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The 10th anniversary edition of the festival opens with Leonard Cohen’s fabled fedora and closes with the ubiquitous cowboy hats of the wild west, covering a wide array of hat wear – and human history – in between.
Returning live at the Dairy Arts Center for 11 days of cinema and conversation, the festival opens on Thursday, November 3 with a haunting investigation of Leonard Cohen and his most famous song, and closes Sunday, November 13, with two dazzling local stories and a day celebrating Western history.
This year’s mid-week Centerpiece features an in-person visit with filmmaker Peter Stein, who will share his touching new film portrait of his photographer father and who will also discuss his career as a cinematographer.
Mark your calendars now. Tickets go on sale to the public on October 12.
More information here.
Opening Night
Thursday, Nov. 3, 6:30 pm in the Gordon Gamm Theater
Opening gala reception, 5:30-6:30
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song – Married directors Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine view the venerated singer-songwriter’s life and legacy through the prism of his internationally renowned hymn, Hallelujah, in this stirring, soulful tribute to Cohen’s lifelong quest for truth and beauty.
Friday, Nov. 4, Noon in the Boedecker Theater
Speer Goes to Hollywood – In this shocking cautionary tale, Hitler’s close ally Albert Speer attempts to whitewash his Nazi past through a Hollywood adaptation of his bestselling wartime memoir, with a young English screenwriter as his willing accomplice.
Friday, Nov. 4, 2:30 pm in the Boedecker Theater
Friday, Nov 11, Noon in the Boedecker Theater
Shorts – Programmer Judith Dack returns with a selection of award-winning short subjects depicting the Jewish experience from multiple perspectives.
Sunday, Nov. 6, Noon in the Boedecker Theater
Glickman – An illuminating portrait of beloved radio sportscaster Marty Glickman, a former athlete whose dreams were dashed by prejudice at the 1936 Berlin Olympics but who went on to forge a remarkable career in sports.
Sunday, Nov. 6, 2:30 pm in the Gordon Gamm Theater
Persian Lessons – Driven by desperation, an ingenious Jewish concentration camp prisoner poses as Iranian to avoid death, pretending to speak and teach Farsi to the eccentric Commandant who holds his life in his hands.
Sunday, Nov. 6, 6:30 pm in the Gordon Gamm Theater
Kiss Me Kosher – Sparks fly when two women, a German biologist visiting Israel and an Israeli bar owner, fall in love – and their families from completely different cultural backgrounds struggle to plan an interfaith lesbian wedding.
Monday, Nov. 7, Noon in the Boedecker Theater
TBD – Check the Dairy Website October 21 for additional screenings
Monday, Nov. 7, 3 pm in the Boedecker Theater
Plan A – The themes of revenge, justice, and morality fuel this suspenseful drama depicting the dangerous secret plan by a group Jewish resistance fighters and Holocaust survivors known as “The Avengers” to poison Germany’s water system in 1945.
Monday, Nov. 7, 6:30 pm in the Boedecker Theater
The Magnificent Meyersons – This bitingly witty New York story unfolds during one extraordinary day in the life of a distinguished, complicated family whose world is suddenly upended by dramatic personal revelations.
Tuesday, Nov. 8, Noon in the Boedecker Theater
Tuesday, Nov. 8, 3 pm in the Boedecker Theater
TBD – Check the Dairy Website October 21 for additional screenings
The Man in the Basement – An assimilated Parisian family sells their basement unit, unwittingly welcoming a menacing stranger into their life, turning it upside down and forcing them to confront their Jewish identity.
Tuesday, Nov. 8, 6:30 pm in the Boedecker Theater
Concerned Citizen – A liberal gay couple who take advantage of low rent by moving into a disadvantaged Tel Aviv neighborhood find their values and good intentions put to the test when they plant a tree on their street.
Wednesday, Nov. 9, Noon in the Boedecker Theater
Wednesday, Nov. 9, 3 pm in the Boedecker Theater
TBD – Check the Dairy Website October 21 for additional screenings
Berenshtein – The exploits of a Jewish Ukrainian war hero, the last of the great partisans, are portrayed with incredible force in this haunting WW II drama honoring his legacy and mourning his sacrifices.
Wednesday, Nov 10, 6:30 pm in the Gordon Gamm Theater
Out Of Exile: The Photography of Fred Stein – In this visually stunning documentary, director Peter Stein makes a touchingly valiant effort to recapture rightful acclaim for his father, a once-famous photographer and German Jewish refugee whose story is both tragic and triumphant.
Thursday, Nov. 10, Noon in the Boedecker Theater
A Life Behind the Camera: In-person Conversation with Peter Stein – Peter Stein will discuss his three-decade career as a Hollywood cinematographer, discuss and share clips from such films as “Pet Sematary” and “Rueben, Rueben,” and elucidate the art of cinematography.
Thursday, Nov. 10, 3 pm in the Boedecker Theater
The Levys of Monticello – Erased from history, the story of the Jewish family that owned and carefully preserved Monticello for far longer than Thomas Jefferson or his descendants is revealed in this documentary, which tackles a complicated legacy of politics, slavery, and anti-Semitism in the American South.
Thursday, Nov. 10, 6:30 pm in the Gordon Gamm Theater
Neighbours – A young Kurdish boy living on the Syrian/Turkish border in the 1980s, close friends with his Jewish neighbors, discovers the absurdity of war and the cruelty of hatred in this warm-hearted, humor-laced autobiographical feature.
Friday, Nov. 11, 3 pm in the Boedecker Theater
One More Story – Two Israelis go on a blind date and divulge way too much in this spirited romantic comedy that deals with the nature of attraction itself, directed by and starring superstar comic Guri Alfi (“New Jew”).
Family Film
Sunday, Nov. 13, Noon in the Boedecker Theater
The Frisco Kid – Gene Wilder is at his hilarious best as a Polish rabbi who traverses the Old West on his way to lead a synagogue in San Francisco in this 1979 classic comedy co-starring Harrison Ford.
Closing Night Double Feature
Sunday, Nov. 13, 3:30 pm in the Gordon Gamm Theater
Jews of the Wild West – Denver filmmaker Amanda Kinsey has created a fascinating documentary highlighting the contributions of dynamic Jewish Americans who helped tame the West, including numerous Colorado pioneers. The director and several guest experts who appear in the film join us for a Q&A and the post-screening reception.
Sunday, Nov. 13, 5:30-6:30 pm in the Dairy Lobby
Wild West Wrap Party – Featuring chile, cornbread, pie and cider, and Western Swing Music by Greg Shochet and Little America
Sunday, Nov. 13, 6:30 pm in the Gordon Gamm Theater
Adventures of a Mathematician – Based on the autobiography of the same title, this riveting biodrama recounts the life of Stan Ulam, a Polish Jewish refugee, Los Alamos scientist, and CU Professor, who helped to develop the hydrogen bomb and create the first computer.
