About Buckhead reporter. (Sandy Springs, GA) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 2020)
FEBRUARY 2020 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net Art & Entertainment | 25 Jewish Film Festival marks 20 years with big slate of screenings BY JUDITH SCHONBAK Celebrating its 20th anniversary year, the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival brings an extraordinary lineup of diverse films to venues across Atlanta and to its anchor venue, the Sandy Springs Perform ing Arts Center. What began two decades ago with a handful of films and a mod est number of a little more than 1,900 filmgoers is expected to wel come more than 40,000 attendees for this year’s run, Feb. 10 through 27. The anniversary program counts a total of 64 films: 48 features and 16 shorts. Among them are award-winning films and award- nominees, three world premieres, five North American premieres, two US premieres and a number of Atlanta premieres, from 17 coun tries around the globe. For many, it’s a film lovers’ wonderland. It is the largest Jewish Film Festival in Atlanta and one of the largest in the world. The screenings are held at seven metro Atlanta venues. There are two venues in Sandy Springs: Regal Perimeter Pointe, which is host ing 38 screenings, and Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center’s Byers Theatre, which is hosting 19 screenings, including two screenings of the closing night film on Feb. 27, “Saul & Ruby, To Life” and an eve ning reception celebration. The word is out that Saul Drier and Ruby Sosnovicz, two Holocaust survivors and musicians, in their nineties, who are the subjects of that closing night film, will be there. It’s an uplifting story of the duo seeking to bring peace and hope through mu sic in the U.S. and their home country of Poland, even as anti-Semitism is on the rise. Mounting the film festival is a major undertaking that involves hundreds of people and a complex set of considerations, from the films themselves, venues, guest speak ers, finances and more. Film festival president Max Leventhal has been involved with the event since its early days as one of the original members of the board of the Atlan ta Jewish Film Society. He painted a vivid picture of what it takes to make the event happen every year. “Committed, passionate people” is his first stroke on the canvas. “The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival has a small but mighty staff of 11 people year-round. Most of the others are volunteers - more than 400. What makes a Jewish film? It’s a frequently asked question by au diences and the public in general. On Feb. 23, for the first time on the festival roster, there is an evening conversation between audi ence members and a five-person panel on just that topic at the San dy Springs Performing Arts Center. The panel includes local and na tional film experts, Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul and Rabbi Brad Levenberg of Temple Sinai. The AJFF description is “a cinematic exploration of Jewish experi ence — Jewish culture and history, life in Israel, and the work of Jew ish artists — entertaining and engaging diverse audiences with film through a Jewish lens.” “Essentially it encompasses obvious Jewish topics, such as life in Israel, the Holocaust, Jewish creative people, foreign films with Jew ish characters and more. We try to be relatively broad,” said Leven thal. The question is an important part in the orientation of the Film Evaluation Committee of more than 200 members. “Importantly, the committee is a widely diverse group that looks like metro Atlanta,” said Leventhal. “There are many loyalists and newcomers, too,” he added. “For the 2020 festival, we started with 700 films to consider. Think of it as a big fun nel,” said Leventhal. “The committee’s job is to get it down to a workable number. This year, there were 21,561 evaluations, to be exact, according to the AJFF. The eval uations go on through October, then the screening and streaming process begins. Streamings are private for committee members via their computers, TVs and phones. For detailed information on show schedules and tickets, go to ajff.org. ATLANTA JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL/VAUGHN GIT- TENS Max Leventhal, president of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. <ytuJk krcLcejlct FINE JEWELRY 2090 Dunwoody Club Drive Ste 107 Sandy Springs, GA 30350 770-396-0492 www.lauderhills.com
