There will be seven venues, dozens of films, and a jury handing out prizes at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, which begins Jan. 24 and announced its full lineup Thursday night on its website.
The 23-day festival will offer 75 films at seven venues, including a batch of Atlanta premieres and some world premieres.
The opening night film, "Alone in Berlin," featuring Emma Thompson and Brendan Gleeson, will be screened at the mammoth Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, which seats 2,750 moviegoers.
Opening night, Jan. 24, is staged as a gala event with refreshments, speakers and other add-ons that increase the desirability of those tickets, and put a remarkable number of people in those seats.
Another big event will be closing night, Feb. 15, which will be held in the 1,700-seat Symphony Hall at the the Woodruff Arts Center. The featured film will be "The Women's Balcony," a comedy that pokes sharp fun at patriarchal standards.
One change in this year’s festival is the awarding of jury prizes by a panel of experts, a convention that is a regular part of other independent festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival.
The prizes don’t come with cash, “but we’re giving out a lot of prestige,” said the festival’s executive director, Kenny Blank.
Judges will award prizes in six categories, including a “Building Bridges” prize, for films that foster understanding between religious, ethnic and cultural groups.
Such recognition will help boost the reputation of films that premiere here, and will also increase the prominence of the festival, Blank said. “It is a nod, like many things, to bring us in line with what our peers are doing in the field.”
In another change, the festival will, for the first time, screen movies on Saturday afternoons. “Traditionally we have gone dark from Friday night to Saturday at night, out of respect for Jewish tradition,” Blank said, “but the reality is for most people the time they can get out to take in culture and entertainment is on the weekends.”
Films presented on Saturdays will also be shown on other days of the festival, he said.
Opening night, Jan. 24:
In “Alone in Berlin,” Emma Thompson and Brendan Gleeson are a working-class German couple who quietly wage a personal campaign of anti-Nazi resistance.
Directed by Vincent Pérez, “Alone in Berlin” is inspired by a true story and adapted from Hans Fallada’s best-seller.
A gala party will precede the screening.
Closing night, Feb. 15:
The women’s balcony at a Jerusalem synagogue collapses during a bar mitzvah party, injuring a few but also causing a rift in the congregation. This will be an Atlanta premiere of the comical narrative, “The Women’s Balcony,” which was nominated for five Israeli Academy Awards.
The event, held in Symphony Hall at the Woodruff Arts Center, includes a post-screening dessert.
Young Professionals Night, Feb. 11:
Ethnic identity, family dysfunction and an unexpected pregnancy complicate the planned wedding of an Arab-Jewish gay couple in "Family Commitments," a film from Germany. Aimed at younger attendees, the event includes a pre-show party.
The screening will take place in the Rich Auditorium, at the Woodruff Arts Center.
In addition to new movies, the festival always brings a few classics back into circulation. This year, visitors will see the 1982 Peter O'Toole romp, "My Favorite Year," along with the 1987 Woody Allen comedy "Radio Days."
“We always want to honor Hollywood and make that an element of the festival,” Blank said. “Many people have seen (these movies) but have never seen them on the big screen. This gives people a chance to see them the way they are meant to be seen.”
The festival will amuse, but it will also unsettle, Blank added. There are at least two films sure to spark disagreement.
"Mother With a Gun" recounts the violent history of the Jewish Defense League through the eyes of its current leader.
Shelley Rubin left behind an affluent Los Angeles upbringing to marry JDL leader Irv Rubin; she took over the organization after his suicide in prison. This documentary tells of personal pain and violent activism.
Filmmaker Shimon Dotan immerses himself in the culture of the West Bank settlements in "The Settlers." Viewed by the international community as a roadblock to the peace process, these Jewish settlers have been establishing and expanding outposts in the occupied territories since Israel's victory in the 1967 Six-Day War.
“We want to move people out of their safe spaces,” Blank said. “I think the audience wants to be provoked and challenged a bit. … When they choose to walk through the doors to the theater, they know the festival will take them to new places and challenge their thinking on things.”
EVENT PREVIEW
The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, Jan. 24-Feb. 15, will feature 202 screenings of 75 films at seven venues. Tickets go on sale Jan. 18 and range from $10 to $18; available online at ajff.org, by phone at 678-701-6104, or at the venues.
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