Sonoma County Jewish Film Festival turns 15–Something for Everyone, October 5 – December 1, 2010
Gertrude Berg in a scene from "Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg," sold out at the Sonoma County Jewish Film Festival. Gertrude starred in the domestic sitcom that started on radio and moved to television and established the character-driven domestic sitcom as a tv staple.
Looking for a mid-week lift? The 15th annual Sonoma County Jewish Film Festival sponsored by the Jewish Community Center of Sonoma County is in full swing and the line-up is excellent. In fact, whether you’re Jewish or not, you will appreciate having the world at your feet with this diverse mix of new international films that includes dramas, comedies, and documentaries, many of which have won numerous awards. With the recent closing of the Rialto Lakeside Cinemas, The Sonoma County Jewish Film Festival is the main platform in Sonoma County for new independent and foreign films that otherwise get little exposure, outside of the film festival circuit. The series of six films runs on Tuesday evenings at 7:15 pm at Cinema West’s Boulevard Cinemas in Petaluma and on Wednesdays at 1 pm and 7:15 pm at the Sixth Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa. Screenings are selling out fast but individual tickets are still available for screenings at both venues.
The festival is the brainchild of Ellen Blustein, program director, who says that she and a dedicated programming committee screen films from around the world that are about engaging with life and that also have a Jewish connection. The idea was originally to expand the outreach of the Jewish Community Center, a non-religious Jewish cultural organization in Sonoma County. “Film was perfect. What life lessons don’t get addressed in film? That’s what keeps people in our community coming out to this festival.”
Blustein is also proud that the festival is financed entirely through private contributions. At each screening, the sponsors for that particular film are asked to stand and are warmly applauded. And, at every screening, there is a raffle—$2 buys a chance to win a fabulous prize, for example, dinner for two at Everest Restaurant and theatre tickets at the Cinnabar Theatre.
Still left in the series—
Yoo-Hoo Mrs. Goldberg: For two and a half decades, Gertrude Berg, the creator of the wildly popular radio and TV show, “The Goldbergs” was the most famous woman in America, and the winner of the first ever Emmy Award for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. The Oprah of her day, Gertrude Berg’s blend of comedy and social commentary, with Jewish characters at the center, endeared her to audiences and made her an American cultural icon. This highly entertaining feature length documentary blends interviews with Ed Asner, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Norman Lear,and Susan Stamberg, among others. Documentary, USA, 92 minutes, English. Tuesday, October 12, 7:15 p.m. PETALUMA and Wednesday, October 13, 1:00 p.m. & 7:15 p.m. SANTA ROSA
Nora’s Will: Nora plots to reunite her family and friends by ending her life on the eve of Passover. In this dark comedy, her curmudgeonly ex-husband of 30 years propels the zany and poignant events forward, including hilarious burial plans, the expectations of several orthodox rabbis, answers to long held secrets and Nora’s meticulously pre-planned Seder. Winner of seven Ariel Awards (Mexican Academy Awards) including Best Picture, Best Original screenplay and Best Actor, Comedy, Mexico, 92 minutes, Spanish, English subtitles. Tuesday, October 19, 7:15 p.m. PETALUMA and Wednesday, October 20, 1:00 p.m. & 7:15 p.m. SANTA ROSA
Saviors in the Night: Based on the true story of three German farm families who hid and saved a Jewish family during Nazi rule, the film reveals the complex relationships and emotional and physical hardships of saviors and saved. Ultimately hopeful, this example of a new self-reflective German film movement shows the potential for the heart to care for all humankind. The names of the farmers have been immortalized in Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. JFF audience award winner. Drama, Germany, 95 minutes, German, French and English, English subtitles. Tuesday, October 26, 7:15 p.m. PETALUMA and Wednesday, October 27, 1:00 p.m. & 7:15 p.m. SANTA ROSA
Camera Obscura: Growing up in late 19th century Buenos Aries, Gertrud is a disappointment to her mother from the moment of her birth. As the invisible ugly duckling, she is compelled to create beauty in everything she does, while remaining unseen. Married off to an older Jewish rancher, her husband hires an itinerant photographer for a family portrait. Through the photographer’s eyes, Gertrudis becomes visible for the first time. This luminous, artistic film uses archival and surrealistic photographs, black and white film, and hand drawn animation. Drama, Argentina, 86 minutes, Spanish and Yiddish, English subtitles. Tuesday, November 16, 7:15 p.m. PETALUMA and Wednesday, November 17, 1:00 p.m. & 7:15 p.m. SANTA ROSA
Hey Hey It’s Esther Blueberger: In this coming-of-age comedy, Esther, a feisty outsider at her posh private girls’ school, becomes desperate to fit in and discover her true self at the time of her Bat Mitzvah. Secretly, rebelling against her “perfect” upper middle class parents, Esther befriends Sunni, a public school bad girl and her super hip mom. Adopting a new identity, Esther becomes entangled in a web of lies, betrayal and bullying, ultimately finding a more honest self in the process. Actors include Keisha Castle- Hughes, Toni Collette and Danielle Catanzariti (winner of AFI Young Actors Award). Comedy, Australia, 103 minutes, English. Tuesday, November 30, 7:15 p.m. PETALUMA and Wednesday, December 1, 1:00 p.m. & 7:15 p.m. SANTA ROSA
Tickets: $10 per matinee tickets, $12 per evening ticket. For further information on tickets, locations and times, contact the Jewish Community Center, Sonoma County (707) 528-4222 or Ellen Blustein (707) 526-5538 or visit the JCC website www.jccsoco.org and click on Film Festival.
33rd Mill Valley Film Festival, October 7-17, 2010–a stellar weekend of cinema ahead, virtually at our doorstep
In "The Debt" which closes the Mill Valley Film Festival on Sunday, Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington and Martin Csokas are Israeli Mossad agents searching for a Nazi war criminal they failed to capture 30 years earlier. Image courtesy Miramax.
There’s still time to catch the 33rd annual Mill Valley Film Festival which runs through Sunday night with a flurry of screenings and closing events. For those of us in Sonoma County, still reeling from the recent closure of our beloved Rialto Lakeside Cinemas, this is a fantastic opportunity to see the launch of new films that are bound to become significant and other quieter gems than will leave us basking in their glow. Like Mill Valley itself, the 11-day festival has a laid-back vibe but is ranked among the top 10 nationally–selling over 40,000 tickets and welcoming more than 200 top filmmakers from around the world. This past week’s guests have included Alejandro Gonzalez Inartitu, Julian Schnabel, Edward Norton and Annette Benning. The closing weekend promises a superb mix of dramas, comedies, compelling documentaries, programming for children, and on stage Spotlight interviews.
Last week, I spoke with co-founder Zoe Elton, who has been director of programming since the festival began 33 years ago. Elton worked with a team who viewed film submissions from over 4o countries and whittled it down to the 143 films that are presented. What does she look for? “I call it ‘informed intuition,’ said Eltman. “I have trained myself to really look at films, not in a film criticism kind of way, but I try more to see what the filmmaker’s intention is and how successful they are in fulfilling that, at getting to the core truth of what they are exploring. When a film starts, you get an idea, a jolt, right out of the gate, whether it’s working on its own terms or not. In terms of topics, we look at what the consensus is that is coming out of films themselves about what is important and we let that speak. It’s fascinating how in looking at films from over 40 countries, you can actually see these connective threads of important issues.”
Co-founder and Executive Director Mark Fishkin confirmed “We’ve been very lucky that we’ve shown really important films that date way back to (1987) “Walking on Water,” the pre-release title for title for “Stand and Deliver,” which went on to become the highest grossing independent film of its time and, more recently, “Precious ”—films that really established themselves in the genre. Over the years, we have built real trust with our audience and with filmmakers. And, in this box office return-oriented environment, the festival becomes very significant because it allows you to see films that you might not see anywhere else.”
Friday night kicks off of with Swedish filmmaker Stefan Jarl’s much-awaited documentary “Submission,” inspired by the results of a blood test that Jarl took that revealed an alarming number of industrial chemical toxins in his blood. Years ago, Jarl began fascinated with shooting a documentary about how humans manipulated nature and how nature strikes back. In “Submission,” Jarl interviews prominent scientists to find out just what problems this build-up of chemicals in the human body can cause. He brings in his pregnant friend, the Swedish actress Eva Rose, who is also tested, to explore the lingering unknown impacts on unborn children. American musician Adam Wiltzie from the band Stars of the Lid made the music and calls the film “a horror movie for the 21st century.” (Friday, October 15, 6:30 PM and Saturday October 16, 4:45 PM Rafael Theatre, San Rafael)
Helen Mirren stars as the sorcerer "Prospera" in Julie Taymor's adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Tempest." Image Melina Sue Gordon, 2010 Tempet Production LLC.
Are middle-aged women invisible? A loaded question if ever there was one. With such a concentration of accomplished and vibrant older women in the Bay Area, we sometimes seem to forget—or do we?– that, for women, aging also means negotiating many transitions related to society’s norms about sexuality, vitality and relevance.
“Julia’s Disappearance” (Giulias Verschwinden) is a German coming of age comedy starring actress German actress Corrina Harfouch. One the very day Julia turns 50, she suddenly realizes that things have shifted, not so much in her but in the way she is perceived and that in turn, impacts the way she acts (out). The film has its North American premiere at Mill Valley. Subplots revolve around age– smitten teens and Julia’s rebellious 80 year old mother. (Friday October 15, 9 PM, Rafael Theatre, San Rafael)
On Saturday’s must-see list is Director Julie Taymor’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s last play “The Tempest” starring Helen Mirren as a gender-switched sorcerer Prospera, the exiled ruler of Milan, who has been banished to an island with her daughter, Miranda. Prospera schemes and plots revenge by conjuring up a storm that traps those who wronged her onto the island where she presides and hatches a scheme to steal back the throne for her daughter. (Saturday, October 16, 8:45 PM, Sequoia Theatre, Mill Valley)
Ineke Houtman’s film “The Indian” (De Indiaan), has its North American premiere on Sunday and is part of the Children’s FilmFest. It tells a (fictionalized) story close to hearts of many international adoptees and adoptive parents—how to handle the inevitable situation that emerges when your child understands that he is from another culture, is different from his adoptive parents and wants to know more about who he really is. Eight year old Koos Steggerda desperately wants to look like his adoptive Dutch father but that’s going to be a tall order for the small dark-haired boy Peruvian boy who is Indigenous. One day, by accident, Koos meets another Peruvian boy in the market and at that moment he meets and sees his own face, a life-changing moment for any adoptee. (Sunday 12:15 PM, Rafael Theatre, San Rafael)
Sunday also includes two important documentaries.
In Julia's Schulberg's restoration of her father Stuart Schulberg’s film "Nuremberg: Its Lessons for Today," courtroom cameras capture the very first trial of Nazis. Nuremberg introduced an explosive and controversial principle into international law: the idea that political, military and business leaders could be held personally liable for waging aggressive warfare, for murdering civilians or captured enemies, and for "crimes against humanity." Film still courtesy of Julia Schulberg.
The back story behind this film’s 2009 restoration is fascinating. In 2006, producer Sandra Schulberg, granddaughter of former Paramount studio chief B.P. Schulberg, got a grant to write The Celluloid Noose, a forthcoming book about her father Stuart Schulberg and uncle Budd Schulberg’s hunt for Nazi film and photo evidence that was integral to the Nuremberg trial (which convened in 1945). In 2009, she completed (with Josh Waletzky) the restoration of her father’s filmthe restoration of her father’s film and why it never released in the U.S. remains a mystery. The Mill Valley screening will be the West Coast premiere of this critically important documentary. (Sunday, October 17, 2 PM, Sequoia Theatre, Mill Valley)
Ever wonder how effective Peace Corps missions are over the long run? Niger 66, A Peace Corps Diary by award-winning filmmaker Judy Irola has its world premiere at Mill Valley and looks back on a critical Peace Corps mission in Niger that Irola participated in. In the summer of 1966, a group of 65 idealistic Peace Corps volunteers headed for Africa and landed in the dusty, heat-scorched desert of Niger. They stayed for two years working in agriculture, digging wells and starting health clinics for women and their babies. In 2008, five of them returned to Niger for three weeks to revisit the country and witness how their work had improved the lives of the people there. Irola captured the poignant experience from village to village. (Sunday, October 16, 2:30 PM, Sequoia Theatre, Mill Valley)
The festival concludes on Sunday night with two screenings that will be hard to choose between.
In “The Debt,” a group of Israeli Mossad agents– Ciaran Hinds and Tom Wilkinson and Helen Mirren–search for a Nazi war criminal
In "127 Hours," Bay Area actor James Franco plays hiker Aron Ralston who becomes pinned under a bolder while hiking solo in Southern Utah and is forced to cut off his arm. Franco, who has also been in Pineapple Express, Milk and Spider Man , will be honored in a "Spotlight presentation at the Rafael Film Center on Sunday, October 17.
they failed to capture 30 years earlier. Mirren’s character lied about killing him so when he surfaces, she has to cover her tracks. The unbearable weight of this secret she has carried has unforeseen consequences. The film is directed by John Madden, who achieved great success with “Shakespeare in Love.” (Sunday, October 17, 5 PM and 5:15 PM, Sequoia Theatre, Mill Valley)
In “127 Hours,” Bay Area native James Franco, plays Aron Ralston, a hiker whose solo trip in remote Southern Utah goes tragic when he is pinned under a bolder that falls on him and he decides to cut off his arm. The film was directed by Academy Award-winning director Danny Boyle (“Slumdog Millionaire”) and based on Ralston’s harrowing story Between a Rock and a Hard Place. After the screening, Franco will take the stage for an onstage Spotlight interview with Danny Boyle.
(“127 Hours” screens Sunday, October 16, 5 PM, Rafael Theatre, San Rafael) Franco will be at a reception at Frantoio Restaurant & Olive Oil Company at 1:30 PM. (152 Shoreline Highway, Mill Valley) ($85 for the reception and Spotlight interview following “127 Hours”; $30 screening and Spotlight interview) Franco also stars in “William Vincent” about a Manhattan-dwelling outsider who slips into the shady New York crime world. (“William Vincent” screens Saturday, October 16, 9:30 PM, Sequoia Theatre, Mill Valley and Sunday, October 1617, 4:30 PM, Rafael Theatre, San Rafael)
Tickets: Prices vary for screenings and closing events. Check for availability and additional screenings at http://www.cafilm.org
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