The fifth annual Carmel Jewish Film Festival (CJFF), featuring eight award-winning movies from six countries, as well as speakers and panel discussions, will be held March 7-22.

Carmel, CA, November 23, 2014 – The fifth annual Carmel Jewish Film Festival (CJFF), featuring eight award-winning movies from six countries, as well as speakers and panel discussions, will be held March 7-22. Programs will be presented at Congregation Beth Israel, on Carmel Valley Road near the mouth of Carmel Valley, the Golden Bough Playhouse in Carmel and the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

Tickets may be purchased through the CJFF website, carmeljff.org, or by calling 800-838-3006.

“Our mission is to celebrate the artistry of film and to educate viewers with film offerings conceived and created through a uniquely Jewish lens,” says Susan Greenbaum, event co-chair. “We hope that our festival will help bridge cultural and religious differences and contribute to solidarity and peace within our greater community.”

Films are from Macedonia, United States, France, Israel, Germany and Canada.

Among the highlight of the festival:
On Opening night, Saturday, March 7 at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, the Macedonian film, The Third Half will be shown at 7:30 p.m. A true story of love, football, and the Second World War, the daughter of a wealthy Jewish banker and a poor soccer player elope and ultimately elude the bitter destiny of her people. At the conclusion of the movie there will be a panel discussion featuring MIIS and CSUMB faculty members on the topic, “Identity: What Makes Us Who We Are?

A rare appearance by world-renown Israeli psychiatrist Ilan Kutz will follow the showing of Dolphin Boy on Sunday, March 8 at 5:00 p.m. at the Golden Bough Playhouse in Carmel. Dr. Kutz, who appears in the film, treated the patient over a four-year period using dolphin therapy.

The showing of U.S. film Above and Beyond will precede a Q & A with film producer Nancy Spielberg, sister of Steven Spielberg. The film and discussion will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 14 at the Monterey Institute of International Studies Irvine Auditorium. The film portrays World War II veterans from the U.S. who volunteered to defend the new country of Israel, turning the tide of the War of Independence.

On Closing night, March 22, 7:30 pm at Congregation Beth Israel in Carmel, SFSU professor and Jewish historian, Marc Dollinger, will speak after the showing of American Jerusalem: Jews and the Making of San Francisco. This epic story portrays the role of the pioneering Jews who settled in San Francisco beginning with the Gold Rush.

Additional information about all films and events can be found on the Carmel Jewish Film Festival website: www.carmeljff.org

Contact:
Susan Greenbaum
Carmel Jewish Film Festival
Carmel, CA
(831) 626-6789
greenbaumcarmel@sbcglobal.net
http://www.carmeljff.org