The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival has received a $25,000 grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to support “Tough Guys: Images of Jewish Gangsters in Film,” a special program that will examine cinematic images of Jewish gangsters and gangsters played by Jewish actors. The program will be part of the festival’s 2010 edition next summer.
The retrospective will include classic gangster films, lesser known films, as well as discussions and panels. It was conceived by guest curator Nancy K. Fishman, who stepped down after seven years as the festival’s program director.
“Gangster films are exciting and entertaining,” Fishman said. “Our retrospective will look at the unique place that Jewish gangsters had in their communities, both as icons of strength and power and also as a source of embarrassment, because many viewed the violence of gangsters as anti-moral and essentially anti-Jewish.”
For more information, go to the festival’s Web site, www.sfjff.org.