The Boulder Jewish Film Festival Tickets went on sale Monday morning on February 5, after our sponsors had a day to purchase tickets before they went on sale to the general public.  Several titles were sold out in a few days. By Friday, we added six screenings, and on Monday added another.

Tickets to the seven new added screenings listed below are now on sale at the Dairy Box Office, 26th & Walnut,  or by phone: 303.444.7328, or online: CLICK HERE.

“Bombshell:  The Hedy Lamarr Story” / Sunday, March 11 / 10:45 am / Boedecker

“An Act of Defiance” / Monday, March 12 / 1 pm / Boedecker

“In Between” / Tuesday, March 13 / 1 pm / Boedecker

“Shalom Bombay” / Tuesday, March 13 / 3:45 pm / Gordon Gamm Theater

“Bye Bye Germany” / Wednesday, March 14 / 12:30 pm / Boedecker

“Paradise” / Thursday, March 15 / 12:30 pm / Boedecker

“Persona Non Grata” / Friday, March 16 / 11:30 am / Boedecker

The Boulder International Film Festival, which opens February 22, is also showing “Bye Bye Germany,” at 12:15, Saturday February 24. The Denver Jewish Film Festival, which concludes this weekend, opened with “Bye Bye Germany.” The Denver festival shares nine titles with Boulder, and is presenting three from last year’s festival.

A lively, entertaining yet substantive drama about a group of Holocaust survivors in Frankfurt facing their uncertain futures in the immediate aftermath of WW II, “Bye Bye Germany” has become an international hit. It was still playing in Munich when I was there in January, and has garnered much attention – and a bit of controversy for its humor – in the press.

Another Holocaust entry on the sober, tragic end of the spectrum, “Paradise,” is arguably the best drama in both festivals – an instant masterpiece from Andrei Konchalovsky and Russia’s submission for the 2017 foreign film Oscar. Also being noted for its stunning cinematography, “1945” has been heralded for its investigation of complicity through its depiction of two Orthodox men whose appearance in a Hungarian town after the Holocaust rattles the local population.

  

Denver is showing two sides of the Israeli coin in its overlapping titles: “In Between,” an edgy drama about three Palestinian women sharing an apartment in Tel Aviv; and “The 90 Minute War,” a smart farce that imagines that the conflict in the Middle East is to be resolved through a soccer match.

 

The most overlap between the two festivals is in the pop culture documentary category. Two major biopics are being screened by both festivals: “Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story,” a Tribeca selection that has also been getting great press; and “Sammy Davis Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me,” an overdue tribute to a hugely talented and complicated artist and social maverick.

 

“Shalom Bollywood” is a natural – a crowd pleasing and exotic tale of Jewish actresses who became stars of the world’s largest film industry. Also loaded with charisma is “Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George’s Creators,” which follows the cheeky chimp and his cheekier creators who fled Paris together in the hand-built bicycle.

Happily, Denver will be showing a film we screened – and sold out – last year, by Boulder filmmakers Robin Truesdale and Judy Kreith, “Cuba’s Forgotten Jewels: A Haven in Havana.” Last year’s Centerpiece, “My Hero Brother,” will be shown in Denver this year, along with “Remember,” an excellent 2015 thriller featuring Martin Landau, who died in July, and Christopher Plummer.