Event Sponsored by National Foundation for Jewish Culture
Takes Place at Brookline's Temple Ohabei Shalom 11/4-11/7/04
NEW YORK, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on the success of the last
three Conferences of Jewish Film Festivals -in San Francisco, Washington, DC,
and San Diego-- the National Foundation for Jewish Culture is sponsoring the
Fourth Conference of Jewish Film Festivals in conjunction with the 16th Annual
Boston Jewish Film Festival. The Conference takes place at Temple Ohabei
Shalom in Brookline.
Today there are more than 70 Jewish Film Festivals throughout the world --
approximately 60 of them in the U.S. and Canada -- giving rise to a dynamic
field of Jewish cultural expression and experience.
The Fourth Conference of Jewish Film Festivals offers participants a rare
opportunity to meet and network with filmmakers, critics, distributors,
funders, and other film and Jewish communal professionals. From overseas,
participants in Conference sessions include the Haifa International Film
Festival's Pnina Blayer and the London (England) Jewish Film Festival's Judy
Ironside, as well as film distributor Ruth Diskin from Israel. U.S.
participants include Barry Shrage, Executive Director, Combined Jewish
Philanthropies; Cynthia Kane, Sundance Channel Programming and Acquisition;
and Stephanie Rapp, Program Officer for Jewish Life, Walter and Elise Haas
Foundation, San Francisco. Also featured are Richard Siegel Executive
Director, National Foundation for Jewish Culture and Michal Goldman, founder
of The Boston Jewish Film Festival. Film festivals throughout North American
and the world, including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Haifa,
Jerusalem, London, Mexico City, Warsaw will be represented.
Two conference events are free and open to the public: The keynote
address will be delivered by Ilan Stavans, the Lewis-Sebring Professor of
Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College. His books include the
best-selling The Hispanic Condition (1995) and On Borrowed Words: A Memoir of
Language (2001). His talk is entitled "Close Up: The Jewish Diaspora."
Reservations must be made in advance by calling the National Foundation for
Jewish Culture at 212-629-0500x212.
A discussion on Jewish Identity Around the Globe takes places on Sunday,
November 11 from 2:30PM-4:30 PM at Northeastern University's 135 Shillman
Hall. Sponsored by the Jewish Studies Program and Cinema Studies Programs at
Northeastern University, the discussion if informal, but moderated by
Professor James Ross, Chair of Northeastern's Jewish Studies Program and
author of Fragile Branches: Travels Through the Jewish Diaspora. Admission
is on a first-come, first-served basis, as seating is limited to 100.
Other highlights of the three-day event include panel discussions on
programming controversial material; looking at Jewish film festivals as more
than an entree to synagogue membership; marketing to young adult audiences;
and acquisition and distribution of Jewish-themed films, along with
professional development workshops and more informal networking sessions.
The Fourth Conference of American Jewish Film Festivals overlaps with the
opening weekend of the 16th Boston Jewish Film Festival, allowing participants
to supplement conference workshops and lectures with screenings and to observe
the operation of one of the oldest and largest Jewish film festivals. The
Festival presents the best contemporary films from around the world on Jewish
themes, both in its annual Festival and throughout the year. Through features,
shorts, documentaries, and conversations with visiting artists, the Festival
explores Jewish identity, the current Jewish experience, and the richness of
Jewish culture in relation to a diverse modern world.
The Festival is not only an eagerly-anticipated event in Boston's Jewish
calendar, but also a frequent collaborator with other local film festivals and
presenting organizations. Several will participate in film sessions,
including Jose Barriga, Boston Latino International Film Festival; Peter
Flynn, Boston Irish Film Festival; and Connie White, Provincetown
International Film Festival and longtime film booker for local art houses.
The National Foundation for Jewish Culture is the leading advocate for
Jewish cultural creativity and preservation in America. Since 1960, it has
nurtured new generations of writers, filmmakers, artists, composers,
choreographers and scholars. The NFJC's national and international
conferences, partnerships with local communities and institutions, and
sponsorships of annual grants and awards in the arts and humanities bring the
best of Jewish culture to the Jewish community and the American public.
The Foundation's Fund for Jewish Documentary Filmmaking, established in
1996 with a lead grant from the Righteous Persons Foundation, founded by
Steven Spielberg, supports the completion of documentary films that explore
facets if the Jewish experience. It is the only funding mechanism devoted
exclusively to supporting Jewish documentary film. Supported films include The
Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, Trembling Before G-d, and Divan; as well as
two Academy Award Nominated films, Promises and My Architect.
Conference sessions will take place at Temple Ohabei Shalom at 1187 Beacon
Street in Brookline, MA. Boston Jewish Film Festival screenings during the
Conference will take place at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Coolidge
Corner Theatre in Brookline.
The Fourth Conference of Jewish Film Festivals is open to reporters and
editors. For further information - including a program schedule for the
conference -- please call Dana J. Schneider, Associate Program Director at
(212) 629-0500, x212; e-mail: dschneider@jewishculture.org.
SOURCE National Foundation for Jewish Culture
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Related links:
http://www.jewishculture.org
CONTACT:
Dana J. Schneider , +1-212-629-0500, x212
dschneider@jewishculture.org
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