The Muskegon Film Festival will not be staged in February at the downtown Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts. But the eighth annual festival will continue in a new month at a different venue — May 30-31 at the Harbor theater, 1937 Lakeshore. Read more …
Atlanta Jewish Film Festival (AJFF)
The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) kicks off yesterday, January 14 through January 25 and features 48 visually stunning and evocative Jewish films that would otherwise not be available on the big screen in Atlanta. Read more …
AFI DALLAS International Film Festival
The 2009 AFI DALLAS International Film Festival, Founding Sponsor Victory Park announces NorthPark Center as the new presenting sponsor as AFI DALLAS prepares for the third edition of the film festival held March 26 - April 2.
In addition, Stephanie Hunt, who recently assumed the role of AFI DALLAS Board of Directors Chairman from Festival Founder and Director Liener Temerlin, announced that Current Energy’s Joseph Harberg has been named President of the Festival’s Advisory Board and Anne and Steve Stodghill as Festival Chairs.
The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) unveiled its film selections and schedule for the ninth annual celebration of Jewish life and culture through film. The festival, running from January 14-25, 2009 features 48 visually-stunning and evocative Jewish films that would otherwise not be available on the big screen in Atlanta. The films represent 20 nations and deliver the broad human relations mission of the American Jewish Committee, presenter of the AJFF.
From Argentina to Spain, from Israel to Switzerland, the selected films in the 2009 festival lineup represent a diverse array of cultures, yet tackle issues familiar to us all. This year’s featured films include Hello Goodbye, a French romantic comedy co-starring Fanny Ardant and Gérard Depardieu about a married Jewish couple living in Paris who flee to Israel during a midlife crisis, screening on Opening Night, and Strangers (pictured), the Young Professionals Night film selection, a narrative feature that traces the unlikely romance between an Israeli kibbutznik and a Palestinian woman who meet serendipitously on their way to the World Cup finals in Berlin.
“This year’s lineup touches on a wide array of subject matter, from thought-provoking to heart-wrenching to just plain funny,” said Executive Director Kenny Blank. “The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival features something for every kind of movie-lover, Jewish or non-Jewish.”
Tickets and a full film schedule for the 2009 festival are available on www.ajff.org. Films in the 2009 festival will be screened at Lefont Sandy Springs, Regal Cinemas Atlantic Station Stadium 16 and at the Regal Medlock Crossing Stadium 18, the festival’s North Metro venue in Duluth.
The Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival has rejected a film created by Orthodox women after the film director demanded screening for female audiences only in accordance with Halacha reports the Jerusalem Post. The film, “A Light For Greytowers,” directed by Robin Garbose, was scheduled to be screened during the festival, which takes place between December 13 and 19.
“We tried to explain that our festival doesn’t discriminate on the basis of race, religion, nationality or gender,” said Aryeh Barak, spokesman for the Jerusalem Cinematheque. “Accepting the director’s terms would mean discrimination against half of our audience on the basis of gender.”
Halacha forbids men from listening to a woman sing. There is dispute among the rabbis on whether the prohibition applies solely to live performances or also to other instances where the woman can be seen singing, such as on film, and also on whether the prohibition also applied in cases where the music is taped and only the woman’s voice could be heard. The rabbis taught that the female voice is considered so sensual and stimulating that it might arouse in men passions that are spiritually unhealthy.
Based on a popular Jewish novel, the movie tells the Victorian-era saga of a Russian Jewish girl separated from her family and sent to an orphanage, where the cruel matron tries to keep her from celebrating her religious traditions.
The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival reportedly agreed to market “A Light For Greytowers” in its 2009 festival as a “by women, for women film experience.”
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