Jewish Film Festival Coming Next Month

The Merrimack Valley Jewish Federation will hold their annual Jewish Film Festival 2013 on Sunday, May 5 starting at 3:30 pm at Osgood Landing, 1580 Osgood St., North Andover.

The festival will feature two films, The Other Son and Hava Nagila (The Movie).

The Other Son tells the story of Joseph, a young man preparing to join the Israeli army, who finds out that he is not his parent’s biological son.  He was inadvertently switched at birth with Yassin, the son of a Palestinian family from the West Bank.  This revelation turns the lives of these two families upside-down, forcing them to reassess their respective identities, their values and beliefs. “Can your son, the one you brought up, every stop being your son?  Can the “other” be any less your son?  Or, as Joseph asks, am I still Jewish?”  The film is in Hebrew, French and Arabic, with English subtitles.

Hava Nagila (The Movie) has been reviewed as “Infectious! Vastly Entertaining!” It is a documentary romp through the history, mystery and meaning of the great Jewish standard.  Featuring interviews with Harry Belafonte, Leonard Nimoy, Connie Francis, Glen Campbell, and more, the film follows the ubiquitous party song on its fascinating journey from the shtetls of Eastern Europe to the kibbutzim of Palestine to the cul-de-sacs of America.  High on fun and entertainment, Hava Nagila is also surprisingly profound, tapping into universal themes about the importance of joy, the power of music and the resilient spirit of a people.  "Fascinating! A fun and fanciful frolic."

Donations from the event will benefit the many programs of the Federation.  Call 978-688-0466 for more information.  Tickets $18 can be purchased online at www.mvjf.org.