The 23rd Kansas City Jewish Film Festival (KCJFF) will offer three different “mini-festival” weekends throughout the year, beginning with its Winter Warm-Up from Thursday, Jan. 5 through Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023.
Presented by The Jewish Community Center (The J), the film festival features award-winning Jewish films by international filmmakers. All films will be screened in the Lewis and Shirley White Theatre at The J.
“We are hopeful that this new format — offering films at several times of the year rather than a three week ‘marathon’ — will help make the Festival more accessible to our audiences, allowing them to take in these films in more manageable chunks,” said Keith Wiedenkeller, director of arts and culture at The J. “We also think our audiences will appreciate us grouping together films of similar genres and types.”
A 13-member committee led by Vicky Mayer selected all of the offerings for the three-weekend festival. KCJFF films are picked to explore issues of universal importance including culture, identity, and history with a Jewish twist. The films come from all over the world and feature Jewish filmmakers, directors, actors and stories. Films not in English will include subtitles.
The initial KCJFF weekend features the following films (with included synopses):
- “Time to Say Goodbye” Thursday, Jan. 5, 7:30 p.m.
- Since the divorce of his parents, Simon in Hamburg, Germany, travels back and forth between his mom and dad. Complicating matters, the family is religiously divided. Meanwhile, Simon falls in love with the new rabbi, Rebecca, who is 20 years his senior. (German with English Subtitles)
- “Love in Suspenders” Friday, Jan. 6, 1 p.m.
- Tammy, a 64-year-old widow who constantly deals with the memory of her loving late husband, meets and falls in love with Beno, a 70-year-old, sarcastic, lone wolf widower. From their first encounter when Tammy hits Beno with her car until they unite in front of the altar, Tammy and Beno experience emotional and funny struggles. (Hebrew with English subtitles.)
- “One More Story” Saturday, Jan.7, 7:30 p.m.
- In this romantic comedy, Yarden Gat is a young journalist on a mission to find true love for her best friend and for herself. She convinces him to go out on a daily date, for a month, each evening with a different woman, until he finds the right one. KCJFF will offer a Winter White Chocolate Martini for purchase at this film. (Hebrew with English subtitles.)
- “Marrying Myself” Sunday, Jan. 8, 2 p.m.
- An unmarried 38-year-old gives up on men but lives the fantasy of being a bride at a wedding and decides to marry herself. Her girlfriends support her, and her selfish mother objects, but there is a possibility that the right man may show up. (Hebrew with English subtitles.)
- In the spirit of an actual wedding, following this film, a “mock” reception featuring sparkling wine and wedding cake will be served; additional reception goodies will be available for purchase.
- “My First Wedding” Sunday, Jan. 8, 4:30 p.m.
- In this award-winning comedy, Jewish-born Adrian and Catholic-born Leonora have reached their wedding day. Instead of gracefully embracing matrimony, Adrian spends the hours leading up to the ceremony trying to postpone it because he's lost both his and his bride-to-be's sacred wedding rings. Disaster ensues in the politics of the proverbial "big day." (Spanish with English subtitles.)
- Early arrivals to the film can enjoy the “mock” reception following “Marrying Myself.”
Individual film tickets for the Winter Warm-Up are $15; a weekend pass to see all five films is $60. Tickets, film previews and full film descriptions are available now at KCJFF.org, as is additional information about the event.
The next KCJFF weekends will be from Jun. 8 to 11 (focusing on short films) and Aug. 10 to 13.