The 26th annual Boston Jewish Film Festival (BJFF), November 5-17, announces its Opening and Closing nights and Mid-Fest Films.
The 26th Festival opens on November 5 with Run Boy Run, a fiction film directed by acclaimed German filmmaker Pepe Danquart. This is a Jewish hero’s tale, a miraculous true-to-life story of Srulik, a 9-year-old boy who flees from the Warsaw ghetto in 1942. He survives among the animals in the woods, eludes SS patrols, and charms locals into taking him in, while keeping alive his Jewish faith through the terrible war against his people. The Toronto Jewish Film Festival adds, “A superlative saga of courage and compassion with a powerhouse conclusion.” In person: screenwriter Heinrich Hadding.
The BJFF Mid-Fest event on November 12 takes a jovial look at the world of delicatessens with the World Premiere of Deli Man, a documentary directed by Erik Greenberg Anjou ( The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground). Laugh your way through hilarious stories of American delicatessens while drooling over the wonderful Jewish food being prepared before your eyes. From New York to Chicago to San Francisco and even to Texas, enjoy the oddball company of the obsessed deli proprietors behind the corned beef, the kreplach, and the magnificent matzo ball soup. You won’t want to miss third-generation Houston deli owner Ziggy Gruber, the maven of all deli mavens! In person: Director Erik Greenberg Anjou and film subject Ziggy Gruber.
My Own Man, directed by David Sampliner, closes the Boston portion of the 26th Festival on November 16. This humorous and thought-provoking documentary asks: What does it mean to be a man? As he turns 40, David, the filmmaker, who has never felt sufficiently masculine, explores this question through witty attempts at “macho” activities. His foil -- his surgeon father, a 1950’s-style male, a “Jewish John Wayne” -- has never questioned traditional gender roles. Can there be a rapprochement between them, especially with David’s wife about to deliver a baby boy? Includes an interview with actor/producer Edward Norton. An person: Director David Sampliner and film subject James Sampliner.
“We are beginning our next quarter century of the Festival with a fresh, forward-looking bang,” says Amy Geller, Artistic Director at BJFF. “I am excited to give our enthusiastic film-goers the first glimpse of the thought-provoking, profound, humorous, and poignant line-up we have in store for this year’s Festival. We have 39 powerhouse films, including several fun, edgy programs curated specifically for and by young adults (20’s-40’s) in our FRESHFLIX picks. There is something for everyone!”
The full film schedule and tickets will be available at www.bjff.org beginning Monday, September 22.
The Boston Jewish Film Festival, a not-for-profit arts organization, celebrates the richness of the Jewish experience through film and media. Throughout the year, the Festival engages and inspires the community to explore the full spectrum of Jewish life and culture.
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