The Lenore Marwil Jewish Film Festival

The 15th Annual Lenore Marwil Jewish Film Festival:
Bringing 30 films from all over the globe

 The Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit is set to host the 15th Annual Lenore Marwil Jewish Film Festival April 7–18, presenting 30 award-winning films that tell the stories of everyone from a talented
songwriter to a famed Israeli war hero to those affected by the Holocaust.
Audiences will be able to see films that break barriers and conquer social
divides so they can better understand the world; they will be transported while
they learn, relax and are entertained.
 
“Each year,hundreds of films have to be viewed in order to choose the very best in the largest Jewish film festival in the country,” said Film Festival Director
Rachel Ruskin. This state-wide festival hosts events in West Bloomfield, Flint, Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor. “Each one of these films is like entering another world, a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, “said Ruskin as the final touches of the festival come together.
 
“This year’s remarkable festival features movies from around the world, including Israel, England, France, Germany and the Czech Republic,”
said Eric Lumberg, Lenore Marwil Film Festival Director.
 
Among this year’s films:
 •
“Life In Stills,” is an inspiring documentary tells the story of Miriam Weissenstein’s “The Photo House” and beautifully portrays the relationship between the 96-year-old owner and her grandson, Ben. Miriam’s shop is slated for destruction when Ben comes into the picture. He is determined to save the building and its collection of nearly1 million negatives that document Israel’s birth, beginnings and most notable moments in history.

Schedule an interview with actor, Ben Peter special guest of the Lenore Marwil Jewish Film Festival
 •
How does one song become incredibly popular when so few people
even understand the words? Who hasn’t heard Hava Nagila? On April 7,  film goers will see why artists such as Bob Dylan  and Elvis have tried
to make “Hava Nagila” their own. It’s played at weddings and sporting events and at social clubs in Moscow.Everyone knows the tune. But where did “Hava Nagila” come from? With interviewsfrom stars of today and yesterday, this film is a hilarious and thoughtful journey.

 • From the moment he was born, Ali learned to hate the Jews. Now he wants to get in with a gang. But first he has to meet their challenge: vandalize the apartment of an older man named Alexander, the least likely person who might become Ali’s friend. Yet what starts out as hatred leads to a bond no one could have imagined in saying, “Kaddish for a Friend,” shown April 15.
 
•“The Price of Kings” takes a look into the life of the legendary and controversial Israeli leader Shimon Peres, a man who went from hawk to dove, from winning the Nobel Peace Prize to mourning the death of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Narrated by Helena Bonham Carter, this intriguing documentary also considers the many sacrifices
     Peres has made along the way. Shown April 16.
 •
“My Best Enemy,” shown April 17, Victor Kaufmann is the son of
wealthy gallery owners and living a fairly comfortable life in Vienna. He has a loving girlfriend, Lena, and a best friend named Rudi. Suddenly things take a dramatic turn when the two men learn surprising
information about each other. Then roles begin to reverse in this film that is
both comic and suspenseful, all while centering around a time of man’s darkest hours.
 
Tickets are $11 each to all films. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.jccdet.org or call The Berman Center for the Performing Arts box office at (248) 661-1900. Or purchase a patron pass, which allows guests to see all films, or a matinee pass (matinees only) for $40 for JCC members and $45 for non-members.

Media Inquires and Interviews with Eric Lumberg Film Festival Chair
Sari Cicurel
The Berman Center for the Performing Arts
Public Relations Director
scicurel@jccdet.org