2021 Jewish Film Festival kicks off with a ‘Crescendo’
Above: Peter Simonischek stars in the film "Crescendo," which kicks off the 2021 Spokane Jewish Cultural Film Festival. (Photo: Menemsha Films)
Of the film events that regularly take place in Spokane, one of the most satisfying is the annual Spokane Jewish Cultural Film Festival.
As with most every other aspect of life during this time of COVID-19 pandemic, the festival has had to adjust to safety restrictions. So, when it commences on Wednesday, it will be available to stream only.
That might take away some of the fun of a festival, which typically gives participants the chance to see films amid an appreciative audience. But it does allow for greater access, especially with those who have fixed schedules.
Each of the films will be available for a period of time, and most will include post-film conversations with the respective filmmakers. For information about how to purchase access, call (509) 747-7394 or email director@sajfs.org.
The 2021 schedule is as follows:
March 3-6: “Crescendo” (2019, Germany), dir. by Dror Zahavi. A world-famous conductor (played by Austrian-born actor Peter Simonischek) is hired to create an Israeli-Palestinian youth orchestra and finds the job far harder than he imagined.
March 4-7: “Incitement” (2019, Israel), dir. by Yaron Zilberman. Actor Yehuda Nahari Halevi plays Yigal Amir, the far-right extremist who assassinated Israel’s Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 and who is the focus of this intense narrative film.
March 6-9: “Reawakening” (2019), dir. by Alexandra Kauffman Horowitz. An 8-minute documentary short about a synagogue in Charlottesville, Virginia, reacting to ongoing pressures following the 2017 rally by neo-Nazi white supremacists. “They Ain’t Ready for Me” (2020), dir. by Brad Rothschild. This 89-minute documentary feature explores the story of Tamar Manasseh, a black rabbinical student active in the struggle to end gun violence on the south side of Chicago.
March 7-10: “The Crossing” (2020, Norway), dir. by Johanne Helgeland. This World War II story of survival follows four children, including Sarah and Daniel who are Jews about to be deported, as they attempt to flee to neutral Sweden.
March 8-11: “My Name Is Sara” (2019, U.S.), dir. by Steven Oritt. Taken in by a farm family, 13-year-old Polish Jew Sara must protect her identity even as she discovers the family’s dark secrets.
March 9-12: “Those Who Remained” (2019, Hungary), dir. by Barnabás Tóth. The story of a young girl in post-World War II Hungary ends up being “a lyrical story of the healing power of love in the midst of national conflict, loss and trauma.”
March 10-12: "Space Torah" (2020, U.S.), dir. by Rob Cooper. A 24-minute documentary short about Dr. Jeff Hoffman, the first Jewish American male to fly into space who, on Shabbat, read from the book of Genesis. “Breaking Bread” (2020), dir. by Beth Elise Hawk. This 85-minute documentary feature focuses on Dr. Nof Atamna-Ismaeel, the first Muslim Arab to win Israel's MasterChef, whose desire is to bring about social change through food.