Can traditional Jewish cuisine ever claim its place within the world of haute cuisine? Does it need a modern day Viking to take it there? When Danish born non-Jewish chef Henrik Iversen becomes head chef at the Jerusalem Hyatt, he champions the rustic delights of chopped liver, matzo ball soup and cholent but with his own "haymishe" twist!


Impact of Terror
Canada, 2004, 52 minutes, DVD, English and Hebrew w/ English subtitles
Director: Tim Wolochatiuk

In August 2001, a bomb destroyed a Sbarro pizza restaurant in downtown Jerusalem. Fifteen people died in the explosion; another 130 were injured, many seriously. Evocatively, IMPACT OF TERROR revisits that tragic event, interviewing the survivors and the families of the dead. Playing out almost as a thriller, slowly revealing the fate of those in the restaurant at the time, the deeply moving IMPACT OF TERROR brings home the danger – and the long-term repercussions – of the terrorism Israelis face virtually every day.


Komissar (Commissar)
Russia, 1967, 110 minutes, 35 mm, Russian w/ English subtitles
Director: Aleksandr Askoldov

A Red Army cavalry commissar is waylaid by an unexpected pregnancy. She stays with a Jewish family to give birth and is softened somewhat by the experience of family life.

This so-called "Zionist elegy" was shelved for 20 years -- longer than any of the 140 other banned films of the Soviet Union. Sadly, its promising director never made another film.

Silver Berlin Bear and three other awards, Berlinale, 1988
Best Actor and three other awards, Nika Awards, 1989


Kosher
USA, 2001, 5 minutes, video, English
Director: Aimee Barth

Six-year-old Charles Robinson wants more than anything to marry his sweetheart on the playground after school. There's only one problem: He's Christian and she's Jewish. See what Charles will do to win his true love.

Second Prize (Comedy Category), Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Collegiate Competition, 2002
First Prize, Danah Film Festival (Seattle)
Best Short Film, Glen Ellen Film Festival (California)
Best Student Film, Independents Film Festival (Tampa)


Ma Nishtana Ha-yom Ha-zeh? (Why is This Day Different?)
USA, 2003, 6 minutes, video, English
Director: Lorin Fink

A group of Americans find themselves in New Zealand on the first night of Passover. So in Christchurch, they begin a search for matzos (unleavened bread).


Moving Heaven and Earth
USA, 2003, 43 minutes, DVD, English
Directors: Debra Gonsher Vinik and David Vinik

In 1919, following the guidance of their leader, a local governor named Semei Kakungulu, the Ugandan Abayudaya adopted all the observances of Judaism including circumcision at birth. In the 1970s, even in the face of rampant anti-Semitism under the reign of Idi Amin exemplified by torture and murder, many of the tribe held fast to Jewish practice and beliefs. In the 1980s with the help of the outside Jewish community from Israel and the United States, a number of small synagogues were built and a Torah donated. Today the Abayudaya keep kosher according to Talmudic Law, attend to the Jewish calendar of holidays and study the week's parshah. At the beginning of February of 2002, a Beit Din made up of three rabbis from the United States and one from Israel went to this community in Uganda. There, over a period of six days, they converted over 300 Abayudaya, welcoming them into the community of world Jewry. An inspiring documentary on the complicated nature of Jewish identity.


Nackt Unter Wölfen (Naked Among Wolves)
Germany, 1963, 124 minutes, 35 mm, German w/ English subtitles
Director: Frank Beyer

Set just prior to the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp, NAKED AMONG WOLVES is the true story of prisoners who risked their lives to hide a small Jewish boy from their captors. Based on Bruno Apitz's novel and featuring Armin Mueller-Stahl (SHINE).


No. 17
Israel, 2003, 75 minutes, video, Hebrew w/ English subtitles
Director: David Ofek

When a suicide bomber blows himself up on an Israeli bus, 17 innocent people die. However, one of the bodies, burnt beyond recognition, goes unclaimed and the victim's identity remains unknown. Intrigued by this unusual case, the filmmakers set out to unravel the mystery of the dead person. Could it have been a foreigner, illegally working in the country? Or a tourist? Clues pop up and pan out, theories are discredited and still the filmmakers, now detectives, continue on their quest. A riveting documentary that crafts an indelible, moving portrait of a resilient society and people.

Best Documentary, DocAviv, Israeli Academy Awards
IDFA, Thessaloniki, Cinema du reel, New Directors-New Films, Hot Docs


Ocho Candelas (Eight Candles)
Mexico, 2002, 70 minutes, DVD, Spanish and English w/ English subtitles
Director: Sandro Halphen

In the 16th Century, Spanish Jews arrived in Mexico trying to escape Spanish inquisition. In 1984, several families from the port of Veracruz began to investigate their origins and they discovered themselves to be descendants of these original immigrants. Thus began the fascinating adventures of the community of Beth Shmuel, a congregation of Jewish converts that has been fighting with the religious establishment in Mexico for its acceptance. EIGHT CANDLES recounts the history of eight of these families.


A Rózsa Enekei (Rose's Songs)
Hungary/Italy, 2002, 98 minutes, 35mm, Hungarian w/ English subtitles
Director: Andor Szilágyi

In the autumn of 1944, with Budapest in the cruel grip of the Arrow Cross, a Jewish opera star sings each night from the high tower of his villa, where he has barricaded himself. His songs inspire hope in a group of Jews hiding in the house - though he never leaves the tower, and they never see his face. A powerful drama based on a true story.

Special Jury Mention, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, 2003
Best Screenplay, Hungarian Film Week, 2003
Platinum Award, Worldfest Houston, 2004


Secret Lives: Hidden Children and Their Rescuers During WWII
USA, 2002, 72 minutes, 35mm, English
Director: Aviva Slesin

Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Aviva Slesin's haunting documentary tells the story of Jewish children saved from the Nazis by non-Jews. A hidden child herself, Slesin lived with a Christian couple in Lithuania for several years. Non-Jewish rescuers, who took Jewish children into their homes at great personal risk, performed extraordinary acts of decency. The film deftly examines biological ties and the poignant reunions between children and their survivor parents. It also explores the bonds that developed, sometimes imperceptibly, between the hidden children and their rescuer families, and the intense sense of loss some rescuer parents felt when they relinquished their temporary charges.

"We were not heroes. We were just people who helped other people. When you see a child in the water you jump in and pick it up. When you see a person in difficulty you try to help. I find that very normal." - Johtje Vos, rescuer

Inspirational Film Award, Hamptons International Film Festival, 2002


Le Tango des Rashevski (The Rashevskis' Tango)
Belgium/France/Luxembourg, 2003, 97 minutes, 35 mm, French w/ English subtitles
Director: Sam Garbarski

When Grandmother Rosa suddenly dies, her various assimilated or half-Jewish family members are thrown into turmoil. Should her funeral service be a religious Jewish one? Should all the mourning customs be observed? The answers aren’t easy ones, especially when one granddaughter decides to return to her Jewish roots. A delicate mix of witty satire and thoughtful drama, LE TANGO DES RASHEVSKI goes in directions you don’t expect, even as it smartly explores the many meanings of being Jewish today. From the director of LA VIE, LA MORT ET LE FOOT (HKJFF '01).

Undying Love
Canada, 2002, 90 minutes, video, English and Yiddish w/ English subtitles
Director: Helene Klodawsky

From the tragedy of the Holocaust rises life, and even love and marriage. The daughter of survivors, filmmaker Helene Klodawsky, uses interviews, rare archival documentary footage, vintage film clips from Yiddish and Hollywood cinema, and dramatic re-enactments to present true stories of faith, courage and loss that span continents and decades. The film chronicles the lives of ordinary people making an extraordinary commitment to life for future generations.

Best Screenplay (Documentary Category), Canadian Screenwriting Awards, 2004.


Unlikely Heroes
USA, 2003, 120 minutes, DVD, English and Hebrew w/ English subtitles
Director: Richard Trank

For most, the idea of Jewish resistance or defiance during the Holocaust is limited to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and a few isolated acts throughout WWII. UNLIKELY HEROES, narrated by Sir Ben Kingsley, highlights seven previously unknown stories of extraordinary men and women who exemplified the highest levels of courage and human dignity during the most desperate days of the Holocaust.


Voyages
France, 1999, 115 minutes, 35 mm, French, Yiddish, Polish, Russian and Hebrew w/ English subtitles
Director: Emmanuel Finkiel

A woman on a bus tour of Poland is left behind at a Jewish cemetery. A Parisian widow receives a call from a man claiming to be her long-lost father. A newly arrived 85-year-old Russian immigrant wanders the streets of Tel Aviv looking for a distant cousin. A lost Eastern European Jewish world echoes in their actions, gestures and turns of phrase. The film quietly builds to a devastating finale that links the characters together in the most profoundly emotional sense. The impressive first feature-length film from the director of MADAME JACQUES SUR LA CROISETTE (HKJFF '01) and featuring many of the same actors.

Young Audience Prize winner, Cannes Film Festival, 1999
French César for Best First Film and Best Editing, 2000
Best Actress (Esther Gorintin – "Vera"), Albi Film Festival, 2000


Zeyda and the Hitman
Canada, 2004, 87 minutes, DVD, English
Director: Melanie Mayron

Retired from his office supplies empire, Gideon Schub enjoys spending time with his little grandson. Unfortunately for Gideon though, he must also suffer an obnoxious son-in-law and aspiring game show contestant, Jeff. When Jeff restricts Gideon's visits, the proud grandfather hires a hitman, Nathan Winkler, to bump him off. What Gideon doesn't know is that Nathan is the world's most accident-prone hitman and has never killed anyone in his long and undistinguished career. Stars Judd Hirsch, Danny Aiello and Gil Bellows.