Five Jewish-themed, award-winning films produced in Israel, Hungary, Sweden, and Germany will be shown on five consecutive Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. beginning March 22 at the Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 North Terrace Road. These films are suitable for those 16 and older. Individual tickets are $7 per person and include complimentary popcorn and a soft drink.
These films have garnered international film awards and nominations, and have received recognition at film festivals throughout the United States, Europe and Israel.
For more information, contact the Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga 493-0270.
An event for individual and corporate sponsors of the Jewish Film Series will be held March 15 at 6 p.m. and feature a screening of the film Harmonia. In this film, Sarah, the harpist of the Jerusalem Philharmonic, is married to Abraham, the conductor of the orchestra. The story is told as the biblical story of Sarah, Abraham, Hagar, Yitzhak and Ishmael, from the book of Genesis, taking place in present day Israel. Click here for the trailer. For information about individual sponsorships, contact Ann Treadwell, program director, at 493-0270.
The series schedule is as follows:
March 22 The Women’s Balcony 1 hour, 36 minutes Hebrew with English subtitles
A close knit congregation fractures along gender lines after a catastrophe at their synagogue. The film shows the tensions and relationships between the different groups within Orthodox Judaism in Jerusalem, and provides a cautionary and universal tale about religious fundamentalism. Click here for the trailer.
March 29 Fever at Dawn 1 hour, 40 minutes Swedish, Hungarian with English subtitles
This is the story of a love born in the strangest of circumstances between two long-suffering survivors of the Holocaust. Their love overcomes all the obstacles in its path. The story is set in the Swedish rehabilitation camps during the autumn and winter of 1945. Click here for the trailer.
April 5 1945 1 hour, 31 minutes Hungarian with English subtitles
On an August day in 1945, two Orthodox Jews arrive at the train station of a European village with a mysterious box labeled “fragrances.” The town clerk fears the men may be heirs of the village’s deported Jews and expects them to demand back their illegally acquired property, which was confiscated during the war. Other villagers are afraid more survivors will come and pose a threat to the property and possessions they have claimed as their own. (Trailer not yet available.)
April 19 The Last Mensch 1 hour, 33 minutes German, Hungarian with English subtitles
Born as Menachen Teitelbaum, Marcus Schwarz escaped from Auschwitz with his life, only to exterminate his Jewishness. When faced with his own mortality, Marcus sets out with an unlikely friend on a journey that will irrevocably change both of them. Click here for the trailer.
April 26 AKA Nadia 1 hour, 55 minutes Hebrew, Arabic with English subtitles
Maya is a happily married mother of two. She is a successful choreographer and everything seems perfect….but this life is a lie. Unbeknownst to her family and everyone around her, she has a hidden past. Click here for the trailer.
An average of 25 films are reviewed by a committee of volunteers each year in order to choose six feature films. Films that have been screened at major national and international film festivals, recommended by peers throughout the United States, and brought to the committee’s attention by filmmakers are included in the selection process. Past selections have included Academy Award nominees and winners, as well as Israeli Ophir Award winners. Over the past 10 years the series has included films from 12 different countries.