*”Genesis,” the first African film in the festival’s history, retells the biblical epic using the desert plains of Mali as a backdrop.
*Three films, including the closing-night tribute to composer Kurt Weill, will be re-released, accompanied by live musical performances.
*An expanded Web site will give detailed information on the more than 600 films that have played during the past two decades.
*And the festival, which Detroit Tigers eventually lost that World Series game to the St. Louis Cardinals. But that mattered little to the crowd at the Castro, where Greenberg was feted as a trailblazer who set the stage for other Jewish diamond luminaries such as Sandy Koufax, Al Rosen and Shawn Green.
In another haimish touch, the son of the rabbi who gave Greenberg dispensation to play on Rosh Hashanah was also in the audience that night.
“A lot of the films that evoke powerful memories are able to create a strong sense of community among the audience,” Ball said while explaining why the Greenberg film leaps to mind when picking favorites from 20 years and 600 films screened at the festival.
“Occasionally, a film will be preceded or followed with an appearance by someone whose story is being told, or who was directly impacted by the film,” Ball added. “During those moments, the sense of connection really springs to life.”
That was certainly the case during 1988’s screening of “The Summer of Aviya,” a film about the childhood of Israeli actress Gila Almagor.
“Gila Almagor is a revered figure of Israeli stage and cinema,” said Janis Plotkin, who compared Almagor to Elizabeth Taylor in terms of beauty, spirit and a turbulent life.
Plotkin, the film festival’s director, called the screening of “Summer of Aviya” one of the most heartwarming moments in the festival’s history.
The film centers around Almagor’s mother, who, in addition to losing all of her family in the Holocaust, also lost her husband when she was five months pregnant with her daughter. With her mother plunged into years of emotional instability, Almagor spent several years in a Jerusalem orphanage.
As a result, and because her mother’s volatility deterred visitors from the household, the young Almagor never had a birthday celebration as a child.
“The film aired on the date of Gila Almagor’s 50th birthday,” recalled Plotkin. “And when the film concluded, almost a thousand people got up and spontaneously sang ‘Happy Birthday'” to the actress, who was in the theater.
“It was touching beyond words,” Plotkin said. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.”
Equally as compelling for the festival’s director was the 1986 film “The Partisans of Vilna,” which resonated on a personal level for Plotkin. The film depicts the struggles of a small band of Jews, confined to a ghetto, who temporarily stave off Nazi persecution
“We really want to move beyond the victimization and commercialization when we show Holocaust films,” Plotkin said. “We really want to show individual acts of courage that aren’t often shown.”
After seeing the film, Plotkin was able to better address her own feelings about the Holocaust.
“I’m a Polish Jew who’s seen countless films where thousands of emaciated people lie buried in the dirt,” Plotkin said. “And at some point, when your culture and heritage is represented like that over and over again, you become a little ashamed, and you internalize it.
“A film like ‘The Partisans of Vilna’ turns that image upside-down. After seeing it, you say to yourself, ‘Maybe I could have done that — maybe I could have been heroic like that.'”
The film festival’s founder, Deborah Kaufman, was unable to choose a favorite film or two, calling them “all my babies.” However, her partner, Alan Snitow, moved beyond parental pride and selected a film that got quite a few tongues wagging.
“Talking to the Enemy: Voices of Sorrow and Rage,” a 1987 release, is memorable to Snitow, past president of the festival’s board, not because it explored a community but because it created one.
“At the time of the film’s release, there was no direct dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians,” said Snitow. “The film really raised the hackles of the organized Jewish community.”
Made during the nascent stages of the intifada, the film included a post-presentation talk by Mubarak Awad, whom Snitow called one of the “ideological leaders” of the intifada.
“He stressed a nonviolent approach without sacrificing his ideals,” said Snitow, who noted that the decision to show the film cost the Jewish Film Festival hundreds of thousands of dollars when prospective donors yanked funding.
“The great thing about showing ‘Talking to the Enemy’ was that it was taking a risk. At the time, public discussion between Jews and Palestinians was a line that you absolutely didn’t cross.
“But the beauty of the film was that it represented a tremendous hope that a dialogue could and should exist. It really tried to create a community through film.”
A community through film is indeed a fitting description of the festival’s 20-year history, according to Plotkin.
“We don’t have a Jewish neighborhood locally, and we can’t take a stroll down the Lower East Side to get a knish,” said Plotkin. “So the festival really provides a context for Jews who want to be a part of a larger community — especially if they’re not affiliated.
“For some people, the film festival is their favorite Jewish holiday.”