Please take advantage of this opportunity to view some excellent movies chosen by the film committee.

FEBRUARY 26, 2006
Cabrillo College, room 450

Walk On Water, 2004—In his search for Alfred Himmelman, an ex-Nazi officer, a Mossad assassin named Eyal, must pose as a tour guide in Israel and befriend his grandchildren. Questions of identity and friendship are raised, and complex answers given. This film won an Israeli Academy Award in 2004.
10:45 am

Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi, 2003—A story about family and love, "Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi" is irreverent, upbeat, and ultimately heartwarming. Shlomi is sixteen, and like many sixteen-year-olds is not seen for what he is. He cooks and cares for members of his family, but despite his incredible skill at cooking, they do not see him for the talented man that he is. It takes a math test that reveals his intelligence and a romance with Rona, the gardener, to show him who he really is.

1:00 pm

Ushpizin, 2004—Moshe Bellanga and his wife Malli are played by Shuli Rand, who won the Israeli Academy Award for Best Actor for the role, and his wife Michal Bat Sheva Rand. They are an orthodox couple that don't have enough money to fashion a Sukkah. When they receive a considerable gift from a charitable organization to celebrate Sukkoth, and find a seemingly abandoned Sukkah, they use the money to buy the best etrog they can in hopes of conceiving a child, but Sukkoth will not be as simple a celebration as Moshe and Malli could have hoped.
3:00 pm,
With discussion by Rabbi Rick following

2nd showing! 7:00 pm, March 5

Sentenced to Marriage, 2004—This fascinating documentary takes the viewer through the process of divorce in Israel, a nightmarish ordeal wherein husbands can withhold the get, live with other women, or even exact huge payments from their spouses in exchange for their divorce. Shot surreptitiously in actual courts, this film exposes an inequality unknown to modern Jewish society elsewhere.
5:00 pm

Sugihara: Conspiracy of Kindness, 2005— (text from the PBS web site) As Japan's consul to Lithuania, Sugihara risked career, disgrace, his life, and the lives of his family defying Tokyo by writing transit visas for refugees desperate to escape persecution. In August 1940, Sugihara spent upwards of sixteen hours a day issuing visas, until Soviet-occupied Lithuania forced the final shutdown of the country's last remaining consulates. In the end, more than 2,000 Sugihara-stamped passports allowed hundreds of families to flee Europe through Russia to safe havens abroad. Today it is estimated that more than 40,000 people owe their very existence to Sugihara's heroic acts of humanitarianism. Note: Admission is free.
7:00 pm

MARCH 5, 2006
Cabrillo College, room 450

Forgotten Refugees, 2005—Before World War II, there were Jewish populations numbering one million people total in the Middle East and North Africa. Now there are less than twenty thousand. The story of the events of the six decades that drove those people from their homes is contained in this unique film. Featuring contemporary stories and discussion alongside actual archival footage, this film is sure to engage its audience with questions of history and loss. Admission is free.
10:45 am

Korczak, 1990—"Korczak" is a Polish film about Dr. Korczak, a physician who ran an orphanage in the Warsaw ghetto and ultimately died in a death camp, unable to leave his orphans. Though treated somewhat harshly in France after its debut in the Cannes Film Festival, this film is an insightful biography of an extraordinary man.
1:00 pm

Beautiful Music, 2004—Winner of the title "Best Documentary" at the Hollywood Film Festival, "Beautiful Music" is the story of Devorah Schramm, a piano teacher in Israel, and her student, Rasha. Rasha is nine years old, Palestinian, blind, and autistic, but Devorah continues to be her teacher through the worst days of the intifada. This film is a testament to Devorah's dedication, and a picture of what can be accomplished with a wider view than merely what nation a person comes from.
3:00 pm

Oriental, 2004—A fascinating juxtaposition of material gleaned from footage of figures involved the failed 2000 Camp David Peace Accords and a Russian-Jewish belly dancer's interactions with her Arabic accompanists before a major performance. This short film interweaves the two stories to take a new look at the cultures involved in the Middle East conflict and how they communicate.
3:00 pm

No. 17 is Anonymous, 2003—In a personal reflection on a tragedy that stole the , David Ofek and his film crew research the identity of the 17th victim of the Meggido Junction bus bombing, who was buried in an unmarked grave. After many false leads and frustration, a passenger recalls enough about No.17 to give a description to a sketch artist, which leads them to his identity.

5:00 pm

March 7, 2006
Temple Beth El Social Hall
7:00 pm, discussion with Ilil Alexander following

Keep Not Silent, 2004—The Jewish Film Festival, co-sponsored by the Gay and Lesbian community of Twice Blessed at Temple Beth El and the Diversity Center, together with the Consulate General of Israel in San Francisco, will host the award winning Israeli filmmaker Ilil Alexander who will introduce her film "Keep not Silent" in an evening dedicated to religious Jewish Lesbians who are seeking their right to love and marry.

My Sister, My Bride, 2004—A Jewish lesbian couple from a supportive Reform congregation in Nevada seek to marry. A positive story of determination and the perseverance of love, "My Sister, My Bride" shows the personal side of current constitutional debate.

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