(Courtesy of Teaneck International Film Festival) The 19th annual Teaneck International Film Festival is just a month away, and tickets are on sale now at www.teaneckfilmfestival.org, with a link to Eventbrite. The price is $10 in advance and $15 at the door, except for the Centerpiece, for which a $40 ticket must be purchased in advance. The Saturday night event—November 9 at Temple Emeth, 1666 Windsor Road, Teaneck—starts at 7 p.m. with food, drink and an opportunity to mix and mingle, followed by the comedic feature Voy! Voy! Voy! and a discussion with the filmmaker. The Teaneck personal injury law firm Davis, Saperstein and Salomon, PC, is sponsoring the evening.
Thanks to the support of TIFF, the Puffin Foundation, Teaneck Public Library and Barbara Ostroth of Coldwell Banker Realty, children ages 4-8 will be admitted free with a paying adult to Little Kid Flicks on Sunday, November 3, 1:30 p.m., at the Puffin Cultural Forum, 20 Puffin Way, Teaneck. The famous Miss Jolie will entertain and emcee a program of shorts from the NY International Children’s Film Festival.
Opening night – always a sellout – is Freedom Hair, a feature based on the real story of a Black woman’s fight to start a hair braiding business in Mississippi. The film, at Teaneck Cinemas, 503 Cedar Lane, Teaneck, will start at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 7. It is sponsored by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., Bergen/Passaic Chapter, and will include a talkback.
The weekend brings more features, documentaries and shorts, among them: On Golden Years, about an Indian retirement community in Florida, sponsored by Nachman, Phulwani, Zimovcak (NPZ) Law Group, P.C; Thelma, the story of a grandmother who fought back when she was scammed out of $10,000, sponsored by Age Friendly Teaneck, Adeline Wijnen and The Jewish Link; The Catskills, a documentary about the wonder years of hotels and bungalow colonies, brought to you by the Jewish Standard, and Igualada, which takes us on the campaign trail of the first Black woman to become Vice-President of Colombia, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Teaneck and Martin Luther King Birthday Committee.
The live portion of the festival will end with the film that pays homage to Teaneck’s grande dame, Senator Loretta Weinberg – Politics is a Mother: Raising Hell is Part of the Job – written and directed by her daughter, Francine Graff, who will participate in the talkback with the senator. Sponsors are Women of Wisdom (WOW), National Council of Jewish Women Bergen County Section, YWCA of Northern New Jersey, League of Women Voters of Teaneck and Reshma Khan.
After it’s over, there are two bonus films being shown at Teaneck’s Ethical Cultural Society on Sunday evening, November 14. The documentary Join or Die, based on the book Bowling Alone by social scientist Robert Putnam, tells us how our failure to join clubs and groups has led to a crisis in our democracy. It is sponsored by the Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County, Steven L. Finkelstein of Russo Real Estate and the Rotary Club of Teaneck. It will be shown with the short Save the Cat, a tale of a Ukrainian refugee family whose cat was returned to them in the U.S. thanks to the intervention and assistance of some caring people.
There are also three virtual films that may be viewed for a week from the comfort of your own living room, November 7-14. Check it all out on the website and buy tickets early to avoid disappointment.
