Matzah Movies

Picks from the Seattle Jewish Film Festival
by Emma L. Wunsch

What began as a five-night, five-film festival in the University District is now a full week-long gala event in the heart of downtown Seattle. This year's Seattle Jewish Film Festival presented by the American Jewish Committee has moved from it's former venue at the King Cat Theater to the Loews Cineplex City Centre Theater and is showcasing an astounding number of premieres and award winning features, documentaries and shorts from around the world. Ranging from Yidl in the Middle, Marlene Booth's documentary about being a Jew from Des Moines to the children's matinee feature Animated Anne Frank's Diary to the light-heated Gen-X look at Hollywood from the point of view of a Jewish comedian in Who's the Caboose, through film, the SJFF seeks to reach out to the Seattle community.

SJFF is a priority project of the Seattle Chapter of the American Jewish Committee, a non-sectarian, non-profit, human relations agency that seeks to build bridges of understanding and cooperation between diverse racial, religious and ethnic groups. The 2000 SJFF promises to be a wonderful event celebrating and exploring contemporary Jewish issues as well as exploring the universal human experience.

Yana's Friends (dir. Arik Kaplun), which swept the Israeli Academy Awards, launches the festival on March 11. Yana, a Russian refugee, is stranded in Tel Aviv after the Gulf War and is surrounded by zany characters and friends. Variety recently named Kaplun as one of their "Ten New Directors to Watch." Donny Inba, cultural affairs officer in the Israeli consulate, will be a special guest at the screening; Palomino Restaurant is sponsoring an after-screening dessert banquet afterwards.

One of the many festival highlights will be the appearance of Aviva Kemper at the March 12 screening of her award-winning documentary The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg. "Hammering" Hank became of symbol of Jewish courage and pride by bravely defying stereotypes both on and off the field.

Wednesday, March 15 offers films that might be of particular interest to Washington Free Press readers; Lori Cheatle's (et al.) From Swastika to Jim Crow is a fascinating and informing documentary covering the relationship between "refugee" Jewish professors in 1930's America who were expelled from prominent faculty positions due to domestic anti-semitism teaching at black colleges in the then-segregated South. The two marginalized groups recount the impact, bonds and friendships formed especially during the Civil Rights movement. Through interviews with a former Nazi skinhead turned antifascist leader, a militant human rights leader and a Uruguayan Youth Against Racism activist, Liv Weisberg's Swedish documentary Antiracist focuses on fighting intolerance in provocative ways.

March 12 offers the intriguing Menelik: Black Jewish Prince which tells the story of Gadi Abaja, a young Ethiopian living in Tel-Aviv's central bus station who dreams of turning the public address system into an Amharic reggae beat radio show. Gadi does not feel like a part of Israeli society, but his long-awaited homecoming in Ethiopia reveals the complexities of his Israeli identity. Showing along with Menelik is Pamela Love's documentary The Color of Jewish which features Ethiopian Jews making the transition from mud and dung huts to western culture. Other foreign films showcased in this year's festival include: Kadosh (Thursday, March 16, 7pm) is a complex and controversial drama exploring love and religion within the confines of an orthodox marriage; Lea Pool's Emporte-Moi (Set Me Free) is a tender coming-of-age, semi-autobiographical story of Hanna, a thirteen year old who escapes in movie houses where she worships the femme fatale in Jean-Luc Godard's Vivre sa vie; Sea Horses (Israel), Nir Bergman's short film about a ten-year-old boy whose parents have decided to separate also plays with Emporte-Moi. And from the makers of Run Lola Run comes Meshugge: The Giraffe (Dani Levy, dir.) a thriller about an elderly Jewish woman found dead in a New York hotel.

The Seattle Jewish Film Festival runs from 7:30pm Saturday March 11 through Sunday, March 19. General admission tickets are $7.50; full festival passes are available for $100 which allows admission to all screenings and events including the opening night gala and bagel and film brunch. A half festival pass is $60.00 which includes the aforementioned events as well as five screenings. Tickets are available in advance at the AJC/SJFF box office (1402 3rd Ave. Suite 145), by phone (206.390.7791) or fax (206.622.3015). Loews Cineplex will offer 3 hour validated parking at the box office.