Between the Arts Alive! Film Festival on November 3rd and the Mobile Jewish Film Festival this weekend, you’re not going to have time to stay home and rent “Nacho Libre.” So much the better; what a wonderful and unique dilemma for Mobilians.
Now in its sixth season, the Mobile Jewish Film Festival, which begins this Sunday, Oct. 29, offers sensitive, sophisticated films dealing with subjects that are both essential to the Jewish experience and universal in their themes. The first film to be shown is “Live and Become” which will start at 7 p.m. on Oct. 29 at the Hollywood Theater in Mobile.
Celebrated at international film festivals, “Live and Become” tells the story of a young boy who becomes one of thousands of Ethiopian Jews airlifted to safety in 1985 to escape persecution in their country. Following the boy to adulthood, this film explores the changing nature of identity from religious and personal perspectives.
The actor who portrays the boy as an adult, and who is himself an Ethiopian Jewish refugee, will be a guest speaker at the screening and at area schools. The actor will speak before the film, from 5:00 to 6:30, and there is an additional $7 charge for this event.
On Monday, Oct. 30 at 7:00 pm the Festival, in partnership with Mobile Christian/Jewish Dialogue, will present “Sister Rose’s Passion” in Byrne Hall at Spring Hill College. This documentary profiles a nun’s efforts to repudiate the charges that Jews are responsible for the death of Jesus Christ. She helped convince the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council to renounce this belief in the 1960s and Father John Pawlikowski, who is seen in the film, will be the guest speaker for this screening, for which there will be no charge.
“Sophie Scholl: The Final Days” tells the true story of Germany’s most famous anti-Nazi heroine; it will be screened on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. at the Hollywood Theater. This film depicts the dramatic final six days of her life, based on long-buried historical records
Another long-buried story will be told in “Nicholas Winton: The Power of Good,” on Thursday morning, Nov.2 in partnership with UMS/Wright Preparatory School. This film will educate students on the life of an English stockbroker who saved the lives of 669 Czech Jewish children from the Holocaust. Although he told no one of his actions for fifty years, he is now often called “Britain’s Schindler.”
The Festival closes at the Hollywood Theater Thursday, November 2nd at 7 p.m. with a screening of “Wondrous Oblivion” starring Delroy Lindo (“Get Shorty,” “Malcolm X,” “The Cider House Rules”). Lindo plays the father of a Jamaican family who experiences racial tension in the community when they move next door to a Jewish family. The film will be followed by a coffee and dessert reception.
This Festival, now in its sixth year, has drawn audiences in the thousands and is one of Mobile’s most important multicultural events. It is the goal of the Institute for Jewish Life and Jewish Cinema South, which coordinates the event with the Mobile Area Jewish Federation and others, to energize smaller communities that would not otherwise experience these kinds of events. Jewish Cinema South brings similar events to Jackson, Miss., Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Montgomery.
Tickets are on sale now, at $7 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. Advance tickets may be purchased from the Mobile Area Jewish Federation; call 251-343-7197 to do so. Tickets may also be purchased at the door beginning 30 minutes before the film screenings. The Hollywood Theater is located at 1250 Satchel Paige Drive and their phone number is 251-471-2776
Contact Asia Frey at afrey@lagniappemobile.com.
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