The JCC MetroWest’s 16th annual New Jersey Jewish Film Festival will run this year from March 26 through April 10, featuring exciting and award-winning premieres and first-run Israeli, American and international films of Jewish interest, followed by thought-provoking post-screening discussions. The Festival has become one of the premier Jewish cultural events in the state.
The Festival will open this Saturday night with a screening of How to Win Enemies, an Argentinian film by Gabriel Lichtmann, beginning at 8:45 p.m., followed by a dessert reception. The 78-minute film features Lucas, a young lawyer obsessed with crime novels, who meets the smart and beautiful Barbara. After Barbara spends the evening with Lucas, he notices that he is missing a secret stash of cash. What might have been a love story becomes the caper to end all capers.
On Sunday, March 27, beginning at 3 p.m., the second featured film will be In Search of Israeli Cuisine, an American film by Rodger Sherman. This portrait of the Israeli people, told through food, puts a literal face on the culture of Israel. Profiling chefs, home cooks, farmers, vintners and cheese makers drawn from the more than 100 cultures that make up Israel today—Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Christian, Druze—a rich, complex and human story emerges.
The second film shown on Sunday will be the Israeli film by Amir Wolf, Fire Birds, beginning at 7 p.m. The 107-minute film tells the story of an 80-year-old man’s body found with three stab wounds to the chest and a number tattooed along the forearm. Amnon, a police detective and second-generation Holocaust survivor, is reluctantly assigned to the case. As the plot weaves between the past and present, stories unfold.
Following opening weekend, the films shown will be the following:
- Karski and the Lords of Humanity on Monday, March 28, at 7:30 p.m. This will be a free screening at the Dolan Performing Arts Center at the College of Saint Elizabeth in Morristown.
- To Life! on Tuesday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m.
- A second showing of Fire Birds, beginning at 7:30 p.m., will take place at Bow Tie Cinemas at South Orange Performing Arts Center in South Orange on Wednesday, March 30.
- The Kind Words on Thursday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m.
- Summer Solstice on Saturday, April 2, at 8:45 p.m.
- Dough on Sunday, April 3, at 3 p.m.
- Rabin in His Own Words on Sunday, April 3, at 7 p.m.
- Once in a Lifetime on Monday, April 4, at 7:30 p.m.
- Wedding Doll on Tuesday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m.
- Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem on Wednesday, April 6, at 12:30 p.m.
- A second screening of The Kind Words on Wednesday, April 6, at 7:30 p.m. will be held at Bow Tie Cinemas at South Orange Performing Arts Center, South Orange.
- The Last Mentsch on Wednesday, April 6, at 7:30 p.m.
- Women in Sink and Mountain will be shown as a double feature on Thursday, April 7, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
- A Tale of Love and Darkness, an Israeli film featuring Natalie Portman in her directorial debut, on Saturday night, April 9, at 8:45 p.m.
- Manpower on Sunday, April 10, at 3 p.m.
- Rock in the Red Zone on Sunday, April 10, at 7 p.m. (followed by a dessert reception)
For additional information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.jccmetrowest.org/njjff or
www.boxofficetickets.com/jccmetrowest.
The College of St. Elizabeth Dolan Performance Hall is located at 2 Convent Road in Morristown. Bow Ties Cinemas at SOPAC is located at 1 SOPAC Way in South Orange.
The JCC MetroWest is located at 760 Northfield Road in West Orange.
