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We're
back! Yes, the Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival is back for
a seventh great year! This year's theme is "Roots"
and we've got some fantastic films on tap that feature stories
about people who go searching for some personal history. Think
Jewish Kunta Kinte -- or maybe Moishe Kinte!
As is the case every year, our line-up of films
comes from all over the world. This year's we will
be showing films from Argentina, Brazil, Canada,
France, Israel, Russia and the USA. Features and
documentaries, dramas and comedies -- there's
something for everyone.
Here are just a few of the great films that you can
see at the Festival running this November 11 - 19.
| Everything Is Illuminated |
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Based on the critically-acclaimed novel by Jonathan
Safran Foer, EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED tells the
story of a young man's quest to find the woman who
saved his grandfather in a small Ukrainian town that
was wiped off the map by the Nazi invasion. What
starts out as a journey to piece together one
family's story under the most absurd circumstances
turns into a surprisingly meaningful journey with a
powerful series of revelations – the importance of
remembrance, the perilous nature of secrets, the
legacy of the Holocaust, the meaning of friendship
and, most importantly, love.
Directed by Liev Schreiber and starring Elijah Wood.
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| Like a Fish Out of Water |
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Marcelo is a non-religious young man, an actor and a
single parent to his 11-year-old daughter, Lucy.
He's desperately looking for someone to help him
improve his Hebrew accent so he can pass the
auditions for an Israeli soap opera. Anat, his
religious Hebrew teacher, is probably the best
solution but it seems that she hates soap operas and
is not so fond of her pupil either. In fact, she
has her own problems – mainly her mother, who is
frantically seeking a perfect match for her daughter
who has, in her eyes, clearly passed the proper
wedding age. LIKE A FISH OUT OF WATER is a charming
romantic comedy about a new immigrant from Argentina
trying to balance love, work and family.
This film will be presented in Hebrew and Spanish
with English subtitles.
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Thanks
for reading Reel News and giving us the feedback
to make it better. Don't forget, if you like what
you read, please let us know and forward Reel News
to your friends so they will know too!
Did
you know that the Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival
costs almost HK$300,000 each year? Ticket sales
only account for 20 percent of the revenue. The
rest is made up through sponsorship and advertising.
If you believe in this great event, please support
the Festival with a generous donation so that it
can continue.
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Roots
(Bedniye Rodstvenniki) |
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Edik, a Russian grafter, arrives in a small Crimean
town looking for fictional relatives to match up
with a group of Jewish émigrés who are seeking their
ancestors. His main problem is that their birthplace
was destroyed in World War II, so the relatives are,
indeed, fictional. Logistical details can all be
managed with help from the easily corrupted local
authorities. What can't be managed, however, are the
relations that develop between the returnees and
their supposed relatives, which take various,
distinctly unexpected turns. A bubbly, black comedy
featuring 92-year-old actress Esther Gorintin
(VOYAGES, HKJFF '04).
Winner of 6 awards, Kinotavr Russian Open
Film Festival, 2005.
This film will be presented in Russian, French,
English and Yiddish with English subtitles.
Read
a film review... |
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