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A Look Inside the Film Selection Process

1/9/2019

 
Jewish film festivals are very popular in North America, and Jewish Cinema Mississippi is entering its 17th annual year of bringing the film festival to the Jackson, Mississippi area. The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival is one of the largest in the United States, and they share with us their extensive list of mostly new films with Jewish content. From this list, based on their summaries, we decided to look at 27 films this year. Unlike Steve Rozman on the selection committee, not everyone saw all the movies, but 99 reviews were submitted from the group in narrowing our choices for the final selection.

The work of the Jewish Cinema Mississippi committee is collegial, interesting, and sometimes involves long hours experiencing many movies together during the year.  The effort starts in February and involves monthly meetings together as well as individual time to watch movie selections from home. Reviewers then were able to provide feedback and a comprehensive rating of the movies.  Members of the committee who participated during the year included, Ava Pomerantz, Dave Miller, Marla Harbor, Jeanne and Steve Rozman, Rose Mary Foncree, Sheila Rubin, Jarmila Zapletal, Danielle Wahba, and selection committee Co-chairs Shira Muroff and Peter Zapletal.  Thank you to Bill Morris for help with audio visual set up and to Kim Graham for tech and administrative support as well.

Sadly to report, during the year, we have lost a very valuable member, Shirley Orlansky, who was active in submitting her reviews.  She and her husband, the retired U.S. Magistrate Judge J. David Orlansky, were long time committee members and substantial supporters and contributors of the annual Jewish film festival in Jackson.  She will be missed and the continued support of the Judge Orlansky is greatly appreciated.

Being limited to select only four or five films is not easy. The committee looks at the newest films available, so the quality of the festival really depends on what’s available during the year and what the committee sees as appropriate or interesting.  This year, there were several controversial films that sparked debate. In the end, the administrators opted for selecting one fewer film and instead showing two older films to the congregation. We evaluate the movies based on content, quality, and strong Jewish content. This year we had a chance to preview some films that were really impressive, but the Jewish content was minimal. For example, Budapest Noir was very well done in the genre of film noir, but the Jewish content was minimal. Another very interesting movie on our list was Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas, featuring Jewish influence on Christmas music. Did you know that songs like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, “Do you Hear What I Hear?”, and “White Christmas” were written or composed by Jewish songwriters?


Jonathan Larkin is responsible for the advertising and marketing of the event, and Co-chairs Abram Orlansky and Danielle Wahba have been actively making all of the behind-the-scenes decisions and arrangements.  Some changes this year include brief discussions after each film in the theater foyer, spreading out the film screenings to increase availability, and the landmark decision to offer free tickets to military personnel with ID for the GI Jews Sunday matinee on January 27 at 2 p.m. Theater seating is limited and it is on a first come-first serve basis so reserve your seats now.  Theater goers will also continue to enjoy benefits from our in-kind sponsors at Mangia Bene Catering and m7 in Ridgeland. Keep your ticket stubs and enjoy special discounts for film fest goers at Bravos, Sal & Mookie’s, Broad Street, and m7.  The discounts alone pay for the tickets. And don’t forget to stock up on popcorn and candy at the Malco Grandview, a beautiful theater who has been supportive, generous, and runs things smoothly.

If you have an opportunity, you may enjoy, as we did, the following films generally available for purchase or through apps such as Netflix or Amazon Prime. Deli Man is a wonderful documentary featuring Kenny and Ziggy’s Jewish Delicatessen in Houston, Texas.  Make sure to have your popcorn and snacks ready as you view the interesting history of Jewish delis around the world.  After reaching out to them, they generously provided three t-shirts that will be raffled off to sponsors during this year’s film festival.  We appreciate their humor, as two of them cite a popular joke, “My Matza balls are bigger than yours!” The Institute of Southern Jewish Life was also generous and donated three copies of GI Jews: How World War II Changed a Generation, written by Deborah Dash Moore, who was a paid consultant on the shooting of the documentary.  They will also be raffled off amongst this year’s sponsors. To find out how to become a sponsor, check out our website at www.jewishcinemams.com.

We hope you’ll enjoy the final four films that were selected for our 2019 festival. We welcome your support, participation, and constructive feedback as we look forward to watching with you in the next two weeks and, shortly after, to get back to the work of selecting films for January 2020.

See you at the movies.













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Jewish Cinema MS 2015 Artwork

12/2/2014

 
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This year’s art photography was designed by Christina Mattison. 

Originally from Columbia, Maryland, Christina currently resides on Galveston Island, Texas, just south of Houston. Christina is an illustrator, graphic designer and mixed media artist working on a range of projects including children’s book illustration, editorial illustration, book design, stationery design and Judaica. While largely self-taught, Christina credits a good deal of her early artistic development to spending time at the Maryland Institute College of Art throughout high school and on college breaks, where she took a variety of courses in drawing, painting and design whenever possible.


Some of Christina's recent honors include a 2014 IPPY Gold Medal Award along with author Rabbi Shoshana Hantman for the cover design of Hantman's Passover Parodies: Short Plays for the Seder Table and a Royal Dragonfly 1st Place Book Award in the category of Spirituality, Religion and Philosophy along with author Debo Dykes for the illustration of Stellarella: It's Saturday!. A solo exhibition of my mixed media Judaica artwork is on display at the Deutser Gallery of the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center in Houston through October 21, 2014. The exhibition is a selection of 35 pieces from her ongoing personal endeavor, The D'rash Design Project - learn more about it here.

2014 Film Schedule

1/22/2014

 
January 22 – 7:00pm
(Wednesday)
David: One Boy, Two Faiths
A Joel Fendelman film, starring Maz Jobrani Eleven year-old Daud, the son of a religious imam in Brooklyn, is mistaken for a Jewish boy. He becomes conflicted after befriending Jewish kids his age, and the longer he plays out his double life, the more he risks driving a wedge in his family. This prize-winning film explores boundaries of faith and trust in New York’s multi-cultural backdrop.



January 23 – 7:00pm
(Thursday)
Footnote
Nominated for Best Foreign Film in 20112 this Joseph Cedar Film tells the story of Eliezer and Uriel Shkolnik both eccentric professors, who have dedicated their lives to their work in Talmudic Studies. This is the story of insane academic competition, the dichotomy between admiration and envy for a role model, and the very complicated relationship between a father and son.



January 25 – 7:00pm
(Saturday)
The Wonders
An Avi Nesher Film Graffiti artist, mystery man — part con-man, party modern-day prophet — along with a grumpy cynical private investigator, and a neurotic femme fatale, embark on a noirish journey into the very heart of darkness of Jerusalem.



January 27 – 2:00pm
(Sunday)
Road to Eden: Rock & Roll Sukkot
A Doug Passon film Road to Eden is a feature-length documentary that captures Judaism’s most profound teachings about our connection to the earth, the fragility of existence, and our dream of a world perfected. The film follows the journey of rock musician Dan Nichols. You might even be in the film! Film maker Doug Passon and Musician Dan Nichols will speak and perform immediately following the movie!

Jewish Cinema MS 2014 Poster

1/22/2014

 
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This year’s art photography design was a collaboration between Lou Shornick and Suzi Altman. This year we are honoring Lou Shornick, a longstanding pillar of the Jackson Jewish community as well as a supporter of other community initiatives. Lou Shornick’s life long passion for photography has captured thousands of images from his travels abroad and stateside. In 2009, Lou collaborated with the greater Jackson Arts Council to host, “The World Through Lou’s Lens”.

Suzi Altman is a talented photographer devoted for social change. Her works has appeared in many world leading publications. In 2012, she was recognized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts as a honored artist from the Mississippi State Committee. Her photography is on permanent display at the National Museum of Women in Washington D.C.

This year’s Jewish Cinema art design depicts Beth Israel Congregation Ark doors in the background. In the center, the Israeli handmade tapestry illustrates the parting of the Red Sea, was donated by Lou Shornick and his late wife,Cecille Shornick to the congregation.

CLARION LEDGER FEATURES 2014 FESTIVAL

1/17/2014

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http://search.clarionledger.com/localevents/event/100/21637-Jewish-Cinema-Mississippi
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MAKE IT DINNER & A MOVIE!

1/17/2014

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We’re thrilled to announce that festival goers will be able to take advantage of a 10% discount off their meal at Bravo! Italian Restaurant & Bar, Sal & Mookie’s New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint, or Broad Street Baking Company & Cafe. And after this year’s festival is over, remember to visit these fine establishments in appreciation of their wonderful patronage of the arts in Mississippi.
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JCMS2014 PRESS RELEASE

1/17/2014

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Jewish Cinema Mississippi is very proud to present four films during the five days of our 2014 Festival starting Wednesday,  January, 22nd and ending Sunday January 26th with a movie and live concert by noted musician (and documentary film star) Dan Nichols.  This year’s film selection committee members represented a vast range of backgrounds and interests as they worked together to identify some of the many genres that are considered Jewish Cinema.  Selection Committee co chairs Jonathan Larkin and Elaine Barenblat were joined by committee members Alec Kassoff, Dan Ring, David Kweller, Gail Dellar, Gavin Brannan, Lex Rofes, Peter Zapletal, Rose Mary Foncree, and Sheila Hailey as they worked very hard over the last few months to watch, review, discuss, and rate more than 25 feature films, short subjects and documentaries that were under consideration for the four available slots in the festival.

The selections for this year’s festival will stand apart for moviegoers in the variety and depth of the film’s subjects and their cinematic techniques. They are both entertaining and thought provoking as they explore contemporary Jewish life and culture in the United States and Israel while dealing with many of the hard issues confronting religious and cultural differences which exist.  Hopefully they will provide a basis for community dialog long after each film is over.

The Selection Committee’s co-chairs, Jonathan Larkin and Elaine Barenblat were excited about the committee’s work on this project. Elaine mentioned “as a 20-something still relatively new to Jackson, I was thrilled and quite honored to be considered for this committee. I am very much a people-person and I love watching movies, so this has been an incredible experience and a wonderful fit for me. I look forward to continued work with Jonathan and everyone else as we finalize preparations for the big event!”

Jonathan added that “the entire committee focused on how to present the many aspects of what is now considered ‘Jewish film and culture’ to highlight its depth.  And with the varied backgrounds and interests of the many members of the group, I am confident we succeeded in accomplishing this goal.  We hope the greater Jackson community will join us all four evenings to experience what we’ve already shared with each other.  The opportunity to showcase a brand new film being shown for the first time in the South (Wonders) and have a first showing of 2012 Foreign Film Academy Award Nominee and multiple Israeli Oscar winner Footnote is just an added plus to the selection”

The event continues to draw attendees from all segments of the Jackson community who share in the enjoyment of unique cultural experiences and independent films.  We look forward to seeing our old friends as well as many new faces in January.  We can’t wait to see you there!

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CLARION LEDGER PROMOTES 2013 JEWISH CINEMA MISSISSIPPI FILM FESTIVAL

1/24/2013

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Clarion-Ledger staff writer, LaRecca Rucker, authored a nice piece promoting this year’s JewishCinemaMississippi 2013 Film Festival on the clarionledger.com website. Speaking on the significance of one of this year’s films, Remembrance, set to screen on International Holocauset Remembrance Day, Beth Israel Rabbi Valerie Cohen states:

(It is ) the day that we honor the memory of millions of Jews and Gentiles who were massacred during the Holocaust…We use this day to reassert our commitment to human rights and religious and ethnic tolerance and appeal to our leaders to develop Holocaust history education programs to help prevent future acts of genocide.

The full article is available online at:http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013301240005



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MADISON MAYOR MARY HAWKINS BUTLER PROCLAIMS JEWISH CINEMA MISSISSIPPI FILM FESTIVAL WEEK!

1/23/2013

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We’re honored to learn that Madison, MS Mayor, Mary Hawkins Butler has proclaimed the week starting on January 23, 2013  (12 Shevat, 5773) to be Jewish Cinema Mississippi Film Festival Week.

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Proclamation – City of Madison

Whereas JewishCinemaMississippi, a partnership between Beth Israel Congregation (Jackson, MS) and the Jewish Culture Organization at Millsaps College (Jackson, MS), is celebrating its eleventh season of bringing thoughtful and award-winning independent Jewish- and Israeli-themed films, speakers, performers and visitors to our community; and 



Whereas, JewishCinemaMississippi continues to advance its original goal of utilizing the powerful medium of film to educate the public, enhance Jewish life, strengthen ethnic pride, promote multi-cultural and multi-ethnic dialogue, celebrate diversity and encourage and promote tolerance and understanding; and

Whereas JewishCinemaMississippi moved its festival to Madison, MS in 2012 to take advantage of a vibrant community that supports the arts and the superior facilities and film festival expertise at the Malco Grandview Cinema (Madison, MS); and

Whereas, JewishCinemaMississippi is celebrating its 2013 program at the Malco Grandview Theater from January 23 to January 27, 2013 (corresponding on the Hebrew calendar to 12 Shevat to 16 Shevat, 5773); and

Whereas, JewishCinemaMississippi has helped introduce visitors to our community, its hotels, restaurants, businesses and people; and

Whereas, JewishCinemaMississippi is devoting part of its 2013 festival to showcase the rich musical tradition of Klezmer, an art form dating back to 15th century Eastern and Central European Jewry which was almost lost when most Klezmer performers were murdered during the Holocaust; and

Whereas, JewishCinemaMississippi is showing a remarkable love story that blossomed amidst the terror of a German concentration camp on the last day of the festival, January 27, 2013 (16 Shevat, 5773), the day each year designated by the United Nations as International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. The festival will use this day to honor the memory of millions of Jews and gentiles who were massacred during the Holocaust by reasserting its commitment to human rights and religious and ethnic tolerance and appealing to our leaders to develop Holocaust history education programs to help prevent future acts of genocide; and

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mary Hawkins Butler, Mayor of Hometown, MS (also known as Madison, MS), on behalf of the Board of Aldermen, honor the festival organizers, volunteers, sponsors and underwriters that contribute to the success of JewishCinemaMississippi and proclaim the one week period starting on January 23, 2013 (12 Shevat, 5773), to be JewishCinemaMississippi Film Festival Week. The City of Madison, MS, calls upon its citizens to enjoy this exciting annual opportunity to view extraordinary Jewish- and Israeli-themed independent films from around the world and to welcome the artists and guests who will be visiting our community.

PROCLAIMED this 23th day of January, 2013.


JewishCinemaMississippi is overjoyed to have received this honorable proclamation and we look forward to continuing our relationship with Madison, MS and the rest of the greater Jackson, MS metro area during this year’s festival and well into the future.

Thank You Mayor!


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VISITMISSISSIPPI.ORG HIGHLIGHTS THIS YEAR’S EVENT

1/23/2013

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VisitMississippi.org is the official tourism resource for the State of Mississippi and we’re listed on their events page!

Check it out at: http://www.visitmississippi.org/event-details.aspx?id=23342&title=Jewish+Cinema+Mississippi+2013

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Jewish Cinema Mississippi is sponsored by Beth Israel Congregation (Jackson, MS) and the Jewish Culture Organization at Millsaps College.
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