![\"Jewish](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/web-Sonny-Boy-3-300x199.jpg\" "\\"web")
\u201cThis year\u2019s festival line up is extraordinary in its depth and quality,\u201d Festival Chair Saundra Saperstein said in a release. \u201cYou will find these films enticing, exciting, heart-felt and provocative.\u201d<\/p>\n
Opening the festival is \u201cUnder African Skies,\u201d documenting singer-songwriter Paul Simon\u2019s return to South Africa 25 years after his album \u201cGraceland\u201d was released. \u201cThe film may have you seeing the artist in an entirely new light,\u201d organizers said.<\/p>\n
The closing night film is \u201cHava Nagila: The Movie,\u201d which explores the touching, up-and-down path of the movie\u2019s title song. The filmmaker interviewed Harry Belafonte, Leonard Nimoy, The Klezmatics and Glen Campbell, among others, to show how the song \u201crose above boundaries of time, space and culture\u201d to unite a world.<\/p>\n
Partnering with North Park based-FilmOut San Diego, festival organizers are also screening \u201cMelting Away,\u201d a drama centering on a family coming to terms with their transgender son. Anna \u2013 formerly Assaf \u2013 was kicked out of her home as a teenager, and, by chance, is reunited with her family several years later. Organizers said there is a \u201csurprise introduction\u201d scheduled for the screening.<\/p>\n
\u201cMelting Away\u201d is being shown with \u201cFlamingo Pride,\u201d a humorous, animated short that tells the story of the only heterosexual flamingo in a \u201cflock of gay flamingos.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most films screen several times, at four different locations spanning from Reading Cinemas 14 in North Clairemont and the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center\u2019s (LFJCC) Jacobs Family Campus in La Jolla, to the Dove Library in Carlsbad, Calif. and San Marcos Stadium in San Marcos, Calif.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese films may not be seen in San Diego again, so now is the time to catch them,\u201d Saperstein said.<\/p>\n By popular demand, organizers said this year\u2019s Centerpiece Film is an \u201cencore screening\u201d of \u201cStories from an Undeclared War.\u201d First shown at the LFJCC\u2019s Underwriter Kick-off in 2011, the film documenting 150 at-risk teens from Long Beach, Calif. \u2013 called the Freedom Writers \u2013 inspired the full-length drama \u201cFreedom Writers\u201d starring Hillary Swank. It is professor Erin Gruwell\u2019s story, and Gruwell, along with several Freedom Writers, will be in attendance at this year\u2019s festival. There are two screenings of \u201cStories from an Undeclared War.\u201d<\/p>\n Additionally, this year brings back the family-day event, \u201cShalom Sesame,\u201d featuring 12 episodes from the creators of \u201cSesame Street\u201d that highlight Jewish holidays, traditions and culture. The event is on Feb. 17, and last year\u2019s \u201cShalom Sesame\u201d sold out. Organizers are recommending early reservations.<\/p>\n Sponsored by the LFJCC, the festival is produced by the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture, whose mission is to \u201cexpand and enrich cultural life\u201d by presenting “the finest in Jewish artistic expression, encouraging the preservation of Jewish culture and heritage, and nurturing new creativity in the arts.\u201d<\/p>\n The 11th annual Joyce Forum, celebrating \u201crising stars and seasoned filmmakers,\u201d organizers said, will be presented for one night only at this year\u2019s festival. Named in honor of Festival founder Joyce Axelrod, the forum supports upcoming filmmakers by bringing them together with established artists and industry professionals.<\/p>\n On Feb. 11 at 2 p.m., the Joyce Forum will present seven short films, followed by two longer films at 5 p.m. At 7:30 p.m., three films \u2013 \u201cLife in Stills,\u201d \u201cMatkot\u201d and \u201cAudition\u201d \u2013 will close the forum.<\/p>\n Single ticket prices for most films range from $10.75 to $13.75, with discounts for JCC members and seniors. The Joyce Forum is $7.50 for the 2 p.m. showing, and festival passes are available.<\/p>\n For complete information about the festival \u2013 including the Flix Mix young-adult mixer and the Teen Screen Night \u2013 visit sdcjc.org\/sdjff or call 858-362-1348.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Over 16,000 attendees expected for 11-day cultural event By Anthony King | SDUN Editor The 23rd season of the San Diego Jewish Film Festival returns Thursday, Feb. 7 for an 11-day, 47-film extravaganza, dubbed the largest Jewish cultural event in San Diego. Organizers expect over 16,000 attendees to the festival, which ends Feb. 17.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":245775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Jewish Film Festival returns for 23rd year","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11547,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-245774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-features","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Jewish](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/web-Stories-Undeclared-Erin-253x300.jpg\" "\\"web")