Visit austinjff.org for frestival and ticket information. | October 2016 | C1
FOURTEENTH ANNUAL
W E LCO M E
F
N OV E M B E R 5 -1 1 , 2 01 6
ourteen years ago, in 2002, the Austin Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) was
a concept, a notion, a big idea. The larger Jewish communities around the
country had Jewish film festivals, and the time was right to bring one to Austin. That October, AJFF screened its first film at the Alamo Drafthouse. Since
that time, AJFF has become well known for screening the best quality Jewish
documentary, drama, and short films from around the globe and for providing
speakers, interviews, and programmed events to complement those films. AJFF
regularly coordinates with cultural organizations city-wide and attracts an audience beyond the Jewish community. 2016 is no exception as we bring opportunities for Jewish learning, live professional events, and even a food-tasting to
the theater!
Natalie Portman stars in, directs, and serves as screenwriter for our opening
film, “A Tale of Love and Darkness”, a story based on the memoir of Amos Oz
and the early years of the State of Israel. “A Grain of Truth”, a gripping, fastpaced thriller, closes our opening night with a plot of intrigue, based on an adaption of a bestselling Polish novel.
We first met Mekonen Abeba in the highly acclaimed documentary “Beneath
the Helmet,” as a raw recruit in the IDF Parachute regiment. On Sunday afternoon, we’ll meet him again in “Mekonen: The Journey of an African Jew” and
learn about his incredible quest as he immigrates to Israel from an Ethiopian
village and becomes a decorated officer in the IDF. Following that film, AJFF
collaborates with the Austin Jewish Book Fair to present author/director Josh
Aronson, featuring his film “Orchestra of Exiles,” followed by a book signing
session. Sunday films continue with Christopher Plummer starring in “Remember,” as he embarks on a cross-country odyssey in search for revenge, leading
to a shocking climax. “A Borrowed Identity,” dealing with the complex identities
of Jewish and Palestinian Israelis, closes out the day.
Beginning at noon each day, we’ll travel around the world. We’ll explore previously unknown stories of the Holocaust, such as the film “A Blind Hero: The Love
of Otto Weidt;” we’ll join a group of teens who prevent war between Iran and
Israel, in the zany comedy “Atomic Falafel;” and we’ll discover who has the world
record for the largest serving of Hummus (over 20,000 pounds), in the documentary “Hummus! (The Movie).”
Sabena Flight 572, in route from Brussels to Tel Aviv, was hijacked in 1972.
Even if you remember the outcome of that incredible event, discovering the roles
of past and current Israeli prime ministers in Wednesday evening’s docu-drama
“Sabena Hijacking – My Version” will have you on the edge of your seat! And
“Jerry Lewis: Man Behind the Clown” screens Wednesday at noon with the
fascinating story of Lewis’s rise to fame in both Hollywood and France. His career went far beyond a comic performer, as he was a ground-breaking director,
producer, and writer. Friday, November 11, closes out the film festival at noon
with a delightful shorts program with films from Canada, France, USA, and
Israel.
The AJFF committee looks forward to welcoming you to the theater and travelling with you through film from continent to continent as we explore the world of
Jewish films.
C2 | October 2016 | 2016 AJFF Guide
Volunteer Thank You
LI G H TS ! C A MERA ! CHU TZ PA H!
The 14th annual Austin Jewish Film Festival could not have taken place
without the talents and skills of our many volunteers. We’d like to thank each
of those who contributed their valuable time to the AJFF throughout the year.
We are grateful for the passion and commitment of all our volunteers who help
bring this wonderful festival to the Austin community.
T I C KE TS & PASS ES
The cost of film rentals has risen in recent years, but thanks to the ongoing support of our sponsors and patrons, AJFF has been able to limit
increases in ticket prices for 2016. Individual tickets will be sold for $10
for all moviegoers, for all film screenings. For the first time, AJFF is able
to sell individual tickets online at austinjff.org (with all fees included in the
ticket price); readers of The Jewish Outlook can receive a 10% discount
by entering code OUTLOOK16, and Community Partner organizations and
their members can receive a 10% discount when purchasing tickets online
with their assigned discount code. To save even more, audience members
can purchase a ten-ticket Flex Pass for $80, online or at the theater, for a
savings of $20 over the cost of individual tickets, and Festival Badges will
be available for $150, allowing the holder to attend every single film at this
exciting, week-long festival.
Friend of the Festival Film Badge
$150
Valid for admission to all films at all venues, with advanced seating 15 minutes before show time.
Flex Pass
T
he concept of making a film in a day happens in many cities involving
different age groups ranges and is usually a competition where a team
has 24 hours to write shoot and edit a short film. In 2014, the AJFF
created a Teen scholarship program to nurture and cultivate the next generation of filmmakers and storytellers from Austin-area high schools ages
13-17. Lights! Camera! Chutzpah! is open to all teens from different backgrounds. This is a cultural immersion & learning opportunity. Each team
chooses a theme/value & a Jewish prop(a mezuzah, a kipa, candle sticks
etc.) and a Yiddish word to be incorporated into their film. By using accessible Jewish values such as the importance of “Friendship”, “Family”,
“Ecology” and Hospitality” they collaborate and learn about team work,
process, acceptance, respect & humor.
$80
Valid for 10 admissions to the film(s) of your choice at any venue. Flex Pass holders will be seated after Film Badge holders and before general admission ticket holders.
Tickets
$10
Valid for general admission for daytime or evening
(includes students/seniors)
Sold only at the theater box office, beginning 15 minutes before each film
starts, until tickets are sold out. General admission ticket holders are seated
after Film Badge and Flex Pass holders.
NOTE: JCC Spotlight on Arts & Ideas Patron passes will be available at a
table in the Regal Cinema lobby 30 minutes prior to the start of each film.
Last-minute schedule and program changes happen.
Visit austinjff.org for the latest schedule and
ticket information.
2 01 6 A JFF CO MMIT T EE MEMB ERS
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
David Goldblatt
Executive-Director
Cindy Pinto
Director Emerita
David Finkel
Co-Director
Cynthia Winer
Co-Director
Wendy Corn
Shalom Austin liaison to the
AJFF
Sharon Miller
Fai Lee Steinberg
Joe Oliveri
Joe Winer
COMMITTEE
Sara Blatt
Larry HausmanCohen
Miriam Sherrod
Visit austinjff.org for frestival and ticket information. | October 2016 | C3
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A J FF QUAR TER LY EV E N TS
The AJFF is not just an annual event! The Austin community has the
opportunity to enjoy films from the Austin Jewish Film Festival four times
a year—once a quarter. The first quarterly program of 2016 brought internationally renowned Israeli singer-songwriter David Broza to Austin
for a screening of his film “East Jerusalem/West Jerusalem.” Following the screening at Austin’s Stateside Theater at the Paramount, Broza
conducted a Q&A and entertained the audience with several of his wellknown songs.
Next, the AJFF partnered with the Gallery at the J, following their opening reception for Norman Gershman’s photographic exhibit of Albanian
Muslims who sheltered Jews during WWII. Moviegoers enjoyed the documentary “Besa: The Promise,” a film that recorded Gershman’s efforts to
identify and document the incredible stories behind those photographs.
For this year’s third quarterly event, the Festival presented the everpopular film, “The Frisco Kid,” featuring Gene Wilder as a Polish rabbi
wandering the Old West. The screening was preceded by a guest speaker from Austin’s Great Promise for American Indians cultural center.
Of course, the final quarter of the year features the week-long 2016
Austin Jewish Film Festival, from November 5 through 11. Stay up-todate with the 2017 AJFF quarterly event schedule by checking out our
website at austinjff.org and by signing up for our Newsletter Blast.
G O LD BLAT T/ P IN TO YO U N G FI L MMA KER GRA N T
I
n 2015 the Austin Jewish Film
Festival established the Goldblatt/
Pinto Young Filmmaker Grant to
honor the outstanding team of David
Goldblatt and Cindy Pinto for directing the Festival into lasting success.
This ongoing scholarship helps support young, local Jewish film students’
participation in film production forums.
This past summer, the Grant provided
funding for our first student, Haruka
Gerald, to participate in the Jerusalem
Film Workshop. David Goldblatt has
long dreamed that someday a young
filmmaker who started with our festival
would return to Austin as a proud producer or director. It is with the community’s support that AJFF was able to
assist Haruka, and we look forward to
Haruka Gerald
continuing such assistance for many
years. Please help us by donating to the grant fund so that we can provide
a meaningful level of support to our next young Austin film maker. Donations can be made anytime online at the AJFF website: austinjff.org.
Mission & Vision
MISSION
WHO WE ARE
The Austin Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) promotes the love of Jewish films to the Central Texas
community by screening movies
and programming other events
related to movies.
An organization that presents Jewish films to a variety of audiences.
(In selecting “Jewish films,” the
AJFF considers films with a Jewish
theme, films produced in Israel, and
films with a Jewish producer, director,
or significant actor.)
Q&A W I TH D I R EC TOR JOS H A R O N S O N
S UNDAY, NOV EM B ER 6 | 4 PM
Josh Aronson
Josh Aronson is an Academy Award-nominated
writer, producer, and director of films and documentaries, including “Orchestra of Exiles,” a documentary
about Bronislaw Huberman released in 2012. He has
worked with Showtime, PBS, the Discovery Channel,
and others, and his films have won awards at festivals all over the world. He is also a concert pianist
and regularly plays chamber music in New York and
at the Telluride Musicfest, the chamber music festival he founded in 2002 with his wife, violinist Maria
Bachmann.
“Orchestra of Exiles” is the story of Bronislaw
Huberman, the Israel Philharmonic, and the one thousand jews he saved from Nazi horrors.
As Hitler comes into power in 1930’s Germany,
Bronislaw Huberman, a world-famous violinist, hearing that over 8,000 Jewish musicians have been fired
from their jobs, is deeply disturbed. He lights upon
the idea of creating a world-class orchestra of Jewish
musicians in the Holy Land. Though a large number
of gifted Jewish musicians refused to leave Germany
with their families to go to Palestine, certain that the
terrifying anti-Semitism of the Nazis would soon blow
over, Huberman did eventually triumph with a grand
opening concert – conducted by the great Toscanini –
featuring what would become the Israel Philharmonic,
one of the greatest ensembles in the world.
C4 | October 2016 | 2016 AJFF Guide
A J FF 2015 FI LM SCHED UL E
Saturday,
NOVEMBER 5
O P ENI NG
DAY
Sunday,
NOVEMBER 6
FA MI LY
FI LM DAY
4 PM Raise The Roof 85 min., Documentary, USA
6:15 PM Havdallah, Rabbi Rebecca Epstein, CBI 15 min., Program
6:45 PM A Tale of Love and Darkness 95 min., Narrative, Poland
9 PM A Grain of Truth 110 min., Narrative, Poland
1 PM Joe’s Violin 25 min., Short, Documentary, USA
Mekonen: The Journey of an African Jew 43 min., Documentary, Israel
3:30 PM Lights! Camera! Chutzpah! Student Films 30 min., Program
4 PM Orchestra of Exiles 85 min., Documentary, USA/Israel
Q&A Following the Film with Director
Josh Aronson 30 min., Program,
7 PM Remember 95 min., Drama, USA/Israel
9:15 PM A Borrowed Identity 80 min., Drama, France
Monday,
NOVEMBER 7
I N TE R NATI ONAL
FI LM DAY
Featuring Canada,
France and Israel
Noon 8 PM I NT ER NAT I ONA L
F I LM DAY
Featuring Israel and USA
Noon Thursday,
NOVEMBER 10
I NT ER NAT I ONA L
F I LM DAY
Featuring Canada, France, Germany, Israel,
New Zeland, Poland, Sweden and USA
The Man Who Shot Hollywood 12 min., Short Documentary, Canada
A Borrowed Identity 80 min., Drama, France
A Blind Hero: The Love of Otto Weidt 90 min., Friday,
NOVEMBER 11
SHORTS PROGRAM
Bacon & God’s Wrath 9 min., Short Documentary, I N TE R NATI ONAL
FI LM DAY
Sabena Hijacking - My Version 104 min., Documentary, Canada
Every Face Has A Name 73 min., Documentary, 7 PM 9 PM Bogdan’s Journey 90 min., Documentary, USA, Poland
Atomic Falafel 100 min., Comedy, Drama, Israel, Noon And Then Violence 15 min., Short, Drama, France
Bacon & God’s Wrath 9 min., Short, Documentary, Sweden
4:30 PM Torah Treasures and Curious Trash 23 min., Short, Biography, Documentary, Israel
Hummus! (The Movie) 59 min., Documentary, USA, Israel
Hummus Tasting in the TheaterFollowing the Movie 30 min., Program
7:30 PM Q&A with Lubna Zeidan, Refugee Program Director of Interfaith Action of Central Texas 20 min., Program
8 PM To Life 104 Min., Drama, France
Wednesday,
NOVEMBER 16
New Zealand, Germany
Canada
Torah Treasures and Curious Trash 23 min., Short, Biography, Documentary, Israel
70 Hester Street 11 min., Short, Biography, Documentary, USA
The Last Blintz 25 min., Short, Documentary, USA
2 PM Dough 94 min., Comedy/Drama, UK, Hungary
Canada
Thriller, Docu-drama, Israel
Docu-drama, Israel
Noon
Documentary, USA
Noon And Then Violence 15 min., Short, Drama, France
Remember 95 min., Drama, USA/Israel
4:30 PM The Man Who Shot Hollywood 12 min., Short Docu-drama, Israel
Joe’s Violin 25 min., Short Documentary, USA
Jerry Lewis: Man Behind The Clown 69 min., 7:30 PM Q&A Preceding the Film with Fred Burton, Chief Security Officer of Stratfor, a Geopolitical Intelligence Firm 20 min., Program
8 PM Sabena Hijacking - My Version 104 min., Thriller, Tuesday,
NOVEMBER 8
Featuring Canada, France, Israel, and USA
Wednesday,
NOVEMBER 9
CITY LIGHTS THEATER
GEORGETOWN
Visit austinjff.org for frestival and ticket information. | October 2016 | C5
A Grain of
A Grain of
ero:
A Blind H
The Love
eidt
of Otto W
A Blind Hero: The Love of Otto Weidt
“This docudrama tells of “unsung
Schindler” Otto Weidt who saved Jews
from the Nazi death camps.”
At Yad Vashem, the Berlin brush and
broom manufacturer Otto Weidt is listed as
one of the Righteous Among the Nations.
Using cunning and payoffs, Otto Weidt
managed to keep his employees—most of
them Jewish and most of them blind—from
the clutches of the Nazis. When his secretary, Alice Licht, is deported to Auschwitz,
Weidt, nearly blind himself, sets off almost
immediately in an attempt to persuade the
authorities to free her and her family. But
by then, Alice has been transferred to another camp and the rest of her family murdered in the gas chambers. This is a powerful docu-drama of a little-known story of
love, devotion, and selflessness. Community Partner: Congregation Agudas Achim.
Monday, NOVEMBER 7
Truth
ed Identity
A Borrowed Identity
Director: Eran Riklis
Israel, Germany, France 2014
Drama 80 min.
Arabic, Hebrew, English, German
Director: Kai Christiansen
Israel 2015
Docu-Drama 90 min.
German, Hebrew (with subtitles)
8 PM REG
A Borrow
Truth
“‘A Borrowed Identity’ is an engaging
Israeli film about a young Arab who
finds reasons to ‘pass’ as Jewish. It
is well worth the attention of anyone
interested in the complex identities of
Jewish and Arab Israelis.”
Eyad, a bright Palestinian boy from Tira, is
given the opportunity to move to Jerusalem
where he attends an elite Jewish high school.
At his new school, Eyad struggles with issues
of language, culture, and identity, and his
fellow Jewish students view him with a mixture of curiosity and veiled suspicion. As
part of his school-mandated community service, Eyad forges an important friendship outside of school with Yonatan, a young man
who’s homebound with muscular dystrophy.
At first, reaching out to Yonatan is an assignment and a chore, but the two soon bond over
rock music. Eyad’s scholarly pursuits become
derailed, and he’s obliged to go to work. But
gaining employment and even things like having a bank account are difficult for Arabs, so,
in need of an Israeli identity, he lights on one—
Yonatan’s. If going to a Jewish academy was
a big jumping-off point in his life, adopting a
Jewish identity is an even bigger one.
A Grain of Truth
Director: Borys Lankosz
Poland 2015
Narrative 110 min.
Polish (with subtitles)
“‘A Grain of Truth,’ like every great crime novel, digs up more unsettling questions
than it does answers; it also demonstrates the seemingly endless possibilities of the
form itself to serve as smart social criticism.” —Maureen Corrigan, NPR Fresh Air
In this gripping, fast-paced mystery thriller adapted from a bestselling Polish novel by Zygmunt Miloszewski, a rapid succession of grotesque murders would seem to implicate a town’s
vulnerable Jewish community in a modern-day blood libel. Once assigned to the case, a police investigator stubbornly refuses to succumb to anti-Semitic pressures from both the media
and the public and instead races to identify the real culprit. As he finally discovers, the true
circumstances behind the crimes were set in motion many decades earlier, in the shadows
of the Holocaust. Community Partner: Austin Polish Film Festival. Sponsored by Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission.
The Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission was
established by Senate Bill 482 in 2009 to ensure that resources regarding the Holocaust and genocides are available to students, educators, and the general public. The
THGC advises on teaching standards, presents workshops and awards to educators, administers contests for
students, and helps coordinate commemorative events. Its
office is located at the Capitol Complex in Austin. Website:
thgc.texas.gov
9 PM REG
Saturday, NOVEMBER 5
9:15 PM REG
Sunday, NOVEMBER 6
Noon REG
Monday, NOVEMBER 7
LOC AT I ONS
Regal Arbor Cinema 8 (REG) 9828 Great Hills Trail, Austin
City Lights Theater (CLT) 420 Wolf Ranch Parkway, Georgetown
C6 | October 2016 | 2016 AJFF Guide
A Tale of Love and Darkness
Atomic Falafel
Bogdan’s Journey
Dough
Director: Natalie Portman
Israel 2015
Biography, Drama, History 95 min.
Hebrew (with subtitles)
Director: Dror Shaul
Israel, New Zealand, Germany 2015
Comedy, Drama 100 min.
Hebrew, English, Persian, German (with subtitles)
Directors: Michael Jaskulski,
Lawrence Loewinger
USA, Poland 2016
Documentary 90 min.
English, Polish (with subtitles)
Director: John Goldschmidt
UK, Hungary 2015
Comedy, Drama 94 min.
English
“Natalie Portman’s love letter to Israel….
she has gone back to her home
country for her directorial debut, a
serious, well-made adaptation of Amos
Oz’s memoir of the early years of
Israel’s statehood.” —The Guardian
“A Tale of Love and Darkness” is based
on the award-winning memoir of Amos
Oz, one of Israel’s most celebrated writers.
Natalie Portman wrote the screenplay adaptation, makes her directorial debut, and
stars in the film. This drama portrays Oz’
intimate family story as he grows up in Jerusalem with his academic father and his
dreamy, imaginative mother in the years
before Israeli statehood. Theirs was one of
many Jewish families who moved to Palestine from Europe during the 1930s and
40s to escape persecution. The tale is set
against the backdrop of war-torn Jerusalem, as tensions mount between Jews and
Arabs towards the end of the Palestinian
Mandate and during the first years of independent Israel. This story is told through
the eyes of a young boy whose coming-ofage is shaped by both a devastating family tragedy and a turbulent and changing
world.
6:45 PM REG
Saturday, NOVEMBER 5
Proceded by Havdallah at 6:15 PM; Rabbi Rebecca Epstein, CBI
“As two girls from nuclear towns in
Israel and Iran spill their countries
most valuable secrets on Facebook,
their generation squares off against
old guard military hardliners to prevent
a Middle East nuclear crisis in ‘Atomic
Falafel,’ a farce that skewers the
current Israel-Iran showdown.”
With Iran threatening to attain nuclear
power, anxious Israeli politicians and top
brass gather in an underground bunker
to debate a response. When the bellicose
brigadier general and chief intelligence officer present their audacious plan, the defense minister and eye-patched commander approve a preemptive strike. Above
ground in a dusty Negev town, a motherdaughter team runs a falafel truck catering
to troops patrolling a nearby nuclear reactor. As the widowed mother falls for a uranium-allergic German nuclear inspector,
her daughter and computer whiz boyfriend
stumble upon secret files that could prevent a nuclear conflagration. As the zany
plotlines converge, the Israeli teens and an
Iranian youth scramble to thwart war between their countries. “Atomic Falafel” is
an exuberant, delightfully absurd comedy,
an Israeli-styled “Dr. Strangelove” nominated for four Israeli Academy Awards.
Community Partner: Shalom Austin Young
Adult Division
“Bogdan’s life work has been
devoted to building trust and
understanding in one town, Kielce!
The film ‘Bogdan’s Journey’ tells his
story and that of Poles he invites
into the effort of reconciliation.” —Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak, Executive
Director of Jewish Renewal in
Poland
The city of Kielce, Poland, was the
location of a notorious pogrom in 1946,
merely a year after the last liberations
from the Nazi camps. The pogrom targeted Holocaust survivors, ultimately
convincing the majority of the nation’s
Jews that they needed to emigrate. This
documentary depicts a non-Jewish
Kielce resident, Bogdan, as he bravely
attempts to commemorate the atrocity,
even while most of his neighbors continue to deny the crimes of the past. Bogdan boldly stands beside the pogrom’s
survivors and other eyewitnesses, insisting that their testimonies be heard.
Community Partners: Congregation
Agudas Achim, Congregation Agudas
Achim Hazak and Austin Polish Film
Festival. Co-Sponsored by Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission.
“Endearing and heartfelt “dramedy”
dealing with the tensions between
Jews and Muslims who despite
their cultural differences have many
shared values.”
Nat is struggling to keep his thirdgeneration kosher bakery alive. His
customers are dying off, his sons have
no interest in the family business, and
others would like to get their hands on
his property. Nat reluctantly hires his
cleaning lady’s son Ayyash, a young
Muslim immigrant, as his assistant.
Ayyash sells a little cannabis on the
side to help his mom make ends meet;
when he accidentally drops a little marijuana into the challah batter, the bakery’s business skyrockets. “Dough” is a
warmhearted and gently humorous story about overcoming prejudice and finding redemption in unexpected places.
Sponsored by Congregation Havurah
Shalom.
2 PM CLT
Wednesday, NOVEMBER 16
C ITY LIGHTS THEATER
G EORG E TOW N
7 PM REG
Thursday, NOVEMBER 10
9 PM REG
Thursday, NOVEMBER 10
Dough
Bogdan’s Jo
A Tale of Lo
ve and Dar
LOC AT I ONS
kness
Atomic Fala
urney
fel
Regal Arbor Cinema 8 (REG) 9828 Great Hills Trail, Austin
City Lights Theater (CLT) 420 Wolf Ranch Parkway, Georgetown
Visit austinjff.org for frestival and ticket information. | October 2016 | C7
Every Face
Has A Nam
Hummus! (T
e
Hummus! (The Movie)
Every Face Has A Name
Director: Oren Rosenfeld USA, Israel 2015
Documentary 59 min.
English, Arabic, Hebrew
(with subtitles)
Director: Magnus Gertten
Sweden 2015
Documentary 73 min.
Swedish, Norwegian, English, Polish
(with subtitles)
“Discovering themselves anew in
archival footage, Holocaust survivors
are transported in time as they share
profoundly moving recollections of
being ferried to freedom.”
The extraordinary moment captured
on 35mm film by Swedish news photographers: hundreds of malnourished German concentration camp refugees arrived in
Malmö, Sweden in April 1945, liberated
but facing an uncertain future. Filmmaker
Magnus Gertten tracked down many of the
anonymous faces in the digitally restored
footage. The group includes not only Jewish survivors, but Norwegian and French
prisoners of war, Polish mothers with babies,
British spies, and an Italian-American survivor of Auschwitz who had been charged with
espionage. Watching their liberation for the
first time brings overwhelming moments of
euphoria, as nameless faces suddenly gain
identity and history. Offering a thought-provoking commentary on the global refugee
crisis, the film intercuts present-day images
of war evacuees from Africa and the Middle
East, a reminder of humanity’s ongoing
responsibility towards sheltering displaced
persons, regardless of homeland. Community Partner: Congregation Shir Ami.
4:30 PM REG
Thursday, NOVEMBER 10
Contains Mature Language
he Movie)
“Hummus…it’s not normal, it’s not
something ordinary…it’s magic. I have
long tables, so people sit with people
that they don’t even know and they
eat together, they start talking…and
everything starts to get mixed.” —
Eliyahu Shmueli, Restaurateur
A powerful and inspirational drama
“Hummus! (The Movie)”—the delicious,
nutritious superfood sweeping America—
has the power to bring Muslims, Christians and Jews together... in the Middle
East, America, and around the world.
Beyond cultural, religious and political
divides, three colorful characters—a hardworking Muslim woman, an ever-smiling
Jew and a young, restless Christian Arab—
share one thing in common… a delicious
passion for hummus! Spotlighted in the
movie is “The World’s Largest Serving of
Hummus”—the fiercely fought Guinness
World Record title currently held by a Lebanese hummus maker at a huge 23,042
pounds. Beyond the competition, beyond
arguments over the best hummus, this film
tells the touching personal stories of the
colorful men and women who love their
hummus. Hummus tasting in the theater
following the movie! Community Partner:
Congregation Beth El
Jerry Lewis
: The Man
Behin
n
d the Clow
Jerry Lewis: The Man Behind the Clown
Director: Gregory Monro
France, USA 2016
Documentary 60 min.
French, English (with subtitles)
“The movie celebrates Jerry Lewis’s
influential mark on the world as a
comic, a filmmaker, a humanitarian
and a visionary.”
In his 90th year, Jerry Lewis looks
back on his life and decades-long career.
Since the early days, Jerry Lewis—in the
line of Chaplin, Keaton and Laurel—had
the masses laughing with his visual gags,
pantomime sketches, and signature slapstick humor. Yet Lewis was far more than
just a clown. He was also a groundbreaking filmmaker whose unquenchable curiosity led him to write, produce, stage, and
direct many of the films he appeared in.
By becoming a “total filmmaker,” Lewis
surpassed expectations as a comic performer and emerged as a driving force in
Hollywood. He broke boundaries with his
technical innovations, unique voice, and
keen visual eye, even garnering respect
and praise overseas. Community Partners: JCC Seniors Program, Congregation Agudas Achim Hazak, Temple Beth
Shalom Seniors, and Austin Film Society.
Noon REG
Wednesday, NOVEMBER 9
P RO GRA
MS of Exiles
Orchestra
Saturday, NOVEMBER 5
6:15 PM Havdallah, Rabbi Rebecca Epstein, CBI
Sunday, NOVEMBER 6
3:30 PM Lights! Camera! Chutzpah! Student Films
4 PM
Q&A following the film “Orchestra of Exiles” with Director Josh Aronson
Tuesday, NOVEMBER 8
4:30 PM Hummus tasting in the theater following the film “Hummus! (The Movie)”
7:30 PM
Q&A with Lubna Zeidan, Refugee Program Director of Interfaith Action of Central Texas, preceding the film “To Life”
Wednesday, NOVEMBER 9
7:30 PM
Q&A with Fred Burton, Chief Security Officer of Stratfor, a geopolitical intelligence firm, preceding the film “Sabena Hijacking - My Version”
Friday, NOVEMBER 11
Noon
Shorts Program, including 5 unique films
4:30 PM REG
Tuesday, NOVEMBER 8
Contains Mature Themes
Contains Nudity
Contains Violence
Family Friendly
Special Program
Quotes are from AJFF
Committee Members.
C8 | October 2016 | 2016 AJFF Guide
Raise the Roof
Orchestra of Exiles
Mekonen: The Journey of an African Jew
Director: Yari Wolinsky
USA 2015
Documentary, History 85 min.
English
Director: Josh Aronson
USA, Israel 2013
Documentary 85 min.
English
Director: Rebecca Shore
Israel 2015
Documentary 43 min.
Hebrew (with subtitles)
“We first met Mekonen Abeba in
the highly acclaimed documentary
‘Beneath The Helmet,’ as a raw recruit
in the IDF Parachute regiment. Now
we meet him again and learn his
incredible and emotional life journey
as he immigrates to Israel from an
Ethiopian village.”
Born and raised in an Ethiopian village,
Mekonen was a 12-year-old shepherd
when his father died suddenly, less than
a day before his family was to move to
Israel. The film follows the backstory and
personal journey of Mekonen Abebe from
Israel back to Africa on an emotional journey. He explores his roots, makes peace
with his past, and embraces his future in
Israel. Mekonen is now a commander in
the Israeli Defense Forces. After a difficult adjustment period in Israel, Mekonen
was fortunate to attend the Hodayot High
School, which educates children from
troubled backgrounds and helps integrate them into Israeli society. Mekonen
became a decorated officer in the IDF,
while staying true to his Ethiopian roots
and culture. Co-Sponsored by Consulate
General of Israel to the Southwest United
States.
“The true artist does not create art as an end in itself. He creates art for human
beings. Humanity is the goal.”—Bronislaw Huberman
In the early 1930s, Hitler began forcing Jewish musicians out of orchestras across
central Europe; never before had so many experienced players been jobless simultaneously. “Orchestra of Exiles” explores Polish violinist Bronislaw Huberman’s four-year
odyssey to get Jewish musicians out of Europe to fulfill his dream of creating a Palestine
Orchestra (which would later become the Israel Philharmonic). Before the Nazis came to
power, Huberman was focused only on building his own monumental career, but witnessing Hitler’s agenda was a call to action that Huberman could not ignore. Thanks to his
arranging for musicians and their families to emigrate, Huberman managed to save close
to a thousand Jews whose fate would otherwise have been the gas chamber. Community
Partner: Congregation Tiferet Israel.
This event is a collaboration with and co-sponsored by the
Austin Jewish Book Fair. In 2016, director Josh Aronson and
Denise George wrote the compelling biography Orchestra
of Exiles: The Story of Bronislaw Huberman, the Israel
Philharmonic, and the One Thousand Jews He Saved
from Nazi Horrors. Q&A following the film with Josh Aronson, Director of the film. Aronson will be available for a book
signing in the lobby after the program.
4 PM REG
Sunday, NOVEMBER 6
Josh Aronson
“An international team chases an
improbable dream to reconstruct
one of the magnificent lost wooden
synagogues of Poland.”
Rivaling the greatest wooden architecture
in history, the synagogues of 18th-century
Poland inspired artists Rick and Laura Brown
to embark on a 10-year pursuit—to reconstruct the elaborate roof and painted ceiling
of the Gwozdziec synagogue. More than 200
of these unique wooden synagogues dotted
the countryside, until the Nazis burned every last one to the ground. Though neither
Jewish nor Polish, the Browns mastermind
a remarkable effort to rebuild this architectural wonder. Leading over 300 students
and professionals from 16 countries and employing period hand tools and artisanal techniques, the Browns and their team set about
recreating the synagogue’s timber-framed
roof and intricate mural designs. Despite
seemingly impossible deadlines, hammering downpours and exhaustion, a profound
relic slowly rises from the ashes. By the end
of the project, they have done more than
reconstruct a lost synagogue—they have
recovered a lost world. Community Partner:
Congregation Beth Israel and the Austin Polish Film Festival.
4 PM REG
Q&A following the film with Oren
Rosenfeld, Producer of the film
Saturday, NOVEMBER 5
Shabbat Teaching Film
1 PM REG
Sunday, NOVEMBER 6
Raise the R
Orchestra
Mekonen:
The Journe
y of an Afr
LOC AT I ONS
ican Jew
Orchestra
oof
of Exiles
of Exiles
Regal Arbor Cinema 8 (REG) 9828 Great Hills Trail, Austin
City Lights Theater (CLT) 420 Wolf Ranch Parkway, Georgetown
Visit austinjff.org for frestival and ticket information. | October 2016 | C9
To Life (A La
Sabena Hija
Remember
Version
To Life (A La Vie)
Director: Jean-Jacques Zibermann
France 2014
Drama 104 min.
French (with subtitles)
Director: Rani Sa’ar
Israel 2015
Thriller 104 min.
English, Arabic, French, Hebrew (with subtitles)
Director: Atom Egoyan
Canada 2015
Drama, Thriller 95 min.
English
““Extremely well done! Reminds me of the popular docu-drama we showed
five years ago, ‘Cohen on the Bridge: Rescue at Entebbe.’ One of my favorites
among the 2016 lineup.”
“Academy Award-winner Christopher
Plummer is a dementia-stricken
Holocaust survivor out for revenge in
this suspenseful thriller.”
Burdened with memory loss and his
beloved wife’s recent passing, 90-yearold Zev Guttman (Christopher Plummer)
is in a race against time to find personal
catharsis and overdue justice. Having
seemingly suppressed the wartime horrors of decades earlier, he is prompted to
track down his fugitive Nazi tormentor by
fellow Auschwitz survivor Max (Martin Landau), a wheelchair-bound resident of their
New York City nursing home. Seizing on
an elaborate mission of vengeance, Zev
embarks on a cross-country odyssey to
find the former commander responsible for
murdering their families, who they now believe to be living somewhere in the country
under an assumed identity. As Zev closes
in on his target, his manhunt is complicated by his own constantly crumbling sense
of self, leading inexorably to a shocking
climax. Community Partner: Congregation
Beth El.
Sunday, NOVEMBER 6
Version
cking - My
Sabena Hijacking – My Version
Remember
7 PM REG
cking - My
Sabena Hija
A powerful docu-drama fusing candid interviews with archival material and dramatic reenactments, this film is based on previously undiscovered audio recordings of the former
pilot, Captain Reginald Levy. Levy was in command of Sabena Flight 571 from Brussels
to Tel Aviv on May 8, 1972, when it was hijacked by four members of “Black September,”
a Palestinian terrorist organization. The film shares the untold story of exactly what took
place on the flight throughout 30 hours of nerve-racking captivity. Taking the viewer “behind the scenes,” “Sabena Hijacking” reveals the critical roles played by current Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other key political decision makers at the time: former
Prime Minister Ehud Barak; former Prime Minister, President and Nobel Prize winner
Shimon Peres; and former Defense Minister Moshe Dayan. Therese Halsa, one of the
four hijackers who was a girl of 18 at the time, also gives her version of events, following release from a 220-year prison sentence of which she served 13 years. Community
Partner: Temple Beth Shalom.
There will be a Q&A preceding the film on Wednesday,
November 9 at 7:30 PM, with Fred Burton, Chief Security
Officer of Stratfor, a geopolitical intelligence firm. Mr. Burton is a former State Department counterterrorism special
agent and New York Times best-selling author.
“Inspired by the true story of director
Zilbermann’s mother and the two
lifelong friends she met at Auschwitz.
This sweet drama focuses on the
seaside outing where these three
women reunited after the war.”
Helene, Rose, and Lili met in Auschwitz
and relied on each other for support to survive. In Postwar Paris, we find Helene in
her family’s apartment that has remained
sealed since they were hauled off by the
Nazis several years earlier. She tries to go
back to “normal” after her harrowing experiences. After years of placing the same
ad in a Yiddish newspaper, looking for
her friend Lili, Helene reconnects with her,
and they organize a holiday at Berck-surMer, a seaside resort on the Atlantic coast.
As a surprise, Lili has brought along their
mutual friend, Rose, from Montreal, whom
they met at Auschwitz and whom Helene
believed to be dead. The three friends are
torn between confronting the trauma of their
past and moving forward with their lives.
There will be a Q&A
preceding the film
(7:30 PM) with Lubna
Zeidan, Refugee Program Director of Interfaith Action of Central
Texas.
Noon REG
Tuesday, NOVEMBER 8
Fred Burton
8 PM REG
Wednesday, NOVEMBER 9
Lubna Zeidan
8 PM REG
Tuesday, NOVEMBER 8
Noon REG
Thursday, NOVEMBER 10
Contains Mature Language
Vie)
Contains Mature Themes
Contains Nudity
Contains Violence
Family Friendly
Special Program
Quotes are from AJFF
Committee Members.
C10 | October 2016 | 2016 AJFF Guide
S H O R TS
70 Hester Street
Bacon & God’s Wrath
The Last Blintz
he practiced his art anonymously. By the
time he completed his life’s work, he had
compiled what must be the greatest collection of celebrity photographs never
seen.
Noon REG
Director: Casimir Nozkowski
USA 2014
Short 11 min.
English
Director: Sol Friedman
Canada 2015
Short, Documentary 9 min.
English
Director: Dori Berinstein
USA 2016
Short, Documentary 30 min.
English
Director Casimir Nozkowski grew up in
a 140-year-old building that was a former
synagogue located at 70 Hester Street, on
the Lower East Side of New York City. After this building served as a synagogue, it
became a whiskey still, a raincoat factory,
and an art studio that his parents rented
for 45 years. When the building was sold
in 2012, Nozkowski started filming just as
his parents moved out, so he could capture the building’s history before its new
owner could erase it.
A 90-year-old Jewish woman reflects on
her life experiences as she prepares to try
bacon for the first time.
Tuesday, NOVEMBER 8
Noon REG
Joe’s Violin
The closing of the The Cafe Edison (aka
The Polish Tea Room) is not just a story
about another famous show business
haunt shutting its doors— which it is, big
time—it’s an American Dream-come-true
story about a multi-generational, momand-pop family business that is tragically
coming to an end. It’s also about gentrification—about the heart, soul, and distinctiveness of cities globally being ripped
away for yet another impersonal, cookiecutter, corporate chain. “The Last Blintz”
is an impassioned plea for ‘progress’ that
honors the past, protects the future, and
preserves the heart and culture of our
great cities.
Friday, NOVEMBER 11
Noon REG
Noon REG
Friday, NOVEMBER 11
Noon REG
And Then Violence
Friday, NOVEMBER 11
Director: Kahane Cooperman
USA 2016
Short, Documentary 25 min.
English
Director: Jordan Goldnadel
France 2016
Short, Drama 15 min.
French (with subtitles)
In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attack
and rising anti-Semitism, a Parisian law
student and family fear the future for Jews
in the French Republic.
Noon REG
Thursday, NOVEMBER 10
Noon REG
Friday, NOVEMBER 11
Contains Mature Language
A 91-year-old Holocaust survivor donates his violin to an instrument drive,
changing the life of a 12-year-old schoolgirl from the Bronx and, unexpectedly, his
own. Community Partners: JCC Seniors
Program, Congregation Agudas Achim
Hazak, and Austin Film Society.
1 PM REG
Sunday, NOVEMBER 6
Noon REG
Wednesday, NOVEMBER 9
Contains Mature Themes
Contains Nudity
The Man Who Shot Hollywood
Monday, NOVEMBER 7
4:30 PM REG
Thursday, NOVEMBER 10
Torah Treasures and Curious Trash
Director: Paula Weiman-Kelman
Israel 2015
Short, Biography, Documentary 23 min.
English
Jo Milgrom’s outsider art mixes Torah
and trash. The 87-year-old artist/feminist/Jewish thinker scavenges Jerusalem dumpsters for choice junk that she
combines with worn-out ritual objects
rescued from synagogues and funeral
homes. Armed with only a glue gun, she
challenges the religious establishment by
juxtaposing the sacred and the mundane
in her assemblage. This film will forever
change the way you see a trash can!
4:30 PM REG
Director: Barry Avrich
Canada 2016
Short, Documentary 12 min.
English
Tuesday, NOVEMBER 8
Noon REG
Friday, NOVEMBER 11
The late photographer Yasha (Jack)
Pashkovsky, a Jewish-Russian immigrant,
captured celebrities on studio lots during
Hollywood’s golden era. Pashkovsky lived
quietly in a town lit up by a thousand stars;
Contains Violence
Family Friendly
Special Program
Quotes are from AJFF
Committee Members.
Visit austinjff.org for frestival and ticket information. | October 2016 | C11
3rudAl
N
A N
lights! Camera! Chutzpah!
A Jewish Teen Film Workshop
Chutzpah: temerity, audacity, hardihood, effrontery, nerve,
cheek, gall, chutzpah mean conspicuous or flagrant boldness.
Calling all teen f ilmmakers!
Ages 13-17
(must be 13 by 8/31/2016)
WHAT’S THE
A J F F W H AT W E D O
The Austin Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) has been entertaining, educating and provoking thought in the Jewish community for 13 years by providing a cinematic examination of
Jewish life and culture through film. We build bridges to the
non-Jewish community by exhibiting films on topics of concern
to the Jewish community.
Jewish Story
YOU WANT TO TELL?
If you are a teen (you don't have to be Jewish, just
willing to make a Jewish-themed film) with an interest
in filmmaking, the Austin Jewish Film Festival and the
Austin School of Film want to hear from you!
Learn stop-motion animation, writing,
story-boarding, improv/acting, directing,
production and editing.
This is a free scholarship program (space is limited).
October 8-9, 2016 (students will stay overnight)
DATE
CHANGE
Austin School of Film, 2200 Tillery
No experience necessary.
Apply today: austinfilmschool.org
Questions? E-mail [email protected]
LOC AT I ONS
Regal Arbor Cinema 8 (REG) 9828 Great Hills Trail, Austin
City Lights Theater (CLT) 420 Wolf Ranch Parkway, Georgetown
C12 | October 2016 | 2016 AJFF Guide
A JF F 2016 PATRONS & SP ON SOR S
Producer
Casting Director
$5,000
$1,800
Cooky & David
GOLDBLATT
Susan & Robert
EPSTEIN
Film Stars
Screenwriters
$1,000
Sandra & Buddy
FREED
Kelly & David
FINKEL
Michael B.
KENTOR
Cindy & David
PINTO
Film Fans
Michele & Marshall
MISSNER
Sylvia & Philip
SPERTUS
Cynthia & Joe
WINER
Movie Lovers $180
Valerie & Jeff
NEWBERG
Debbie & Richard
RUDY
Rabbi Neil & Anne Blumofe
Sonia Paben & Dan Freed
Pam & David Frager
Sandy & Marshall Sack
Sherrie & Robert Fractman
Deb Seaman & Tobi Taub
Michelle & Joseph Chasnoff
Suzanne Seriff & Robert Cullick
Stan & B.J. Friedman
$360
Carole & Kerry Price
Milton & Deb Marvin
Barbara Wilson & Elliot Trester
Cindy Levit
Movie Goers
$500
Sharon & Mike Miller
Hala & Uri Mintz
Leslie & Richard Otis
Thank You to Our in-kind Sponsors
$100
Dr. Michael Baum & Sigrid Levi-Baum
Terry & Steven Milman
Michael Churgin
Elyse & Rick Rosenberg
Mark Goldberg
Jeanette Solway
Sara Blatt & David Lewis
Mary Jane & Stanley Saikin
Melanie Lewis
Dana Winer
David Sekons