Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on January 27, 2015

Two films involving stories about surviving the Holocaust highlight the ongoing Posnack Jewish Community Center Jewish Film Festival running now through March 3.

"Run Boy Run" is based on a story of an eight-year-old Polish Jew who escapes the Warsaw Ghetto and is survived when he is befriended by a Catholic woman who decides to raise him as a Catholic. The film takes the audience on the boy's journey to survival and is being screened on Jan. 29 at 8 p.m. and on Feb. 2 at 1 p.m.

"The film is intriguing because when the Holocaust is told though a child as the main character, there is more vulnerability and the audience will be glued to this film," said Sofia Urman, co-chair of the Jewish Film Festival.

"Mr. Kaplan" has Jacob Kaplan of Uruguay as the central character of a plot in which he suspects a neighborhood tavern owned by a German may be a Nazi war criminal. Kaplan conspires with several friends to kidnap the German.

The film is a thriller in which there are many surprises that will make the audience think the film is taken from the work of Alfred Hitchcock or Rod Serling. The film is being screened on Feb. 4 at 8 p.m. and on Feb. 9 at 1 p.m.

"'Mr. Kaplan' is a story built on suspense and the audience is led to many surprises about both Mr. Kaplan and the person he suspects as a war criminal. The drama is full of mystery, suspense and an ending that could not be predicted," added Urman.

Another film that doesn't feature a Holocaust theme "Hill Start" is a comedy with dramatic overtones about two families, one Ashkenazi, one Sephardic, who are both perturbed when the son of one family marries the daughter of the other. The comedy comes from the stereotypical views family members have of each other. However, a car accident involving the mother of one of the families, forces the families to cooperate and set aside their differences. The film screens on Jan. 31 at 8 p.m.

"The film starts out as being an over the top broad comedy, but following the tragedy of the car accident, the coping and survival skills of both families are highlighted. The film is uplifting to show how families can cope with their differences," said Urman.

The Posnack JCC Jewish film festival differs from other area festivals in that the festival runs for six weeks, as opposed to a limited seven to 10 day run.

"Most people can't spend more than a night or two per week seeing films. Our schedule allows more flexibility than others in the region. As a result, more people can see all or most of the films in our festival because of the longer time frame," said Urman.

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Two Holocaust films highlight Posnack JCC festival

Category: Ashkenazi
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