The 15th annual Tiburon International Film Festival April 8-15 will feature more than 50 films from 30 countries, including five Jewish films.
“Happy Purim,” scheduled for 4 p.m. April 10, is an Israeli film that explores the enthusiastic celebrations of Orthodox Jews surrounding the holiday.
It screens with “The Story of the Day the Clown Cried,” a documentary from the U.K. about a Holocaust film that actor Jerry Lewis starred in and directed on in the 1970s. Film narrator David Schneider interviewed people involved with the original production, which was never released.
“Through the Eyes of the Photographer,” a film from the Czech Republic directed by Matej Miná, will be shown at 4 p.m. April 13. The film tells the story of a respected professional photographer searching for peace with her past who revisits the Auschwitz concentration camp, where she experienced horror seven decades earlier.
“Ave Maria,” scheduled for 6 p.m. April 13, tells of a Jewish family whose car breaks down outside a West Bank nunnery right before Shabbat. Inadvertently, the head of a statue of the Virgin Mary is knocked off, and the driver’s mother and wife turn to the nuns for help. Basil Khalil is the director.
“Jewish Blind Date,” a film from Switzerland directed by Anaëlle Morf, is about a woman who wants to reconnect with her religious roots by marrying a practicing Jew. First, she must pass the “shidduch” test. The film will be shown at 4 p.m. April 14.
This year’s festival focuses on Cuba — past and present — and Iranian cinema. Bay Area filmmakers also will be featured in the festival at the Playhouse Theatre in Tiburon. Two dozen filmmakers, directors and producers will attend special events. For schedules and ticket information, see TiburonFilmFestival.com.