening of the opening film is $12 in advance and $15 at the door
Advance tickets are only available from the Temple Emanu-El Sisterhood:
759-3230 or email jfftuscaloosa@gmail.com
Sunday, March 25 at 2pm: Kosher and In Heaven Underground ($7 / $6 / $5)
Monday, March 26 at 7:30pm: Cantor on Trial and Inside Hana’s Suitcase ($7 / $6 / $5)
Tuesday, March 27 at 7:30pm: Seven Minutes in Heaven ($7 / $6 / $5)
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Saturday, March 24 at 6:30 pm – Food Festival with Music
From bagels to hummus, the Food Festival will feature a huge selection of sweet and savory traditional cuisine. The menu will represent both traditional foods and those adapted to the modern Jewish table. The food festival will be highlighted by a performance of Klezmer music provided by The Promised Band. The ensemble is composed of local musicians Gaines Brake, clarinet, Line Ringuette-Brake, clarinet & bass clarinet, Bob McKinney, bass and Raphael Crystal, piano.
Opening Screening at 7:30 pm
The Yankles
2009 / Comedy-Drama / Directed by David R. Brooks
Synopsis: The Yankles is the story of an upstart, orthodox yeshiva baseball team that earns a ticket to compete in the college world series, coached by Charlie Jones, an ex-major league center fielder on parole for multiple DUI convictions and desperate to fulfill his community service. While The Yankles strive for success on the field, Charlie works to rebuild his reputation and relationships, and in the process finds redemption.
Sunday, March 25 at 2 pm
Kosher (Short)
2001 / Short-Comedy / Directed and Written by Aimee Barth
Synopsis: Six year old Charles Robinson wants more than anything to marry his sweetheart, Rachel, on the playground after school. There’s only one problem: He’s Christian and she’s Jewish. Micah, the older, wiser Jewish boy, won’t marry them unless Charles converts. See what Charles will really do to win his true love.
In Heaven Underground: The Weissensee Jewish Cemetery
2009 / Comedy-Drama / Directed by Britta Wauer
Synopsis: An enchanting journey into history that celebrates life and the immortality of memories. The peaceful and secluded 130-year-old Weissensee Jewish Cemetery, the largest Jewish cemetery still in use in Europe, hold 115,000 graves and a meticulous archive record. The 100 acre cemetery has never closed, and was one of the few institutions to remain in Jewish hands during the Nazi regime. Award-winning director Britta Wauer’s charming portrait creates a serene experience following a delightful array of characters from around the world: mourners, tourists, a young family residing at the cemetery, a third-generation gravedigger and an ornithologist studying rare birds of prey.
Monday, March 26 at 7:30 pm:
A Cantor on Trial (Short)
1931 / Comedy-Musical / Directed by Sidney M. Goldin
Stars Louis ‘Leibele’ Waldman
Synopsis: This short gem features Louis “Leibele” Waldman playing three different parts – first an old-world Eastern European, then a German, each auditioning to be the synagogue cantor. Displeased with what they’ve heard and unable to agree, the synagogue committee is visited by Leibele’s agent who offers them a third alternative: a modern American Chazan, with “pep and jazz,” who can do Kol Nidre with a “two-step” and Netaneh Tokef with a “black bottom.”
Inside Hana’s Suitcase
2009/ Documentary/ Directed by Larry Weinstein
Stars George Brady, Lara Brady and Fumiko Ishioka
Synopsis: The poignant story of two children who grew up in pre-WWII Czechoslovakia and the terrible events that they endured just because they were Jewish. Based on the internationally acclaimed book which has been translated into 40 languages, the film is an effective blend of documentary and dramatic techniques. In addition to tracing the lives of George and Hana Brady in the 1930’s and 40’s, it tells the present-day story of “The Small Wings,” how a group of Japanese children and their passionate and tenacious teacher, Fumiko Ishioka, solved the mystery of Hana Brady, whose name was painted on an old battered suitcase that they received from Auschwitz.
Tuesday, March 27 at 7:30 pm:
Seven Minutes in Heaven
2008 / Drama / Directed by Omri Givon
Stars Reymond Amsalem, Nadav Netz and Eldad Prives
Synopsis: One morning Galia and her boyfriend board a local Jerusalem bus. It is packed with passengers, among them a suicide bomber. The bus explodes, leaving Galia with severe burns and memory loss. She has no memory of the day of the terrorist attack and the days leading up to it. A necklace sent to her from an unidentified source sets her off on a journey to find the missing pieces of the puzzle from that horrific day.
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