Suskind Laykie’S Gourmet Café at the J Glickman

Partnered with

1 0 TH ANNIVERSARY March 8-23, 2014

erjcchouston.org/filmfest Letter from THE

1 0 TH ANNIVERSARY Film Chairwoman

Festival At A Glance Welcome to the 10th Annual Houston Jewish Film Festival, a collaboration between the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, with Holocaust Museum Houston as a longstanding venue. 3 . Letter from the Film Chairwoman 14 . HJFF Calendar

4 . Ticket Info and Venues 16 . Get Cultured: Short Film Night For 16 days, we will present a diverse selection of films from across the globe. 5 . Opening Night: Bethlehem 17 . Wunderkinder There are films to make you laugh, to cry, to think and to question. Our dedicated film committee spent countless hours screening films to select the very best. 6 . Putzel Hunting Elephants An enormous and heartfelt thank you goes out to the committee members. Eric A. Goldman: The Attack Ultimately, they have chosen films which tell stories of Jewish significance with The American Jewish Story 18 . An American Tail Through Cinema poignancy and creativity. The Jester The Wonders Glickman This year, we are celebrating a decade of the Houston Jewish Film Festival. 7 . The Other Son 19 . Closing Night: The Zigzag Kid Together, we have enjoyed ten years of the highest quality films featuring Jewish The Jewish Cardinal and Israeli content. None of this would have been possible without the foresight and For a Woman 20 . Celebrating 10 years hard work of Doreen Joffe and Sharon Kagan. Ten years ago, Doreen and Sharon 8 . The Real Inglorious Bastards 22 . Committee Members and Staff saw an opportunity to improve the Houston Jewish community’s cultural offerings. Zaytoun 23 . Sponsors and Community Partners They founded the festival and have worked passionately each year to give our community a tremendous event. I would also like to offer my sincere thanks to each 9 . Founders’ Night: Gloomy Sunday 24 . Center for Jewish Living and Learning Events of the chairs over the last decade. Each of you has ensured the festival’s continued 10 . Closed Season success and first-rate quality. The Sturgeon Queens Marvin Hamlisch: With over twenty-five films to choose from this year, it is hard to pick a favorite. What He Did for Love Every movie ticket from the ERJCC gets you 10% off at Here are a few of my personal recommendations: Bethlehem, The Attack, and 11 . Suskind Laykie’s Gourmet Café at the J Glickman. We truly have something for everyone this year. Brave Miss World Like Brothers We are grateful to our underwriters, sponsors, community partners, and patrons for their generous support. Thank you to the incredible staff of both the ERJCC and the 12 . Rewriting History MFAH who have worked diligently to produce another top-notch Houston Jewish Women’s Night: Wherever You Go Film Festival. See you at the movies! Aya Located at the ERJCC Diane Lee 13 . Dancing In Jaffa HOURS DURING FILM FESTIVAL Film Committee Chair Aftermath Mon-Thurs: 9:00 AM – 7:30 PM Friday: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM Wagner’s Jews TICKET INFO

$8 ERJCC Member | Patron of the Arts & MFAH Film Buff Individual Students | Seniors 60+ Tickets $10 Public All 5:00 PM Movies at the ERJCC are $5

FESTIVAL $60 ERJCC Member $80 Public PASS $5 discount for students and seniors

T o purchase tickets and passes, visit erjcchouston.org/filmfest and mfah.org/film.

Get member pricing to HJFF events plus programs throughout the year! Membership starts as low as $180/year! For more detailed information on membership categories and rates, please visit us online at erjcchouston.org/join or call 713.729.3200. Opening Night BETHLEHEM VENUES Saturday, March 8 | 8:00 PM ERJCC

E velyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston 5601 South Braeswood . Houston, TX 77096 713.551.7255 . erjcchouston.org/filmfest Opening Night Festivities Begin at 7:00 PM

Bethlehem tells the story of the unlikely bond Directed by Yuval Adler between Razi, an Israeli secret service officer, and his Israel/Germany/Belgium, 2013, 99 min The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Palestinian informant Sanfur, the younger brother Hebrew, Arabic with English subtitles 1001 Bissonnet Street . Houston, TX 77005 Houston Premiere of a senior Palestinian militant. Razi recruited him Drama 713.639.7515 . mfah.org/film when he was just 15, and developed a very close, almost fatherly relationship with him. Now 17, Sanfur tries to navigate between Razi’s demands and his loyalty to his brother, living a double life and lying to both. Co-written Holocaust Museum Houston by Yuval Adler, who also directed, and Ali Waked, an Arab journalist who spent years Morgan Family Center 5401 Caroline Street . Houston, TX 77004 in the West Bank, and based on years of research, Bethlehem gives an unparalleled, 713.942.8000 . hmh.org authentic portrait of the complex reality behind the news.

4 5 PUTZEL TEEN SCREENING Sunday, March 9 | 2:00 PM THE OTHER SON (LE FILMS DE L’AUTRE) MFAH Sunday, March 9 | 3:00 PM New York’s Upper West Side provides the setting for this quirky ERJCC comedy described by one critic as “a lost Woody Allen movie from When Joseph, the 18-year-old son of a high ranking Israeli officer the ‘70s, strangely transplanted into the 21st century.” Thirty- in Tel Aviv, reports for his physical prior to national service, his something Walter – nicknamed Putzel -- aspires to take over blood test shockingly indicates he is not his parents’ biological Directed by Jason Chaet Himmelstein’s, his family’s smoked fish emporium, when his Uncle son. Further investigation reveals he was accidentally switched USA, 2012, 88 min Sid retires. But Sid gives him some surprising news, and things get at birth with Yassin, a Palestinian raised in Gaza. Follow this English tricky with the arrival of the charismatic Sally (Melanie Lynskey, Houston Premiere Directed by Lorraine Levy dramatic, compelling story of these two teenagers, whose lives Two and a Half Men) who flirts with both men. Ultimately Walter Comedy France, 2011, 105 min are turned upside-down, forcing them to confront each other and makes some major life decisions that assure his own future. Hebrew, Arabic, French examine their own identities, values, and attitudes. with English subtitles Drama Screening exclusively for teenagers ages 14-18. Eric A. Goldman: “The American Jewish Discussion follows screening. Story through Cinema” Sunday, March 9 | 4:00 PM THE JEWISH CARDINAL MFAH Monday, March 10 | 5:00 PM FREE Sunday, March 16 | 5:00 PM Book Signing Follows Author’s Talk MFAH In an industry strongly influenced by Jewish filmmakers, the This compelling historical drama chronicles the life of Cardinal complex and evolving nature of the American Jewish condition Jean-Marie Lustiger (1926-2007), a son of Polish-Jewish has had considerable impact on American cinema and, in immigrants who maintained his cultural identity as a Jew after particular, how Jews are reflected on the screen. By analyzing joining the priesthood. Quickly rising within the ranks of the select mainstream films from the beginning of the sound era until Directed by Ilan Duran Cohen Church, Lustiger was appointed Archbishop of Paris by Pope France, 2012, 90 min today, this groundbreaking study uses the medium of cinema to John Paul II in 1981. When Carmelite nuns settle down to build French with English subtitles a convent within the cursed walls of Auschwitz, Lustiger finds provide an understanding of the American Jewish experience Houston Premiere over the last century. Eric A. Goldman is a Professor of Cinema at Drama himself a mediator between the two communities - and may be Yeshiva University and The Jewish Theological Seminary. He is a forced at last to choose his side. film educator who lectures on Yiddish, Israeli, and Jewish cinema, and is founder and president of Ergo Media Inc., a distributor of Jewish film. FOR A WOMAN (POUR UNE FEMME) Monday, March 10 | 7:30 PM THE WONDERS Saturday, March 15 | 8:00 PM Sunday, March 9 | 6:00 PM MFAH MFAH After her mother’s death, Anne (Sylvie Testud) is convinced to look closer at the life of her parents. The young couple met in Ariel Navon is a bartender, art-school dropout, and cartoonist. the concentration camps during World War II, later moving to Late one night, he sees a strange blue light coming from an France to start their new life together. Anne’s research into their abandoned Jerusalem apartment. His investigation reveals that in Directed by Diane Kurys history and their ties to Lyon’s communist party reveals the the apartment is the modern day prophet, the missing Rabbi Knafo, France, 2012, 110 min existence of a mysterious uncle, Jean (Nicolas Duvauchelle), who whose followers believe, is on speed dial to God. Reminiscent of such French with English subtitles everyone seems intent on forgetting entirely. As she closes in on Directed by Avi Nesher classics as Chinatown and Rear Window, The Wonders provides a Houston Premiere Israel, 2013, 112 min a discovery she didn’t expect to find, her gravely ill father may commentary on lost souls looking for something in which to believe. Drama Hebrew with English subtitles take the secret that kept them apart for so long to his grave. Houston Premiere One of Israel’s leading filmmakers, Avi Nesher’s early filmsThe ( Drama Matchmaker; Turn Left at the End Of The World) have been followed by Houston audiences.

6 7 THE REAL INGLORIOUS BASTARDS Directed by Min Sook Lee T uesday, March 11 | 5:00 PM Canada, 2012, 51 min English, German with English subtitles Friday, March 21 | 1:00 PM Houston Premiere ERJCC Documentary “The truth is way stranger than fiction,” muses one interviewee in this unbelievable true account that Quentin Tarantino’s mega-hit was based on. As teenagers, Hans Winberg and Fred Meyer fled Nazi Germany. Both loved their adopted country, spoke German and hated the Nazis. Both enlisted in the U.S. army, becoming part of an elite unit engaged in undercover missions in Austria. But to be successful, they needed an accomplice who knew the area, finding one in Franz Weber, a former Nazi officer, conscientious deserter, and prisoner of war. These courageous men recount their incredible adventure whose finale beats any Hollywood movie hands down. Patron Sponsors: Helen Wils and Leonard Goldstein FOUNDERS’ NIGHT GLOOMY SUNDAY (EIN LIED VON LIEBE UND TOD) Wednesday, March 12 | 7:30 PM Z AytoUN ERJCC T uesday, March 11 | 7:30 PM ERJCC From Eran Riklis, award-winning director of Lemon Tree, comes Zaytoun, a film about an unlikely friendship that develops between Yoni, Gloomy Sunday was a favorite at the First Annual Jewish Film an Israeli combat pilot shot down over Beirut Festival, so it is only fitting to repeat its showing as a tribute to the during the 1982 Lebanese Civil War, and Fahed, a founders of the festival, Doreen Joffe and Sharon Kagan. young Palestinian boy from a refugee family who is one of Yoni’s captors. Fahid wants to travel Budapest, 1930s. Laxzlo runs a restaurant; he loves to his family’s ancestral village to plant an olive Directed by Rolf Schübel the hostess, Ilona. Both are marginally Jewish. tree in memory of his father, who has recently Germany/Hungary, 2001, 112 min German with English subtitles been killed by a bomb. Despite Fahed’s hatred Andreas, the piano player also loves Ilona and has Drama of Yoni, he decides he can use Yoni to realize his composed a haunting song for her entitled “Gloomy dream and the two embark upon a dangerous Directed by Eran Riklis Sunday.” To complicate matters further, a German businessman, Hans, is smitten trip through the no man’s land between Lebanon United Kingdom, 2012, 110 min and Israel. Hebrew, Arabic, English with English subtitles with Ilona, who rejects him. War breaks out. Hans is now a Nazi in charge of the final Houston premiere Patron Sponsors: Joanne and Bruce Levy Drama solution in Hungary. Sponsored by June and Leonard Goldberg In Honor of Doreen Joffe and Sharon Kagan 8 9 CLOSED SEASON (ENDE DER SCHONZEIT) SUSKIND T hursday, March 13 | 7:30 PM Sunday, March 16 | 5:30 PM & 8:00 PM ERJCC Holocaust Museum Houston Wartime makes strange bedfellows. Fritz, a German farmer This riveting drama based on true events tells the story of residing in a remote area of the Black Forest, agrees to hide Walter Suskind’s courageous actions during WWII. To obtain Avi from the Nazis. The offer, however, comes with strings: Avi protection for himself and his family, Suskind pursues a post Directed by Franziska Schlotterer Photo Credit: Seventh Art Releasing Germany/Israel, 2012, 104 min must work on the farm and attempt to father a child with Fritz’s with the Jewish Council. But it involves the unimaginable task of English, German with English subtitles wife Emma. Not only is Emma opposed to harboring a Jew, but having to decide which Jews are to be sent to the labor camps Houston Premiere opposed to having sexual relations with him. Years later, the child Directed by Rudolf Van Den Berg in Germany. When he discovers what really awaits his fellow Jews, Netherlands, 2012, 118 min Drama of the coupling travels to Israel to deliver a letter to Avi from his he is horrified to be part of this heinous plan. Courageously, he Dutch with English subtitles dead mother and the story of the strange threesome unfolds. Houston Premiere attempts to double-cross the Germans. He befriends a high-ranking Drama SS officer while cooperating with the underground movement to The STURGEON QUEENS save almost a thousand Jewish children from certain death. Friday, March 14 | 1:00 PM ERJCC BRAVE MISS WORLD Monday, March 17 | 5:00 PM Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg! The New Yorker writer Calvin Trillin! 60 Minutes correspondence Morley Safer! ERJCC What do they all have in common? They all eat at the Lower At 18, Linor Abargil was crowned Miss Israel. Six weeks prior East Side lox emporium Russ and Daughters, now in its fourth to the Miss World contest, Linor was modeling in Italy when an generation under management by the same family. Russ’ Israeli travel agent brutally raped her. She called her mother, daughters, for whom the store is named, now 100 and 92, Directed by Cecilia Peck went to the police and to a hospital in Rome. After winning the reminisce about their earliest days at the store. A grandson, a trial Israel/Italy/South Africa/United States, Ms. World contest, the story was reported internationally and Photo Credit: Russ Family Photo lawyer with a major firm, gave up his practice to take over the 2013, 92 min Linor became the spokesperson of rape victims worldwide. In English, Hebrew, Italian business. Now, 1,800,000 pounds of pickled herring and 100 years 2008, she began speaking out about her experience to girls and with English subtitles Directed by Julie Cohen later, the 4th generation of Russ descendants are in the business. Houston Premiere women around the world, not only to help herself heal, but also USA, 2013, 45 min Documentary to help others who have been victimized by rape. This powerful English Lunch and a Movie for Adults 60+ Houston Premiere $8 Member | $10 Public | Price includes film documentary tells Linor’s story. Documentary RSVP REQUIRED with 24 hr advance notice for lunch. Call Esther Bethke for reservations 713.595.8186. LIKE BROTHERS (COMME DES FRÉRES) Monday, March 17 | 7:30 PM MARVIN HAMLISCH: WHAT HE DID FOR LOVE ERJCC T hursday, March 13 | 1:00 PM Charlie is dead and the lives of the three men who loved her Saturday, March 15 | 6:00 PM are in disarray. The three Frenchmen have nothing in common MFAH except for their love of her. Charlie’s dying wish is for the three A musical prodigy accepted to Juilliard at age six, Marvin Hamlisch of them, all of different generations, to take a 500 mile road trip Directed by Hugo Gelin (1944-2012) defied classical expectations, redirecting his talents to Corsica to the house she loved. Stuck in a car together, having France, 2012, 101 min nothing whatsoever in common, the three, a businessman, a to musical theatre and pop music. By age 31, he achieved French with English subtitles script writer, and one still living at home with Mom, seek to fulfil unprecedented success with smash hits including “The Way Houston Premiere We Were,” and scores for The Sting and A Chorus Line. He Drama Charlie’s request. By the time they reach their destination, their eventually earned four Grammys, four Emmys, three Oscars, lives will have changed. three Golden Globes, a Tony, and a Pulitzer Prize. Tony-winner Directed by Dori Berinstein United Kingdom, 2013, 85 min Dori Berinstein’s documentary celebrates Hamlisch’s legacy, English articulated by friends including his widow Terre Blair Hamlisch, did you know? Documentary Barbra Streisand, Carly Simon, Quincy Jones, Christopher Walken, EVERY MOVIE TICKET AT THE MFAH GETS YOU 10% OFF AT CAFE EXPRESS IN THE MUSEUM? MAKE IT A “DINNER AND A MOVIE” KIND OF NIGHT! and many others.

10 11 REWRITIN G HISTory DANA CING IN JAFF T uesday, March 18 | 5:00 PM Wednesday, March 19 | 5:00 PM ERJCC ERJCC Ninety-five percent of Lithuania’s Jews were murdered during In this documentary, Pierre Dulaine, a well-known ballroom the Holocaust. Yet, the ultra-nationalist Lithuanian government is dancer originally from Jaffa, returns home to establish dancing determined to rewrite history, investigating those who fought with classes in several Jaffa schools, specifically pairing Jewish and the partisans and accusing them of war crimes. It is a government Palestinian children. This inspiring documentary follows several that wants to change the way the Holocaust is perceived, not only children as they slowly overcome their fears: first, of dancing Directed by Marc Radomsky and Directed by Hilla Medalia in Lithuania, but also world-wide. Rewriting History deals with the with a member of the opposite sex (a difficult proposition in Danny Ben-Moshe USA/Israel, 2013, 84 min any culture at the awkward age of 11), and later, of dancing with Australia, 2012, 55 min campaign of Danny-Ben-Moshe, a professor of Yiddish at Oxford Hebrew, Arabic, English someone who comes from a very different background. We English University, who leaves his job to gather records of the few Yiddish with English subtitles Houston Premiere speakers left in Lithuania. One speaker is an 88-year-old Jewish Houston Premiere watch Pierre transform their lives, confirming his beliefs that Documentary woman, a former partisan, who, having been investigated by the Drama dance can overcome hatred and provide the first steps towards government, decides to fight back. real change.

Join us as the ERJCC celebrates women in the month of March AFTERMATH for these two Israeli films made by and about women. Make it Wednesday, March 19 | 7:30 PM WOMEN’s NIGHT dinner and a movie with four of your friends! Bring your dinner ERJCC to eat before the film and we’ll provide a bottle of Israeli wine. Inspired by mass murders of Jews by residents of small Polish towns during the Holocaust, Aftermath tells the story of two WHEREVER YOU GO brothers of a fictional town years after the war has ended. T uesday, March 18 | 7:30 PM Franek upon his return home after 20 years discovers that ERJCC Jozek has been ostracized from the community, and constantly Directed by Wladyslaw Pasikowski receives various threats. As Franek and Jozek struggle to rebuild Zohara, an Israeli woman cut Netherlands/Poland/Russia/Slovakia, Directed by Rony Sasson Angel their relationship, they are drawn into a gothic tale of intrigue. off from her Orthodox family, 2012, 104 min Israel, 2012, 40 min The two brothers eventually uncover a dark secret that forces decides to attend her sister’s Polish with English subtitles Hebrew with English subtitles them to confront the history of their family and their hometown. wedding and reconnect with Drama Houston Premiere Patron Sponsors: Ellen and Daniel Trachtenberg her family. En route, she stops Drama for a desperate Bedouin woman attempting to escape from a forced marriage. Though they come WAGNER’S JEWS from different worlds, both share the same desire: to be themselves. T hursday, March 20 | 5:00 PM ERJCC AYA Opera composer Richard Wagner was notorious for his anti- T uesday, March 18 | 7:30 PM Semitic writings. What is little known, however, is that many ERJCC of his close personal relationships were with Jews, including a rabbi’s son who conducted the premier of Parsifal, a pianist who While waiting for someone at lived with the Wagner family, and the teenaged piano prodigy the airport, Aya is mistaken as Directed by Mihal Brezis Carl Tausig. This documentary explores the complex relationship the assigned driver for Overby, a and Oded Binnum Israel, 2012, 40 min Directed by Hilan Warshaw between Wagner and the Jews, and whether it is possible to Dane visiting Israel to judge the English USA, 2013, 55 min draw distinctions between the art and the artist. Musicians Rubenstein Piano Competition. English Houston Premiere appearing in the film include the Zubin Mehta, Director of the She does not immediately reveal Drama Houston Premiere Israeli Philharmonic, and Leon Botstein, Conductor Laureate of the truth and proceeds to drive Documentary the Jerusalem Symphony. Overby to Jerusalem, developing a tension-filled rapport with him.

RSVP to Amy Rahmani at [email protected] or call 713.729.3200 ext. 3299 by Friday, March 14 to reserve your table and bottle of wine.

12 13 Venues LEGEND

Calendar of Events ERJCC, Kaplan Theatre HMH, Albert and Ethel Herzstein Theater 5601 South Braeswood Houston, TX 77096 . 5401 Caroline Street . Houston, TX 77004 1 0 TH ANNIVERSARY MFAH, Brown Auditorium Theater Nouveau Antique Art Bar March 8-23 1001 Bissonnet Street Houston, TX 77005 . 2913 Main Street . Houston, TX 77002

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Opening Night 8:00 PM | Bethlehem

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Closing Day 11:00 AM | An American Tail 1:00 PM | The Jester 4:00 PM | Glickman 7:30 PM | The Zigzag Kid

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14 15 Short Film Night WUNDERKINDER E xclusively for Ages 21 to Thirty-Something T hursday, March 20 | 7:30 PM Wednesday, March 19 | 7:30 PM ERJCC Nouveau Antique Art Bar, 2913 Main Street In this German film, two Ukranian Jewish children and the $10 includes admission and one drink ticket daughter of a wealthy German brewer living in the Ukraine Advanced purchase recommended. Cash only at the door. in 1941 form a deep friendship initially based on their musical talents and mutual love of music. As they grow closer, their Sight friendship deepens as they explore the world around them. Directed by Eran May-raz and Daniel Lazo But that world and their friendship are shattered when the Israel, 2012, 7 min Directed by Marcus O. Rosenmüller Germans invade the Soviet Union. Their worlds are turned Germany, 2011, 96 min English upside down, and the children are no longer permitted to be German with English subtitles In this short futuristic film, we find out what it means to live in a virtual Houston Premiere “siblings for life.” The film is based on true events uncovered reality, where everything from the art hanging on the walls to the Drama by movie producer Artur Braner, now in his 90s and a reactions of the date sitting across the table are displayed in a contact Holocaust survivor. lens-like device for our eyes only.

Gentledog Join us on Saturday night in between the two screenings for appetizers, music, and Directed by David Shadi dessert. Relax in between the films, stay late afterHunting Elephants or come early before Israel, 2012, 10 min The Attack. The lounge will be open in the Joe Frank between 7:30 PM and 8:30 PM. Hebrew with English subtitles A guy thinks he is going to spend the night with his new date, but finds out that first he will have to intellectually defeat her big talking dog. HUNTING ELEPHANTS (LATZUD PILIM) T hursday, March 13 | 5:00 PM To Kill a Bumble Bee Saturday, March 22 | 6:00 PM Directed by Tal Granit & Sharon Maymon Israel, 2009, 7 min ERJCC Hebrew with English subtitles In this Israeli comedy, 12 year-old Yonatan is dealt a blow Canaan kills a bee, but it’s not the last thing he will kill today. How when his father, a bank security guard, dies of a heart far would you go to defend the world you build for yourself? This is a attack while on duty. The bank manager denies his father’s tragicomic reflection about life, friendship and the power of fear. Directed by Reshef Levi pension. It looks like Yonatan and his mother will lose their Israel, 2013, 107 min home. What to do? Yonatan, familiar with the bank’s security Hebrew with English subtitles The Building Across Houston Premiere system, decides the solution is to rob the bank. He finds the Directed by Jonathan Avrahami & Nir Saar Comedy perfect accomplice in his grandpa, a retired bank robber, and Israel, 2012, 5 min Grandpa’s cronies. Hebrew with English subtitles Ayelet and Doron, a young couple from Tel-Aviv, spend another regular night at home, when all of a sudden a new couple appears in the empty THE ATTACK apartment across from them. Out of boredom they start watching but Saturday, March 22 | 8:30 PM the situation turns into something they didn’t expect. ERJCC Amin is a successful Palestinian surgeon living in Tel Aviv Elijah the Prophet with his wife Siham, fully integrated into Israeli society, and Directed by James Cooper the winner of an award for his medical accomplishments. Canada, 2013, 9 min On the night of the awards ceremony, Amin is summoned to English his hospital to attend to the victims of a suicide bombing—or Elijah the Prophet tells the comedic story of Elijah, the pious, chummy Directed by Ziad Doueiri so he thinks. But as he removes a sheet in the morgue, he France, 2013, 102 min and alcoholic prophet, whose yearly antics have graced Jewish discovers his wife’s corpse. Is Siham the suicide bomber Hebrew, Arabic with English subtitles households for ages as part of the Passover celebration. Unfortunately, Drama as the Israeli police captain thinks? Or is she an innocent not everyone understands that drunk driving for him is a divine right, victim as Amin believes? which soon gets him in trouble with the law. 17 FAMILY Screening AN AMERICAN TAIL Sunday, March 23 | 11:00 AM ERJCC FREE An American Tail, the first animated feature presented by Steven Spielberg, tells the story of Fievel Mousekewitz and his Russian- Jewish mouse family’s escape from their homeland in the late 1800s. Boarding a boat headed for America, Fievel gets separated from his mom and dad. To make matters worse, upon arriving in New York City, much to his horror, Fievel learns that there are cats in America, too! Forced to navigate the streets of New York An American Tail all alone, Fievel meets his share of friendly and hostile mice, and Directed by Don Bluth even befriends one of the dreaded cats. Will Fievel save the day USA, 1986, 80 min and reunite with his family? Recommended for ages 4 and up. English Animated Drama Bring the kids or grandkids to the HJFF special family screening with Fievel themed arts and crafts and a snack after the movie.

H JFF Restoration Highlight THE JESTER (DER PURIMSPILER) Sunday, March 23 | 1:00 PM ERJCC This recently restored Polish musical comedy filmed in the outskirts of Warsaw, premiered in Warsaw in 1937 and opened Closing Night three months later in New York. Featuring a wanderer, a poor shoemaker’s daughter and a circus performer, The Jester THE ZIGZAG KID provides a look into the vanished world of Eastern European Jewry. Many of the crew and actors were murdered during the (NONO, HET ZIGZAG KIND) Directed by Joseph Green & Jan Holocaust. The film features a Purim play, complete with music Nowina-Przybylski Sunday, March 23 | 7:30 PM Poland, 1937, 90 min and costumes which the Nazis appropriated portions of the ERJCC Yiddish with new English subitles scene to use in an antisemitic propaganda film, The Eternal Jew. Drama The film has been provided and restored with new English subtitles by The National Center for Jewish Film, jewishfilm.org.

Based on the beloved novel of the same name by GLICKMAN Directed by Vincent Bal Israeli writer David Grossman, this coming of age Netherlands/Belguim, 2013, 95 min Sunday, March 23 | 4:00 PM Dutch, French, English ERJCC detective story follows the adventures of Nono, a with English subtitles 13-year-old boy with a wild imagination who wants Houston Premiere Marty Glickman spent his career calling games for the Yankees, Drama Dodgers, Knicks, Jets, Rangers, Mets, and other teams. He was a to be like his father, the best police detective in sportscaster’s sportscaster and a broadcasting institution. Prior the world. After creating havoc at a cousin’s bar mitzvah, and a few days before his to his broadcasting career, however, Glickman was an Olympian, scheduled to run the 4x100 meter relay at the 1936 Berlin own, his father sends him to visit his uncle. On the train, Nono meets up with an Olympics. He was removed from the event to mollify Hitler. This international thief, searches for a famous chanteuse played by Isabella Rossellini, and Directed by James L. Freedman Martin Scorsese film tells the story not only of the travesty of USA, 2012, 83 min tries to prove himself as a detective. the 1936 Olympics, but also of a remarkable career, fascinating English Houston Premiere even to non-sports fans. The film includes appearances by Larry Patron Sponsors: Doreen and Basil Joffe Documentary King, Jerry Stiller, Bob Costas, and Marv Albert. Patron Sponsors: Jerry and Sylvia Wilkenfeld Media support provided by: 19 The Jews of New York, 2010 Anita, 2011 Nicky’s Family, 2012 The Matchmaker, 2011

1 0 TH ANNIVERSARY Celebrating 10 years of quality films and looking forward to the next 10! Nina’s Home, 2007 Thank you to our founders Doreen Joffe and Sharon Kagan for their vision and leadership for the past 10 years. Blessed is the Match, 2009

My Best Enemy, 2012 Beaufort, 2008

Hava Nagila, 2013 Live and Become, 2006 Gloomy Sunday, 2005 Committee Members Sponsors and and Staff Community PartNers

2013-2014 Film Committee Supporters

Diane Lee, Chair Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center Helen Wils, Chair Elect Doreen Joffe and Sharon Kagan, Founding Chairs

Neil Aussenberg Sue Goott Sandy Lessig Margie Beegle Ellen Hamburg Beth Nock Official Hotel of the ERJCC Barbara Bronstein Leora Kahn Miriam Pacht Nada Chandler Lindy Kahn Tamara Savage Director Screenwriter Joyce Cramer Ray Kahn Paula Siegel Brian Gavin Diamonds Aqua General, Inc., Houston’s Best Water John Dreyfus Marisa Katz Stefani Twyford Nancy Epstein Eve Lapin In-Kind Fleischer Wine: A Division of Mexcor Jenny Tavor Custom Catering Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston Media SponsorS Bobbi Samuels Joel Dinkin President Executive Vice President

Deborah Kaplan Marilyn Hassid Arts & Culture Steering Committee Chair Assistant Executive Director Community Partners Amy Rahmani Judy Weil AIPAC – American Israel Public Affairs Israel + U Arts & Culture Program Coordinator Arts & Culture Assistant Committee Jewish Family Service Jerry Lynch and Lee Snyder Congregation Beth Israel Jewish Feminist Reading Group Projectionists Congregation Beth Israel Sisterhood Jewish War Veterans – Post 574 The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston film STAFF Congregation Beth Yeshurun Sisterhood National Council of Jewish Women Marian Luntz Congregation Brith Shalom Greater Houston Section Curator, Film and Video Holocaust Museum Houston United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston

Tracy Stephenson Assistant Curator, Film and Video

Ray Gomez Assistant for Community Outreach and Administration Mazel Tov Doreen and Sharon on the 10th Anniversary— a reel accomplishment! From the Goott Family

22 23 film art Part II: TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS: L EarninG MEDIEVAL SPAIN AND THE MYSTERY OF living THE GOLDEN HAGGADAH CJLL SCHOLARS SERIES learning Thursday, April 10 | 7:00 PM PEOPLE OF THE IMAGE: The so-called Golden Haggadah, illuminated in JEWS AND ART Catalunia (possibly Barcelona) between 1320 and Dr. Marc Michael Epstein, Vassar College 1330 is often described as being among the most ART beautiful manuscripts created for Jews in the March 20, April 10, May 15 | 7:00 PM Middle Ages. But who made it, and whom was it MdernKtuo e bah Art: made for? Professor Epstein presents startling A Contemporary Twist On A Timeless Tradition $10 Member | $15 Public (per lecture) new speculations regarding its original patrons Exclusively for Ages 21 to Thirty-Something $26 Member | $38 Public (series pass) and the times in which they lived—the vibrant Tuesday, March 4 | 8:00 PM Jews have classically been viewed as people of world of high medieval Sephardic culture. FREE the book, rather than people of the image. But in reality, from the earliest moments in Jewish Young adults are invited to join us for a ketubah event with local Part III: IMAGING THE FUTURE: JEWISH history, the visual arts have been at the center artist Anna Abramzon. Whether you are in the market for a ketubah, ART AND ITS ROLE IN THE FUTURE OF THE of the Jewish experience. What can we learn already have one and want to know what it means, or are just JEWISH PEOPLE from Jewish visual culture about Jewish self- interested in this unique custom, come learn more about the art, Thursday, May 15 | 7:00 PM image in various times and places? What can texts, and the ancient and modern day traditions of the ketubah. What is the future of Jewish culture? What do we learn about Jews’ relationships with their Presented by Anna Abramzon. Jews need in order not only to survive, but also neighbors from the way they used art politically? to thrive? What’s going on in the contemporary And how can art illuminate the intense and often A Dar ViSUAL i y: Saba & Savta – Generations, Jewish art scene, how does it relate to what fraught relationship of Jews with God? This By Talya Arbisser came before, and how can art be a fresh and series will take a close look at the role of the arts March 25 – April 20 vibrant form of exegesis—commentary—on in the ongoing development and enrichment of both the historical experience and the exciting Opening Reception Jewish national and spiritual life. st Sunday, March 30 | 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM potential of the Jewish people in the 21 Marc Michael Epstein is Professor of Religion century and beyond? Join us for an Art Opening Reception for Houstonian photographer at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, Talya Arbisser and her exhibit, A Visual Diary: Saba & Savta – where he has taught since 1992. During the Generations. Talya’s exhibit focuses on the long-term health care ‘80s, Epstein was Director of the Hebrew Jan Aronson: issues involving her paternal grandparents, Dvora and Rafael Arbisser. Books and Manuscripts division of Sotheby’s The Bronfman Haggadah Judaica Department, and continues to serve as Book and Artist Talk YourF oRTUNATE Eyes: consultant to various libraries, auction houses, Tuesday, March 25 | 7:30 PM Photographs by Rudi Weissenstein museums and private collectors throughout Joe Frank Theatre of the Arts April 27 – June 6 the world. This academic year he serves as $15 includes one copy of The Corcoran Visiting Professor of Jewish Christian In 1940 Rudi Weissenstein founded the Pri-Or PhotoHouse in Tel Aviv. Relations at Boston College. Bronfman Haggadah The archive can still be viewed there today and contains more than one million negatives – the visual memory of the country. On May 14, A revolutionary haggadah for the 21st Part I: ESTHER HIDDEN AND REVEALED century, THE BRONFMAN HAGGADAH is 1948 he was the only official photographer asked to record the signing IN JEWISH ART ceremony for the State of Israel’s Declaration of Independence. His a collaboration between world- renowned photograph of David Ben-Gurion at the reading of the Declaration Thursday, March 20 | 7:00 PM philanthropist and Jewish leader Edgar M. Bronfman, and acclaimed artist Jan made Weissenstein world-famous. How has Esther been depicted in Jewish art Aronson. In words and pictures, it tells of and how does that portrayal differ from that in the Jews’ dramatic journey from slavery LfenSillsi i t Christian art? Discover a rather shocking pop- to freedom, in a way that will captivate Tuesday, May 6 culture manifestation of Esther in a contemporary generations to come. Book signing follows ultra-Orthodox Book of Esther, which is In conjunction with the art exhibit, we will screen Life in Stills, the talk. problematic for more than just one reason. Houston Jewish Film Festival 2013 Audience Choice Winner at the This program is offered in conjunction with the Yom Ha’atzmaut Celebration in the evening. ERJCC’s month of “Celebrating Women.” 24 25 L EarninG FILM LIVING STUDY WITH Rabbi Jill Levy, new cjll director VshtiDfensea ’s e Instructor: Rabbi Jill Levy Tuesday, March 4 | 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM $5 Member | $7 Public In the biblical Book of Esther, Vashti was sentenced to death without a trial. Centuries later she has been either hailed as a free thinking feminist or condemned as a wicked person with selfish motives. Together, we will study a variety of sources about Vashti’s motives and character and TeJshFh ewi ilm Club M iMOSAS & Mah Jongg discuss how her trial can strengthen our Purim experience. This program is offered in conjunction $2 Member | $4 Public Sunday, March 23 | 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM with the ERJCC’s month of “Celebrating Women.” Cost: $25 Per Person The Jewish Film Club features monthly RSVP required by Thursday, February 27. Contact Esther Bethke at 713.595.8186 or screenings of classic and contemporary films Come on out for a fun-filled morning with good [email protected]. that highlight Jewish characters or themes. friends, good food, and good prizes! The All films are shown in the Kaplan Theatre. A ERJCC is hosting its first Mimosas & Mah RE PETITION AND REVELATION: discussion of each film, facilitated by Rabbi Jongg fundraiser. Whether you play every AN IN-DEPTH STUDY OF DOUBLE NARRATIVES IN THE BIBLE Samantha Safran, will follow. Coffee and week or have never played before, we promise Instructor: Rabbi Jill Levy snacks are provided for the discussion. All you’ll have a great time. Mah Jongg is a fun 4 Wednesdays, May 7 – 28 | 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM films begin at 12:45 PM. and stimulating game for all generations. $36 Member | $50 Public February 14 To register a table or just for yourself, please Inheritance | (2006) 75 minutes We are taught that nothing in Torah is extraneous, yet we also notice numerous stories that are visit erjcchouston.org/mahjongg or contact told more than once. We will explore a few examples of these double narratives, with the help of March 28 Esther Bethke at 713.595.8186. Biblical commentary and critics, while asking ourselves how this phenomenon affects our own Funny Girl | (1968) 151 minutes Please register by March 20. relationship with Jewish text and tradition. This class will allow us to enter into the Shavuot holiday with the critical question, What does revelation mean to me? For more information, contact Esther Bethke at This event is being catered by 713.595.8186 or [email protected]. Laykie’s Gourmet. To register, contact Nomi Barancik at 713.729.3200 ext. 3288 or [email protected].

TURN IT AND TURN IT: STUDYING THE WEEKLY TORAH PORTION Instructors: Rabbi Jill Levy, Rabbi Samantha Safran Ongoing on Fridays | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM “CELEBRATING WOMEN“ FREE AT THE ERJCC Join us for a weekly discussion of the Torah portion using both classic and modern commentaries. No knowledge of Hebrew is required. No registration necessary. Throughout the month of March the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center will be “Celebrating Women” in conjunction with LNIVI G Women’s History Month. There will be a variety EAT THE SEASONS. EAT YOUR VALUES. JOIN THE ERJCC’S LOCAL VEGGIE CO-OP! of programs and activities for women of all ages. Join our co-op on your own or with a partner and pre-purchase a share of organically grown produce for an entire season, beginning March 20. This program is coordinated nationally by For more information, contact Esther Bethke at 713.595.8186 or Hazon and locally by Home Sweet Farm. For more information contact Rabbi Samantha Safran at [email protected], or visit erjcchouston.org/celebratingwomen. 713.729.3200 ext. 3322, or [email protected].

27 EVELYN RUBENSTEIN JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER Nonprofit Org. 5601 S. Braeswood | Houston, TX 77096 erjcchouston.org U.S. Postage PAID OFFICIAL AIRLINE OF THE ERJCC Houston, Texas Permit No. 6217

Join us as we celebrate 10 years! The Annual Houston Jewish Film Festival, presented by the 1 0 TH ANNIVERSARY Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston brings to March 8-23, 2014 the community current documentary and feature films with meaningful Jewish or Israeli content. erjcchouston.org/filmfest