by Ara Rubyan | Sep 21, 2008
Saturday, January 24, 2009, 7:30 PM
Unsettled
(USA, 2007, Color, English/Hebrew w/English subtitles, 80 mins.)
Unsettled presents the historic 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip through the eyes of six young people. Three are settlers determined to stay. Two are soldiers with different feelings about the order to evict Jews from their homes. One is an activist whose sister was killed by a terrorist bombing and sees the withdrawal as the first step towards peace. These twenty-something surfers, soldiers and settlers are barely out of their adolescence, and yet they occupy center stage in a national drama as both the vanguard resisting the eviction, and the soldiers executing it.
Director Adam Hootnick worked for MTV News prior to shooting Unsettled on his own. The driving narrative style and songs by Matisyahu propel this dramatic story forward, as a generation in its twenties faces a defining moment.
Speaker: Filmmaker, Adam Hootnick
by Ara Rubyan | Sep 21, 2008
Sunday, January 25, 2009 2:00 PM
Arranged
(USA, 2007, Color, English, 90 mins.)
Arranged centers on the friendship of an orthodox Jewish woman and a Muslim woman who are both starting their careers as first-year teachers in a Brooklyn public school. Over the course of the year they learn they share much in common, not least of which is that they are both going through arranged marriages. The story shows the struggles both women face as religiously observant young women when interacting with an unsympathetic secular world. Similarly, the girls’ parents have a hard time accepting tthat their daughters could be friends. The film’s uplifting tenor examines religious differences in contemporary situations, with respect and understanding. (Directed by Diane Crespo & Stefan )
2003 Best Script Award – FIPA-Biarritz Film Festival, France
Best Feature Film Brooklyn International Film Festival
Berkshire International Film Festival Audience Award
by Ara Rubyan | Sep 21, 2008
Sunday, January 25, 2009 7:00 PM
So Long Are You Young
(USA, 2006, English, 59 mins.)
So Long Are You Young charts the remarkable journey of a poem written in 1917 by Samuel Ullman, a humble German Jewish immigrant who lived in Birmingham, Alabama. While unsuccessful in business, Ullman was active in community service, founding a reform synagogue, serving as a city alderman and helping establish Birmingham’s first all-black public high school. Twenty years after his death, his poem, Youth, was discovered by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, and its message of hope spread across a demoralized post-war Japan. Ullman’s words went on to influence politicians and prominent businessmen the world over, including former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung, Panasonic founder Konosuke Matsushita and Bobby Kennedy. Layered with interviews, historical footage and photographs, and a fascinating timeline of Ullman’s life, So Long Are You Young is an expressive and heartfelt celebration of a little-known literary sensation. (Directed by Judith Schaefe)
Got Next
(USA, 2007, Color, English, 10 mins.)
If you’re going to drive the lane, make sure your yarmulke is securley fastened! Inspired by a true story, an uplifting tale about the day a group of 16-year-old black teens playing street-basketball at a court in Harlem cross paths with a lone 16-year-old white, Jewish kid who wants to play in their next pick-up game. (Directed by Fred Strype)
by Ara Rubyan | Sep 21, 2008
Thursday, January 22, 2009 8:30 & 10:30 AM, BREC Theater, Independence Park, Baton Rouge
Nicholas Winton: The Power of Good
(Czech Republic, 2002, English, 64 mins.)
In the fall of 1938, Nicholas Winton took a pleasure trip to Prague, Czechoslovakia. He saw that Czech children in the Sudetenland were stateless. He understood that these refugee children would soon be doomed by Hitler. Although Winton was only 28 years old, he knew he had to take action. He devised a rescue operation to save these children. This inspiring documentary tells how an ordinary man took extraordinary action. (Directed by Matej Mina)
International2002 Emmy Awards 2002
Best Documentary Trilobit Prize 2002
Czech Repulbic, Slovak Film Critic’s Prize Igric 2002
Speaker: Magie Furst, The Kindertransport Association
by Ara Rubyan | Sep 21, 2008
Dear Film Lover,
I think we can agree that we all love a good story, one that inspires us by helping find meaning in our own lives. And, with over 3700 years of history behind us, the Jewish people have lots of inspiring stories to tell and listen to. So, with that in mind, we have designed the 4th Annual Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival to inspire, inform, and above all, entertain our audiences. We want to share and explore the diversity of the Jewish experience through film.
This year, as in years past, we will highlight Jewish issues, traditions, challenges and characters that will resonate with our audiences whatever their background or beliefs. In addition, we will present filmmakers and speakers who will bring an added dimension to the dramas, documentaries, shorts, and animated films in our programs.
We have listened to our audience suggestions as relayed to us from the comment cards given to us after each film. We have incorporated your suggestions to produce this year’s lineup of films. I think you’ll enjoy it.
We believe you’ll find the 2010 Festival the best ever.
Lastly, as the Jewish Film Festival prepares for its 4th year in Baton Rouge, we would like to express our appreciation to those filmgoers who have made it such a success. The Manship Theatre tells us that the Festival is one of the “hottest tickets” on their schedule. So, don’t miss your chance – it will be quite the experience again this year.
See you at the movies!
Harvey Hoffman, for the
Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival
