Burial Society

Thursday, April 7, 7:30 p.m.

Canada, 2002. English, 100 min. Director, Nicholas Racz

Rated: R

When Sheldon, a nerdy loan officer at Hebrew National Bank, seeks to join the chevrah kadisha (Jewish burial society) in a small town, his rabbi refuses to recommend him. The three, old, devout Jewish men who perform taharah, the ritual cleansing of the dead, also reject him at first, but they put him through a series of tests to try to discover his real reasons for wanting to join their group. Sheldon tells them he’s on the run from mobsters who think he has stolen $2 million from them. Then the plot thickens and twists and turns to a surprise conclusion.

Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi

Sunday, April 10, 3 p.m.

Israel, 2003. Hebrew, English subtitles
94 min. Director, Shemi Zarhin. Rated: NR

In this warm and witty family comedy, 16-year-old Shlomi’s long overlooked intellectual gifts surface in spite of his chaotic, three-generational extended family. Shlomi plays the role of family peacekeeper, tending to everyone else’s needs, and leaving him little time to develop his own personality. But when one of his teachers detects an extraordinary gift that Shlomi never knew he had, and aided by the power of his first love, Shlomi breaks out of his timid shell, discovering his own independence and potential.

Facing Windows

Sunday, April 10, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 14, 7 p.m.

Italy, 2003. Italian, English subtitles, 102 min. Director, Ferzan Ozpetek. Rated: R

A well-dressed, elderly man, Davide has lost his memory but finds assistance in the form of Filippo and Giovanna. As they try to help him piece together his identity, their marriage itself is falling apart. Giovanna is secretly attracted to a handsome bachelor in the building facing hers. The old man’s identity is suggested by his concentration camp tattoo. But who is “Simone,” about whom he speaks lovingly, how did Davide survive the concentration camps? And how does he know so much about baking fine pastries, which is Giovanna’s real passion?

Reach for the Sky

Monday, April 11, 7:15 p.m.

Israel, 2001. Hebrew, English subtitles, 52 min. Director, Romit Weiss-Berkowitz
Rated: NR

Dreaming of being accepted into elite pilot training in the Israeli Air Force, a group of new Israeli Defense Forces recruits is taken to an exposed hilltop in southern Israel where they are forced to endure a week of physical, mental and psychological hardship. All are young men and women who have completed high school, either secular or yeshiva. They must function with none of the comforts of home in a torturous boot camp. They run from place to place with full packs, dig holes they must then fill, eat tasteless food, sleep little, and have no time to consider what they are feeling as they approach the breaking point. Who will be selected and who will not?

Watermarks

Tuesday, April 12, 10 a.m., 7:30 p.m.

Israel, 2004. English, Hebrew and German, English subtitles, 84 min.
Director, Yaron Zilberman. Rated: NR

This documentary tells the stories of eight remarkable Jewish women athletes: Austrian national swimming champions and members of the legendary Jewish sports club, Hakoah Vienna. Founded in 1909 when Jewish athletes were banned from Austrian sports clubs, Hakoah became one of Europe’s largest athletic clubs. Its women’s swim team dominated Austrian national competitions in the 1930s, but fled the country when Hitler annexed Austria in 1938. Now in their 80s and scattered around the world, the women return to Vienna for their first reunion in 65 years to swim again in the pool they remembered.

The 10 a.m. screening is co-sponsored by Hadassah, with coffee and cake preceding the film and a discussion afterward led by Dayton Daily News sportswriter Marc Katz. Advance $6 tickets are available through Hadassah. Call 275-0227.

America

Tuesday, April 12, 7 p.m.

Israel, 2004. Hebrew, English subtitles, 23 min. Director, Sigal Mordechai. Rated: NR

David, widower in his 70s, dreams of visiting America. For two years he has been planning a trip there with his brother, Ezra, a bachelor in his late 50s. While David is debating whether to make the trip in summer or winter, Ezra meets a woman. He conceals the relationship from David, who unexpectedly sees them together. David meets Gila, reacts badly, and realizes that he may never see America and that his attitude is driving a wedge between him and his brother.

Sing-a-Long with Fiddler on the Roof

Sunday, April 17, 2 p.m.

USA, 1971. English, 179 min. Director, Norman Jewison Rated: G

The Broadway musical based on Sholem Aleichem’s Yiddish stories inspired this musical classic which won Academy Awards depicting Jewish life in a traditional 19th century Russian village. Tevye, a dairyman with five unmarried daughters, endures poverty and antisemitism in tsarist Russia on the eve of the revolution. Played by Chaim Topol, Tevye’s zest for life and desire to maintain his faith and life style are reflected in the film’s many memorable songs. This sing-along version invites you, the audience, to join in singing these well-known songs as the lyrics appear on the screen. Come dressed in costume.

Paper Clips
Sunday, April 17, 7 p.m.

USA, 2003. English, 84 min.
Director, Joe Fab. Rated: G

Whitwell, Tennessee is an unlikely town to establish a Holocaust memorial. Mostly poor, white and fundamentalist Christian, this small rural town on the edge of Appalachia is just a few miles from the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan and the sight of the Scopes Monkey Trial. Despite or because of that heritage, the students, teachers and administrators of Whitwell Middle School created an amazing tribute to the six million Jews killed in the Nazi genocide of World War II. Paper Clips is possibly the most popular and uplifting film now appearing in Jewish film festivals and theaters across the country. Join us for its Dayton area premiere.

Director Joe Fab will be the guest speaker during this program.

Film Festival Information

All films will be shown at the Neon Movies, 130 E. Fifth Street, Downtown Dayton.

Tickets are $7 per film, $45 for a package of all seven films.

Special Rates: Fiddler only – $20 maximum per family. Paper Clips – $5 student rate (with valid ID).

Tickets are available at the Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Drive, Centerville and at the Neon Movies. For more information, call Karen Steiger at 853-0372.

Film Festival Committee
Shelly & Ted Partlow, Chairs.
Connie & Stanley Blum, Sandy & Stacey Fogel, Marsha Greenberg, Helen Halcomb, Rebecca Vandersluis, Mitch Jacobs, Elaine Koenigsberg, Cherie Kurland, Alan Segal, Meredith & Jim Levinson, Jason Liff, Sandy Lobsenz, Ed & Ruth Meadows, Bernard & Carole Rabinowitz, Amy & Dr. Ed Sperber, Diane Williams, DJCC Program Dir. Marc Jacob

Film Festival Sponsors

Bernard and Carole Rabinowitz
Trader Joe’s
Produce One