St. Louis Jewish Film Festival Schedule
June 2-6, 2019
Landmark Plaza Frontenac Cinema
Open Day: Sunday, June 2
Sunday, June 2, 4pm
Carl Laemmle
USA | English
Director: James L. Freedman
Documentary: 91 minutes
Tickets: $15 (purchase both opening day films for only $26!)
Universal Studios founder…humanitarian…unsung hero
While Carl Laemmle is not a household name, the studio that he founded is. This rags to riches saga is the story of a poor, German Jewish immigrant who came to America in 1884 and became a Hollywood movie mogul. Under his control, Universal Studios became famous for monster movies, westerns, comedies and the iconic All’s Quiet on the Western Front. Even more important, Laemmle saved more than 300 German Jewish families during the Holocaust.
Introduction by Film Director James Freedman (video)
Sponsored by Elaine and Jeffrey Korn
Sunday, June 2, 7pm
Golda’s Balcony
USA | English
Director: Scott Schwartz
Feature: 87 minutes
A Brilliant Performance
This amazing story (a film of the acclaimed Broadway production starring Tovah Feldshuh) follows the life of Golda Meir, from Russian immigrant to leader of international politics as Prime Minister of Israel. It is one of the most thrilling and compelling stories of the 20th century. Much of the focus surrounds the 1973 Yom Kippur War, as this film transforms her life into a cinematic event of overwhelming power and inspirational triumph.
Introduction by David Fishelson, producer of Golda’s Balcony, the Film. A Q & A will follow the award-winning film.
Sponsored by Bob and Susan Bernstein, Margie Horowitz, Laurie and Lee Wielansky
Monday, June 3
Monday, June 3, 1pm
Inside the Mossad
Israel | Hebrew with English subtitles
Director: Dori Dror
Documentary: 90 minutes
Intriguing…intimate…shocking
Over the nearly seven decades of its existence, the Mossad has cultivated its image as a daring, all-powerful intelligence agency for which no “mission impossible” exists. For the first time, see the stories of former spy-chiefs and operatives, including an up-close look at the personal and operational challenges they overcame, ethical dilemmas they faced and the personal price they were forced to pay for the rest of their lives.
Introduction Bob Cohn, Editor-in Chief Emeritus, St. Louis Jewish Light
Sponsored by Kuhn Foundation
Monday, June 3, 4pm
Holy Lands
France | English
Director: Amanda Sthers
Feature: 100 minutes
A universal story about love, family, loss and tolerance
James Caan leads an all-star cast as a retired American cardiologist who leaves everything behind to become a pig farmer in Israel. Told with humor and heart, Holy Lands chronicles the lives of a dysfunctional family struggling to accept each other as they are. The film captures the poignancy of an adult family striving to remain connected across time, geography, and radically different perspectives on life.
Introduction by Dr. Milton Rubin, PhD Family Therapist
Monday, June 3, 7pm
Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz
Canada • English
Director: Barry Avrich
Documentary: 83 minutes
Human rights pioneer…diminutive hero
A captivating portrait of the last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor and lifelong advocate of “law not war.” Ben Ferencz, at only 27, was the lead prosecutor in the Einsatzgruppen case at Nuremberg, which has been called the biggest murder trial in history. All 22 Nazis tried for murdering over a million people were convicted. Ferencz went on to advocate for restitution for Jewish Holocaust victims and for the establishment of the International Criminal Court.
Introduction by Karen Aroesty, Regional Director ADL Heartland– LIVE via Skype
Sponsored by The Fox Family Foundation
Tuesday, June 4
Tuesday, June 4, 1pm
The Other Story
Israel | Hebrew with English subtitles
Director: Avi Nesher
Feature: 117 minutes
Broken relationships…compassion…forgiveness
A poignant family drama with the tension and intrigue of a juicy thriller. Anat, who’s recently become ultra-Orthodox, is about to get married. When her father tries to stop the wedding, family disputes and conspiracies arise. Meanwhile, her grandfather, a marriage counselor, has a client who has taken the opposite path of Anat – rejecting Orthodoxy for spiritual freedom. When the women cross paths, the consequences are unexpected.
Tuesday, June 4, 4pm
Winter Hunt
Germany | German with English subtitles
Director: Astrid Schult
Feature: 75 minutes
A moral standoff…shocking revelations
In this taut psychological thriller, Lena tries to take justice into her own hands as she shows up at a remote mansion. She claims her car has broken down. She is in pursuit of an elderly Auschwitz guard who lives with his daughter. While they both deny his Nazi past, Lena is determined to get him to confess. Startling revelations throughout will keep you on the edge of your seat!
Sponsored by Linda and Nathan Cohen
Tuesday, June 4, 7pm
Working Woman
Israel | Hebrew/French with English subtitles
Director: Michael Aviad
Feature: 93 minutes
Timely…devastating
While Orna embraces her new job and tries to balance its demands with her home life, she experiences escalating sexual harassment from her boss. With her husband struggling to keep his new restaurant afloat, Orna is the breadwinner for the family. Her rapid rise through the ranks and her increasing financial success seem to parallel a pattern of predatory behavior which ultimately brings her career and marital relationship to the brink.
Introduction by Ellen Futterman, Editor of the St. Louis Jewish Light
Sponsored by Ellen and Dr. Ronnie Gross & the Oberman/Siwak Families
Wednesday, June 5
Wednesday, June 5, 1pm
Reinventing Rosalee
USA | English
Director: Lillian Glass
Documentary: 90 minutes
It’s never too late to live your dreams
Rosalee Glass is a 101-year-old Holocaust survivor, having been taken prisoner to a Russian gulag in Siberia during WW2. She shares her story of survival and transformation, living her life to
the fullest. In her late 80s, she began acting. At 94 she won ‘Miss Congeniality’ in a senior beauty pageant. She was seen by millions in a Super Bowl commercial at 97 and wrote a book sharing her secrets to a long life at 99. And at 100, she rode with Alaskan Sled Dogs!
Introduction by Rosalee Glass, the remarkable 101 year old star of the film with her daughter, Dr. Lillian Glass, filmmaker
Sponsored by Howard N. Lesser
Special Event at the J
Join us prior to the film for a Community Brunch With Rosalee and Lillian Glass
Wednesday, June 5, 10-11:30am
$15 per person; Reservations required
Wednesday, June 5, 4pm
Who Will Write Our History
Poland | English/Polish/Yiddish with English subtitles
Director: Roberta Grossman
Docu-drama: 96 minutes
A penetrating window into every aspect of life and death in the Warsaw Ghetto
In 1940, days after the Nazis sealed the Ghetto, a secret band of community leaders called the Oyneg Shabes decided to collect pictures and testimonies, burying them before their deportations.
This film, created by Roberta Grossman and Nancy Spielberg, brings the archive to life, through new interviews, rarely seen footage, stunning dramatizations and diary excerpts. Voiced by Adrien Brody and Joan Allen.
Introduction by Film Director, Roberta Grossman – LIVE via skype
Sponsored by Judith Gall
Wednesday, June 5, 7pm
The Unorthodox
Israel | Hebrew with English subtitles
Director: Eliran Malka
Feature: 94 minutes
Suspense and humor, underdog activism, dirty politics
A Sephardic father launches a campaign to establish influence in 1980s Israel. Yaakov Cohen is incited to act when his daughter is expelled from a religious school. Fueled by willpower and a sense of inequity, Yaakov and his friends form the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party. A challenge to the ruling Ashkenazi establishment, their grassroots movement sets off one of the most strange, surprising and transformative elections Israel has ever had.
Introduction by Rabbi Moshe Shulman, Young Israel of St. Louis
Sponsored by Gail Glaser
Thursday, June 6
Thursday, June 6, 1pm
A Fortunate Man
Denmark | Danish with English subtitles
Director: Bille August
Feature: 162 minutes
Dreams, pride, ambition
In the late 19th century, Peter Sidenius is an ambitious young man from a devout Christian family in rural Denmark. He rebels against his clergyman father and goes to Copenhagen to study engineering. He winds up in the intellectual circles of a wealthy Jewish family and becomes engaged to the elder daughter. Per, as he now calls himself, conceives a large-scale project which could be a life-changing pipe dream or the idea of the century.
Introduction by Eric Hinrich, President, Danish Club of St. Louis
Sponsored by Laurie and Lee Wielansky
Thursday, June 6, 4pm
Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People
USA | English
Director: Oren Rudavsky
Docu-drama: 84 minutes
Riveting…inspiring
A penniless Jewish immigrant from Hungary became one of America’s most admired and feared media figures. Here is the rare story of the man behind the prize who spoke of “fake news” and the importance of freedom of the press over a century ago. His newspapers, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The New York World, reached an unprecedented number of readers, all while maintaining journalistic ideals.
Introduction by Richard Weiss – journalist, author, writing coach and former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter and editor, 1975-2005
Sponsored by Nancy and Ken Kranzberg
Thursday, June 6, 7pm
Shoelaces
Israel | Hebrew with English subtitles
Director: Jacob Goldwasser
Feature: 90 minutes
Thoughtful, poignant, a family dramedy
With his ex-wife’s untimely demise, Reuven has to care for Gadi, his adult son who has disabilities. Gadi works in Reuven’s auto repair shop, as Reuven vows to atone for past shortcomings. Over time Reuven warms to Gadi’s boundless optimism and infinite capacity for love as their bond becomes tested by issues that prompt complicated ethical and legal questions with profound ramifications. Featuring Dov Glickman from Netflix’s Shtisel.
Introduction by Nicole Johnson, Vice President, Community Living Services, Easterseals Midwest
Sponsored by Eileen and Larry Schechter
Summer Screenings
Sunday, July 14
Sunday, July 14, 4pm
Stockholm
Israel | Hebrew with English subtitles
Director: Daniel Syrkin
Mini Series: 155 minutes
Staenberg Family Complex/Creve Coeur
Hilarious and touching
This wry Israeli original TV mini-series debuted to critical acclaim and follows the darkly comedic story of a contender for a Nobel Prize. His actions affect his four best friends, who become involved in a macabre comedy of errors, revealing vested interests that include pursuit of status, turf wars, old grudges and plain old avarice; soon nothing is what it seems to be. Featuring Dov Glickman from Netflix’s Shtisel.
Sunday, August 18
Sunday, August 18, 4pm
Chasing Portraits
USA and Poland | English/Polish with English subtitles
Director: Elizabeth Rynecki
Documentary: 78 minutes
Staenberg Family Complex/Creve Coeur
One man’s art. One woman’s path to healing.
The compelling and deeply moving quest of Elizabeth Rynecki as she looks to recover her great-grandfather, Moshe Rynecki’s body of artwork, which mostly disappeared after he was deported to the Warsaw Ghetto and perished in a concentration camp. He left a legacy of beautiful paintings depicting the everyday lives of a vanished Polish-Jewish community. Elizabeth seeks to rediscover this legacy, setting out on a journey to find what had been lost but never forgotten.
Introduction by Film Director Elizabeth Rynecki – LIVE via Skype
For additional information on becoming a member of the Jewish Film Society, call Zelda Sparks at 314-442-3169. An individual membership is $36, couples $54 and $18 for students.