New Jersey Jewish Film Festival Starts March 15

The 15th Annual New Jersey Jewish Film Festival (NJJFF) is set to begin this weekend, Sunday, March 15.

The film festival will take place at the JCC Metrowest in West Orange from March 15 through March 29, and will feature 23 new films, including 12 New Jersey premiers, from six countries, according to a release from the JCC Metrowest. The festival opens at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

Additionally, film makers, film subjects, actors, scholars and other special guests will lead discussions and workshops.

“Each year, we bring the community new, highly-acclaimed films with a Jewish twist,” Joni Cohen, Chair of the NJJFF, said in the release. “These fantastic films, by Academy-award winning filmmakers and new rising stars, offer us insight into the rich diversity of global Jewish experience and the common bonds that tie us together.”

Here’s a complete schedule for the New Jersey Jewish Film Festival, with guest presenters and speakers.

• 3/15: 7:30 Opening Night - “Chagall-Malevich” – with Kristina Schneidermann, lead actress, followed by Opening Night Reception
• 3/16: 7:30pm “Farewell, Herr Schwarz“ at College of St. Elizabeth in Morristown – FREE FILM NIGHT
• 3/17: 7:30pm “Villa Touma” – with filmmaker Suha Araf via Skype from Israel/West Bank.
• 3/18: 12:30 p.m. Matinee- “Advanced Style” – with delightful and whimsical film subject Debra Rapoport whose creations are in the permanent collections at the Met Costume Institute and Hermitage. Film to be followed by an “upcycled jewelry” workshop with Debra (limited space) ; 7:30 p.m. “Magic Men” - with Filmmaker Guy Nattiv, via Skype
• 3/19: 7:30 p.m. “Run Boy Run” – with Jewish historian and educator, Chaim Lauer
• 3/20: 12:30 p.m. Matinee – “Chagall-Malevich”
• 3/21: 8:45 p.m. “24 Days”
• 3/22: 12:30 p.m. “Border Living”; 2:15 p.m. “An Apartment in Berlin”; 3:45 p.m. “Little White Lie” – with Filmmaker Lacey Schwartz, via Skype; 5:30 p.m. “Havana Curveball” – with representative from the Cuban Jewish Community and reps from teen chessed org Areyvut. Followed by a teen chessed workshop with Areyvut.
• 3/24: 7:30 “Here One Day” – with Filmmaker/film subject Kathy Leichter
• 3/25: 12:30 p.m. Matinee - ”The Outrageous Sophie Tucker” – with Susan and Lloyd Ecker of the Sophie Tucker Project; 7:30 p.m. “Stateless” – with Filmmaker Mike Drob, Amir Shaviv (JDC), Mark Hetfield (HIAS) and Inga Veksler, PhD in cultural anthropology and chief researcher for film
• 3/26: 7:30 p.m. “Shtisel”
• 3/27: 9 p.m. “Hill Start” – preceded by Kosher wine tasting and sale at 8 p.m.
• 3/29: Closing night: 12:30 p.m. SUNDAY SHORTS: “Broken Branches”, “The Other Side”, “On the Road to Tel Aviv”, “Tzniut”, “Welcome and Our Condolences” – with Tzniut Filmmaker David Formentin; 3:30 p.m. FAMILY FILM: “Igor and the Cranes’ Journey”; 7:30 p.m. “Above and Beyond” - with Chaim Lauer