Boston Jewish Film Festival 2009

Actors Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones play themselves in this spunky, heartfelt New York story about autonomy, dependence, connection, and originality. She’s the sizzling actress; he’s the promising young writer. Not yet ready for a complete break-up, they schedule “on” and “off” days with one another. The twists and turns of Zoe and Daryl’s relationship rival those of Woody Allen’s most memorable characters. In Person: Writers and Producers Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones Community Partner: Independent Film Festival of Boston

Paul Bettany ( A Beautiful Mind ) stars in this British feature set in the Finsbury Park section of London. He’s an ex-boxer, now paralyzed from a stroke suffered during a match, and his girlfriend B (Doraly Rosa), a waitress, is his sole support. Then a young Jewish lawyer who lives with his wealthy fiancée walks into B’s café.  He's in Finsbury Park to close up his late father's tailor shop.  Their steamy attraction for one another – part chemistry, part shared Jewishness – forces questions about loyalty and freedom. In Person: Director Sallie Aprahamian (both screenings)

Screening as part of the Shorts Program curated by Kristina Elizabeth Lyons, 2009 Programming Intern Daniel, a withdrawn 11 year-old, lives under his mother’s strict supervision.  Every day after school, he stays at home alone, waiting for her 3 o’clock return from work.  One day, a strong explosion rips through Tel Aviv.  People in his building are talking about a terrorist attack, and Daniel’s mother has not yet arrived.  As the hours pass, Daniel’s anxiety leads him to an act that will change his life. Community Partner: Independent Film Festival of Boston

At the end of the 19th century, a baby girl is born only yards away from the new world as a ship of immigrants docks in Buenos Aires harbor. Shy and self-conscious, Gertrudis grows up and into her role as the ugly duckling in a colony of Argentinean Jews. She fashions herself almost invisible, even hiding her face in photographs. After she is married off to an older, wealthy Jewish rancher, Gertrudis meets expectations and raises a family. The years pass and she finds solace in the beauty of everyday life, turning the tasks of setting the table or preparing a meal into aesthetic pursuits. One day her husband invites a gentle, nomadic French photographer to take a family portrait. His wondrous Surrealist photographs and uncompromising vision allow Gertrudis to see herself for the first time. Beautifully shot on location, this luminous, remarkable film captures the rich landscape of Buenos Aires Province, and its fertile forests, fields, lagoons and rivers. Screened in 2009 Jerusalem Film Festival and 2009 Chicago International Film Festival.

In Ori Ravid’s debut feature film, hunky Lior Ashkenazi ( Walk on Wate r) plays father and husband Ben, the city architect of the Tel Aviv suburb, Herzliya.   Ben’s father, also an architect, is about to win the Israel Prize.  Ben’s son, Eli, is 12.  Watching the police take his father into custody changes everything for Eli.  When the police question him about his father’s actions, Eli begins to feel like a double agent.  Where, he wonders, is the truth? Premiered at the 2008 Haifa International Film Festival. A Boston-Haifa Film Connection Selection Introduced By: Nadav Tamir, Consul General, Consulate General of Israel to New England (November 4) In Person: Film Editor Isaac Sehayek (November 4) Special musical performance courtesy of Berklee College of Music (November 4) Sponsored by Emerson College, School of the Arts

*Screening as part of the Shorts Program curated by Kristina Elizabeth Lyons, 2009 Programming intern When Kate (Olivia Thirlby) goes to visit her Grandma Lola (Lauren Bacall) for a private dinner, she is surprised to find herself the third wheel on her Grandma’s date with Joe (Ben Gazzara).  This carefully observed film marks actress Natalie Portman’s directorial debut. Community Partner: Independent Film Festival of Boston

In early 20 th century Ukraine, the Glasberg family escaped pograms by converting to Russian Orthodoxy.   One son became a French resistance fighter; the other converted to Catholicism and became a priest in France.   As Father Glasberg, he saved hundreds of Jews during World War II, helped refugees flee to Israel after the War – and spoke Yiddish when he visited old age homes.   This film wonders aloud at the Jewish sources of his dedication to social justice, and introduces us to a man ultimately honored as a righteous gentile by Israel’s Yad VaShem.

In Paris, 1968 meant the May riots.  Further east, in Moscow, the KGB kept an eye on refuseniks , those Jews wanting to emigrate to Israel.  In Poland, in 1968, when Premier Gomulka told the Jews to leave, Gdanski Railway Station was the place they went to take the train out of Poland.  This film brings us closer to a time and place we might have been too busy to notice. Introduced by: Antony Polonsky, Albert Abramson Professor of Holocaust Studies, Brandeis University