Boulder Jewish News Arts, Culture, Events, Lifestyles, Holidays, Synagogues, Education
RED HOT TICKET SALES: Tickets are selling fast – seven screenings are sold out and others are close. DON’T GET SOLD OUT, BUY NOW!
ADDITIONAL SCREENINGS:
- We have added screenings on Friday, March 20 of “Theodore Bikel” (noon) and “Welcome to Kutshers” (2:15) .
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The first film to sell out, Bethlehem is being moved into the larger Performance Space. “Bethlehem” was the first film to sell out. To accommodate the demand for tickets, the screening (Wednesday, 7 pm, March 18) is being moved from the Boe into the larger Performance Space. If you have tickets, please note the venue change (in the same building), and spread the word. Sponsored by the Schad Team of Farmers Insurance, “Bethlehem” is a taut thriller depicting the tense relationship between an Israeli Secret Service officer and his Palestinian informant. A compelling behind-the-scenes look at Israel’s intelligence efforts, the drama is co-written by an Israeli and a Palestinian, and based on real-life experiences.
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The Red Hot Mama will strut her stuff twice; a screening has been added at 7 pm March 18. We are also adding one final additional screening. “The Outrageous Sophie Tucker” will now also be shown in the Boe on Wednesday, March 18 at 6:30 pm. This is the first time the festival has had two screenings taking place at the same time. This flamboyant documentary showcases the life of the self-dubbed “Red Hot Mama,” a ground-breaking Jewish singer, comedian, TV, film and radio personality who enjoyed unsurpassed popularity as she redefined Jewish womanhood in a career spanning fifty years.
SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER
Deborah Prinz has just confirmed she will be our guest speaker for “Joachim Prinz: I Shall Not Be Silent.” She is the daughter of Rabbi Prinz and a producer on the film. We are very grateful to the Dinar family – Josh here in Boulder and his dad Richard flying in from New Jersey – for sponsoring the film, which was a last minute addition after our Martin Luther King Day screening sold out and left audiences clamoring for another opportunity to see the remarkable story – a story of Jewish activism in the Civil Rights Movement left out of “Selma.”
I asked Deborah for a statement about the film and here’s what she wrote:
Along with the rest of her family, Deborah Prinz, the youngest of Rabbi Prinz’s five children, is grateful to the directors of “I Shall Not Be Silent,” Rachel Fisher and Rachel Pasternak, for bringing their father’s story to light with such an honest and powerful production. As associate producer, over the course of the film’s seven-year development, Deborah served as a resource, gathering and identifying original source materials and images, suggesting potential subjects for interviews and providing her own recollections. She organized the film’s 2013 United States premiere at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark as well as its early marketing efforts. Deborah was also instrumental in securing the funding for the film. She is currently pursuing the funds still needed to obtain long-term rights to the historical footage featured in the film, so that her father’s narrative will be a permanent part of history for future generations.”
FOOD NEWS: Since food is so important to the Jews, you may be happy to know our food is as enticing as our films. Well, almost.
On the Saturday screening of “The Prime Ministers Part 1,” we will serve champagne and chocolate covered strawberries.
Sunday’s Opening Night Gala will feature a Mozzarella bar catered by Parma Trattoria following the Q&A with Richard Trank.
Our Centerpiece Event on March 19 begins at 5 pm with Indian dinner at Jai Ho (in the Marshalls Shopping Center, a two minute walk to the Dairy). The dessert reception afterwards is catered by Breadworks. The Prohibition Six will play Dixieland Jazz in memory of George Lichter.
The Women of the J will provide cupcakes – what else? – following the March 17 screening of “Cupcakes,” an Israeli musical comedy.
On Closing Night, before the screening of the Iraqi-set “The Dove Flyer,” we will offer a Middle Eastern dinner catered by Falafel King. Cost for dinner and film is $25, film alone is $15. If you would like to join us for dinner and already have film tickets, you can add the $10 dinner by emailing Barbara@boulderjcc.org.
We thank all our food vendors for their generosity and support!
TRANK FILMS SOLD OUT
Except for the opening night gala premiere of “Prime Ministers: Soldiers and Peacemakers (Part 2)” – which takes place in the 250-seat Performance Space – all five of the earlier films in the tribute program to Richard Trank are now sold out. When I was trying to decide which films to show, I lacked the will power to eliminate any of the five titles. It was a risk – his films comprise almost a third of our titles – but it has paid off. Audiences seem to agree that having the director in person provides a unique opportunity to engage with the provocative topics of these titles, produced by the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Moriah Films.
OVERLOOKED TITLES
On the other hand, a few titles are not selling as strongly as expected. “24 Days,” which is being screened in the Performance Space on Monday, March 16, is extremely topical in light of anti-Semitic events taking place in France today. It has been a hit on the Jewish Film Festival circuit. It features a talk-back by Sylvain Hayoun and Rick Ackerman. Another surprise is “The Go-Go Boys,” which I guessed would appeal to cinema fans. The film is really a kick – much like the moguls and the movies they made.
“ABOVE AND BEYOND”
Our Centerpiece continues to prove popular on the Jewish film festival circuit. The Ohio Jewish Film Festival recently concluded and the audience favorite (not just among documentaries) was “Above and Beyond,” with a rating of 3.985 out of 4.
