The 23rd annual Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival, running Feb. 10-24, at three Harkins theaters across the Valley, will showcase a slate of 20 independent films, including the Western United States’ premiere of a rare multi-camera shoot from the original Broadway run of the play about Golda Meir, Israel’s only female Prime Minister.
VENUES:
Harkins Shea 14, 7354 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale
Harkins Tempe Marketplace 16, 2000 E. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe
Harkins Park West 16, 9804 W. Northern Ave., Peoria
TICKETS:
$11 for adults ($13 at the door); $7 for active military (ID required) and students (ID required, 25 years & under); $150 Festival Pass. For more information, visit gpjff.org.
The following is this year’s screening schedule by date:
Sunday, Feb. 10, 3 pm (Scottsdale, Tempe)
Sunday, Feb. 17, 11 am (Peoria)
BROADWAY MUSICALS: A JEWISH LEGACY
A tune-filled dissertation on the incalculable influence of Jewish composers, and Jewish musical idioms shaping the evolution of this great American art form.
Short Film:
CALL ME ALVY
A boy’s obsession with Woody Allen sends his mother to desperate measures before his bar mitzvah day arrives. Showing at Peoria and Tempe.
Sunday, Feb. 10, 7 pm (Scottsdale
Monday, Feb. 11, 7 pm (Tempe)
Sunday Feb. 24, 11 am (Peoria)
GOLDA’S BALCONY, THE FILM
A rare multi-camera shoot from the original Broadway run of the play about Golda Meir, Israel’s only female Prime Minister.
Monday, Feb. 11, 7 pm (Scottsdale)
THE LIGHT OF HOPE
The true story of Elisabeth Eidenbenz, awarded the status of Righteous Among the Nations by the Government of Israel in 2002 for her role as founder of the Mothers of Elne, an organization which saved the lives of hundreds of Jewish mothers and children along with other refugees during World War II.
Short Film:
A THOUSAND KISSES
Separated by the fear of persecution in the Nazi Germany of 1933, a young Jewish couple in Berlin makes loose plans to reunite on the safe tropical shores of Brazil.
Tuesday, Feb. 12, 7 pm (Scottsdale)
Wednesday, Feb. 20, 7 pm (Tempe)
BUDAPEST NOIR
When a young Jewish prostitute is found beaten to death, no one is interested in solving the bizarre crime except a cynical but inquisitive crime reporter.
Tuesday, Feb. 12, 7 pm (Tempe)
Thursday, Feb. 14, 7 pm (Scottsdale)
Wednesday, Feb. 20, 3 pm (Peoria)
THE CAKEMAKER
Unwittingly united in grief by a closeted affair, a gay German baker and weary Israeli widow seek mutual catharsis in this film, a compassionate meditation on the human urge for connection.
Tuesday, Feb. 12, 3 pm (Scottsdale)
THE ESSENTIAL LINK: THE STORY OF WILFRID ISRAEL
This movie unravels the mystery of the wealthy German Jew who, through a combination of wily negotiations with the Nazis, large sums of money, and a long series of selfless acts, saved thousands of Jews in the 1930s and 1940s.
Wednesday, Feb. 13, 3 pm (Scottsdale)
Sunday, Feb. 17, 3 pm (Peoria, Tempe)
A BAG OF MARBLES
Left to fend for themselves in Nazi-occupied France, two Jewish brothers must rely on their courage and cunning to escape Nazi barbarism and avoid capture. (Suitable for ages 10 & up.)
Wednesday, Feb. 13, 7 pm (Tempe)
Tuesday, Feb. 19, 7 pm (Scottsdale)
RESCUE BIS 300
An intense cinematic ride based on the true story of armed Palestinian terrorists who hijack an Israeli bus and lead the passengers not only towards the refugee camps in Gaza, but, possibly to oblivion.
Wednesday, Feb. 13, 7 pm (Scottsdale)
Sunday, Feb. 24, 3 pm (Peoria)
THE INTERPRETER
Ali Ungár, comes across a book written by a former SS officer which recounts the officer’s war experiences. Ali realizes that one of the chapters quite possibly describes his own parents’ executions, and, arming himself, travels to Vienna to look for the SS man and exact revenge.
Thursday, Feb. 14, 3 pm (Scottsdale)
SHINE
Tells the true story of Australian pianist David Helfgott, an international prodigy who, after suffering a breakdown resulting in his institutionalization, gradually pieced himself back together and performed to critical acclaim.
Thursday, Feb. 14, 7 pm (Tempe)
Sunday, Feb. 17, 7 pm (Scottsdale)
Tuesday, Feb. 19, 3 pm (Peoria)
SHOELACES
Tells the story of a complicated relationship between an aging father and his special-needs son, whom he abandoned while the boy was still very young.
Sunday, Feb. 17, 3 pm (Scottsdale)
Monday, Feb. 18, 3 pm (Peoria)
Tuesday, Feb. 19, 7 pm (Tempe)
WHO WILL WRITE OUR HISTORY
A secret band of journalists, scholars and community leaders fight and resist after being sealed inside the Warsaw Ghetto.
Short Film:
A NIGHT AT THE GARDEN
Six months before the start of World War II, Madison Square Garden plays host to 20,000 American Nazis. Showing at all three venues.
Monday, Feb. 18, 3 pm
WINTER HUNT
On a mission of vigilante justice, a young woman goes to extremes to seek reprisal against a suspected ex-Nazi, in this psychological thriller.
Monday, Feb. 18, 7 pm (Scottsdale)
93QUEEN
Offers a unique portrayal of a group of tenacious Hasidic women who smash the patriarchy in their community by creating the first all-female volunteer ambulance corps in New York City.
Tuesday, Feb. 19, 3 pm
SIMON & THEODORE
In this quirky French comedy-drama, an emotionally-troubled man about to become a father wonders how can he take care of his baby when he can barely take care of himself?
Wednesday, Feb. 20, 3 pm (Scottsdale)
ECHO
When a husband suspects his wife is having an affair, he secretly records her telephone conversations. The film highlights the true-to-life depiction of the delicate intricacies of relationships.
Wednesday, Feb. 20, 7 pm (Scottsdale)
Thursday, Feb. 21, 3 pm (Peoria)
Thursday, Feb. 21, 7 pm (Tempe)
THE LAST SUIT
An aging Jewish tailor leaves his life in Argentina to embark on a journey back through time and halfway around the world.
Short Film:
JANEK/BASTARD
Explores the intricate relationship between a Christian and a Jew in 1942 Poland. Showing at Peoria and Scottsdale.
Thursday, Feb. 21, 3 pm (Scottsdale)
SCANDAL IN IVANSK
A photographer uncovers a scandal when he travels to a small, Polish town in search of Jewish headstones and, more specifically, his grandfather’s life, death and memories.
Thursday, Feb. 21, 7 pm (Scottsdale)
FRACTURES
A family’s life comes apart after the husband is accused of sexual misconduct with one of his students.
Sunday, Feb. 24, 3 pm (Scottsdale)
Sunday, Feb. 24, 3 pm (Tempe)
WHY THE JEWS?
From Moses to Maimonides, to Mahler, Marx, Freud, Einstein and 197 Nobel Prize laureates, the stunning social, scientific and artistic accomplishments of the Jews raise this obvious question.
