The Kansas City Jewish Film Series (KCJFS) is launching its 2024 season with a documentary doubleheader featuring two films from Jewish Kansas Citian Sharon Liese.
Each of the two short films from the Emmy Award winning filmmaker will be followed by a talkback and question-and-answer session with Liese, and the event will conclude with a light dessert reception in The White Theatre Galleria. The event, which will be held on Saturday, Jan. 13, at 7:30 p.m. at The White Theatre at The J, is co-produced with The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah.
The first film, “Parker,” tells the story of three generations of a Kansas City family who are finally unified when they do something that countless other Black Americans could not – choose their own last name. The talkback after “Parker” will include the Parker family themselves in addition to Liese.
The second film, “The Flagmakers,” is a meditation on the “American Dream” that follows workers at the country’s largest maker of American flags and flagpoles, including refugees and immigrants who have risked everything to come to the United States. The critically-acclaimed film won an Emmy for Outstanding Short Documentary. Jodi Goglio, the COO of Eder Flag — the company that the film focuses on — will also be in attendance.
“We are thrilled to kick off the 2024 Jewish Film Series with these two excellent short films, in partnership with The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah,” said Stacey Belzer, executive director of the Kansas City Jewish Film Series. “Both films, which celebrate diversity, freedom, justice and equality, were chosen for this event in concurrence with Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the values for which King stood.”
“Parker” and “The Flagmakers” mark the first installment of this year’s KCJFS lineup. Two additional weekends will be announced later in the year.
Last year marked the first time that the film series — previously the Kansas City Jewish Film Festival — offered larger, one-time film screenings partnered with an event. After seeing success with spreading the festival out into three weekends rather than hosting the films at once, organizers decided to officially rebrand to KCJFS, keeping the new model.
Tickets and more information are available at kcjfs.org.
