For the past five years, Jewish culture, art, and expression have taken center stage at the New Vic theater in the form of celluloid stories when the Santa Barbara Jewish Film Festival descends on the venue for five days of screenings. From Wednesday, March 11, through Sunday, March 15, folks can steep themselves in movies from around the world that focus on the Jewish experience.
The festival opens with the 2019 German film When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, a film based on the eponymous book about a young girl and her family who are forced to flee Berlin to Zurich in 1933 to escape the grip of the Nazis. Other titles include Aulcie, the true story of the rise, fall, and redemption of New Jersey–born basketball player Aulcie Perry, who was recruited by Israel’s pro basketball league; Forgiveness, which follows a 20-year-old American Israeli who moves to Israel and finds himself committed to a mental institution; and Those Who Remained, a story about Holocaust survivors post-WWII through the eyes of a young Hungarian girl.
Also on the slate are Incitement, The Rabbi from Hezbollah, An Irrepressible Woman, Carl Laemmle, Tel Aviv on Fire, Chewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal, Golda’s Balcony, and closing night film Crescendo, the multi-award-winning story about a world-famous conductor who creates an Israeli-Palestinian youth orchestra that becomes mired in tensions, misunderstandings, and divergent beliefs.
The Jewish Film Festival runs Thursday-Monday, March 11-15, at the New Vic (33 W. Victoria St.). Call (805) 957-1115 or see sbjewishfilmfestival.org.