Great films with a Jewish twist will be featured at the 14th annual Kansas City Jewish Film Festival, which kicks off Saturday night, Oct. 13, and continues through Sunday, Oct. 21. All films will be screened at the White Theatre unless otherwise noted. Seven narrative and documentary films were chosen. Guest speakers include KU Hillel’s Rabbi Neal Schuster and Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
The 14th Annual Kansas City Jewish Film Festival program is posted in its entirety at www.kcjff.org, along with preview clips and links for ticket purchase.
Tickets for individual films or a festival pass are available online at kcjff.org or by calling the box office 913-327-8054. Box office hours are 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. All films are general admission; festival pass holders are seated 10 minutes before general public.
For further information contact Krista Blackwood, director of cultural Arts at 913-327-8073 or .
‘Remembrance’
Saturday, Oct. 13 — 7:30 p.m.
Director: Anna Justice | Germany/Poland/USA 2011 | 105 min
English, German and Polish; English subtitles
Sponsored by Deb and Mike Gill
Free dessert reception to follow film
In this epic romance spanning three decades, a Polish partisan and German Jewish woman forge an unshakeable bond in the dark shadow of the Holocaust. After a daring escape from a Nazi death camp, Tomasz and a pregnant Hannah are forcibly separated in the chaos of war, each convinced the other has died. The events of 1944 Poland are crosscut with 1976 Brooklyn, where an older Hannah — now a married mother — glimpses a television interview that rocks her to the core. The stunning realization that her lost love may still be alive triggers a spiral of unresolved emotions and moral ambiguities as Hannah must now confront her unresolved past. Based on actual events, ‘Remembrance’ is a heartfelt journey told with restraint and compassion.
‘The Rescuers’
Sunday, Oct. 14 — 2 p.m.
Discussion Following: Scott Miller, Director of Curatorial Affairs,United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Director: Michael King | USA 2012 | 94 min | English
Sponsored in honor of Dr. Jonathan Chilton
Many heroes defied the Nazis to save countless Jews, chief among them the 12 diplomats whose efforts are documented in this riveting documentary from award winning filmmaker Michael King and Producer Joyce D. Mandell. The film traces the journey of Stephanie Nyombayire, a young Rwandan anti-genocide activist who teams up with Sir Martin Gilbert, the renowned Holocaust historian, to travel across 15 countries and three continents interviewing survivors and descendants of the diplomats who rescue tens of thousands of Jews from the unspeakable horrors of the Nazi death camps. While Nyombayire embarks upon this quest in an effort to uncover potential solutions for the ongoing genocide in Darfur and elsewhere, what emerges from their journey is a testament to the ways in which the inherent good in the human spirit can trump institutional evil.
‘A Serious Man’
Monday, Oct. 15 — 7:30 p.m.
Discussion following featuring Rabbi Neal Schuster, KU Hillel
Directors: Ethan and Joel Cohen | USA 2009 | 106 min | English
Sponsored by Robin and Bill Carr
Imaginatively exploring questions of faith, familial responsibility, delinquent behavior, dental phenomena, academia, mortality and Judaism — and intersections thereof — “A Serious Man” is the story of an ordinary man’s search for clarity. It is 1967 and Larry Gopnik, a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university, facing a myriad of challenging difficulties, struggles to find balance. Can anyone help him cope with his afflictions and become a righteous person — a mensch — a serious man?
‘Jews and Baseball — An American Love Story’
Wednesday, Oct. 17 —7 p.m.
Discussion following featuring Bob Kendrick, president, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
Director: Peter Miller | USA 2010 | 91 min | English
Sponsored by Scott Slabotsky
“Jews and Baseball” explores the connection between Jewish Americans and baseball, our nation’s most iconic institution. More than a film about sports, it is a story of immigration, assimilation, bigotry, heroism, traditions and the shattering of stereotypes.
‘This Is Sodom’
Saturday, Oct. 20 — 8 p.m.
Directors: Adam Sanderson and Muli Segev | Israel | 2010 | 88 min | Hebrew with subtitles
Sponsored by the Alon family in memory of Michal Alon
This film will screen in the Social Hall
The biggest box office hit in Israel in 25 years, “This Is Sodom” is a raucous and bawdy comedy. As God’s wrath draws closer, Abraham, Lot, the Sodomites and even the avenging angels are seduced by the decadent delights of the most famous Sin City in history. Skewering everything from religious figures, reality TV, game shows, musicals and vapid celebrities to contemporary Israeli culture, the cast of the comedy troupe Eretz Nehederet (the Israeli “Saturday Night Live”) leaves no sacred cow unslaughtered.
‘The Yankles’
Sunday, Oct. 21 — 4 p.m.
Director: David R. Brooks | USA 2009 | 115 min | English
Sponsored by Trudy and John Jacobson
Back by popular demand, “The Yankles” is the story of an upstart, Orthodox yeshiva baseball team that earns a ticket to compete in the college world series. Their coach, Charlie Jones, is an ex-major league center fielder on parole and desperate to fulfill his community service. While “The Yankles” strive for success on the field, Charlie works to rebuild his reputation and relationships, and, in the process, finds redemption.
‘Le Concert’
Sunday, Oct. 21 — 8 p.m.
Director: Radu Mihaileanu | France/ Russia 2009 | 119 min
French and Russian with subtitles
Thirty years ago the renowned conductor of the Bolshoi orchestra was fired for hiring Jewish musicians. Now a janitor at the Bolshoni, he mops the stage where he once conducted. One day he intercepts an invitation for the Bolshoi to play in Paris and decides to gather together his old orchestra musicians to perform in Paris in the place of the current Bolshoi orchestra. “Le Concert” is a crowd- engaging, emotionally stirring film that will leave you cheering!