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As one of the longest-running Jewish film festivals in the country, the Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, presented by Alma & Howard Laderberg, educates and engages diverse Tidewater communities, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, by presenting world-class film premieres, repertory cinema, and associated programs that are inspired by Jewish or Israeli history, heritage, and values. Our vision is to create shared experiences and connections through film and cultural programs inspired by Jewish legacy and values.
Traditionally screened at various locations throughout Tidewater, the Festival offers a range of cinema experiences, from compelling documentaries to poignant comedies that engage and spark conversations.
Kids Night Out Babysitting is available at the Simon Family JCC for the BIG Saturday Night Celebration of Jewish Film. Registration required in advance. Space is limited. Register at JewishVA.org/KNO.
Full Festival passes are available for $60 and include entry to all five films. Festival Passes must be purchased by Wednesday, February 1, 2023.
KARAOKE
Additional showing added due to popular demand! SOLD OUT!
Preceded by the short film WEST BANK STORY
Tickets: $12
Limited seating, pre-purchase strongly suggested.
Thursday, February 23 · 5:00 PM - SOLD OUT!
Thursday, February 23 · 7:30 PM - SOLD OUT!
Cinema Café Kemps River
1220 Fordham Drive
Virginia Beach
Directed by Moshe Rosenthal · 2022 · Israel · Hebrew with English Subtitles · 100 Minutes · Trailer
Meir and Tova are a retired couple living in an upscale Tel Aviv apartment complex. With their children off on their own, the parents are left with each other — which, after 46 years, has gotten old. But then, the couple meets Itzik, their confident, flashy bachelor neighbor in the penthouse upstairs. When Meir and Tova visit Itzik for karaoke night, things begin to change. His influence is invigorating: Almost immediately, the couple finds themselves more attentive to their looks, more adventurous, eager for their neighbor’s flattering attentions. But like wallflowers unexpectedly befriended by the cool kids, they also rapidly become over-dependent on their new pal.
WEST BANK STORY
Directed by Ari Sande · 2005 · United States · English · 24 Minutes · Trailer
This musical comedy tells the story of David, an Israeli soldier who falls in love with the beautiful Palestinian cashier, Fatima, despite the animosity between their families' dueling falafel restaurants. Can the couple's love withstand a 2000-year-old conflict and their families' desire to control the future of the chickpea in the Middle East?
iMORDECAI
THE BIG SATURDAY NIGHT CELEBRATION OF JEWISH FILM
Includes a conversation with actor Nick Puga, followed by a champagne and dessert reception with klezmer music by Bagels & Fraylox
Tickets: $25
Limited seating, pre-purchase strongly suggested.
Saturday, February 25 · 7:30 PM
Zeiders American Dream Theater
4509 Commerce Street
Virginia Beach
Directed by Marvin Samel · 2022 · United States · English · 102 Minutes · Trailer
A heart-warming movie based on a true story, iMordecai stars Academy Award-nominated and two-time Emmy-winning actor Judd Hirsch (star of the Emmy-winning sitcom Taxi, and films Ordinary People and Independence Day) as Mordecai Samels and Academy Award-nominated actress Carol Kane (Hester Street) as his wife, Fela, both Polish Holocaust survivors now living in Miami. Their son, Marvin (Academy Award-nominated actor Sean Astin, The Lord of the Rings), is an ambitious cigar maker trying to support his own family while still being there for his aging parents.
When Mordecai's ancient flip phone breaks, he starts to take lessons from Nina (newcomer Azia Dinea Hale), a young employee of Ultratech. She tutors Mordecai on his new iPhone, opening him up to all kinds of novel experiences and adventures, which makes him feel like a kid again. An uplifting comedy and a love letter to the city of Miami, iMordecai urges us all to live the one life we have to the fullest.
THE LEVYS OF MONTICELLO
Includes a conversation with Associate Producer Lisa Stark, and Marc Leepson, author of Saving Monticello, moderated by Vice-Admiral Herman A. Shelanski, US Navy (ret.)
Tickets: $12
Limited seating, pre-purchase strongly suggested.
Sunday, February 26 · 2:30 PM
The Samuel C. Johnson Theater at Norfolk Academy
1585 Wesleyan Drive
Norfolk
Directed by Steven Pressman · 2022 · United States · English · 71 Minutes · Trailer
When President Thomas Jefferson died in 1826, he left behind a mountain of personal debt, forcing his heirs to auction off most of his possessions and sell off his iconic home, Monticello. In 1834, Monticello was purchased by Captain Uriah P. Levy, the first Jewish commodore to serve in the US Navy. A deep admirer of Jefferson’s scholarship and dedication to religious liberty, Levy and his family would go on to own Monticello for nearly a century – far longer than Jefferson and his descendants.
This remarkable documentary uncovers the incredible legacy of the Levy Family while confronting the racism and antisemitism that remain part of the narrative surrounding the national landmark.
NEXT STOP, GREENWICH VILLAGE
An evening dedicated to longtime friend of the festival, Mal Vincent
Introduction by Rabbi Michael Panitz
Tickets: $12
Limited seating, pre-purchase strongly suggested.
Monday, February 27 · 7:15 PM
Naro Expanded Cinema
1507 Colley Ave
Norfolk
Directed by Paul Mazursky · 1976 · United States · English · 111 Minutes · Trailer
Fresh out of college, Larry Lapinsky (Lenny Baker) leaves Brooklyn and moves to Greenwich Village. Larry comes from a traditional Jewish home, and though his mother, Faye (Shelley Winters), wants him to get a steady job, he tries to make it as an actor. He quickly takes his place among some young creative types, including girlfriend Sarah (Ellen Greene) and writer Robert (Christopher Walken). Soon Larry is on the verge of a career breakthrough, but his mother finds it hard to let go.
FAREWELL, MR. HAFFMANN - SOLD OUT!
Adieu, Monsieur Haffmann
Preceded by the short film COLETTE
Tickets: $12
Limited seating, pre-purchase strongly suggested.
Wednesday, March 1 · 7:30 PM
Beach Cinema Alehouse
941 Laskin Road
Virginia Beach
Directed by Fred Cavayé · 2022 · France, Belgium · French with English Subtitles · 115 Minutes · Trailer
In Nazi-Occupied Paris in 1941, all members of the Jewish community are instructed to come forward and identify themselves to authorities. Dedicated jeweler Joseph Haffmann, fearing the worst, arranges for his family to flee the city and offers his employee François Mercier the chance to take over his store until the conflict subsides. But his own attempts to escape are thwarted, and Haffmann is forced to seek his assistant’s protection. It’s a risky proposition for both men, and one that Mercier’s wife Blanche is skeptical of. Tensions rise as the three live in fear of being discovered by the Nazi occupiers. This gripping, morally complex thriller about greed, survival, and courage is replete with Faustian bargains and surprisingly dramatic plot turns.
COLETTE
Directed by Anthony Giacchino · 2020 · France · French with English Subtitles · 24 Minutes · Trailer
In Nazi-occupied France, resistance took courage. When Colette Marin-Catherine was a young girl, she fought the Nazis as a member of the French Resistance. Since 1945, Colette has refused to set foot in Germany. That changes when a young history student named Lucie enters her life and encourages her to visit the concentration camp where the Nazis killed her brother.
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