Devorah Schramm is an American-born Orthodox Jewish pianist who relocates to Israel during the most intense days of the Intifada, an uprising between Palestinian Arabs of the Gaza Strip and West Bank during the early ’90s.
When she begins teaching 9-year-old Rasha Hamid ” a blind and autistic Palestinian girl ” the ropes of playing piano, a friendship is built, reinforcing the concept that peace can be established in the Middle East.
The tale of Schramm and her pupil, narrated by actress Brooke Shields, unfolds in director Richard Trank’s 2005 documentary “Beautiful Music,” which is being shown twice during this year’s 17th annual Jewish Film Festival, running Thursday, Feb. 8 through Sunday, Feb. 18.
Trank’s film will be a part of the “Family Day Inclusion” program from 2-4 p.m. Feb. 18 and the “Music on the Screen” showings from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. that day at the AMC La Jolla 12 Theatres.
The director will not be present at the event, but guest speaker Eric Bromberger, San Diego Symphony conductor, will discuss “Bringing Peace Through Music” at the event.
A forum with filmmaker Alan Berliner, who has received three Emmy Awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, will be included as part of the festival Sunday, Feb. 11, and Monday, Feb. 12.
Berliner will discuss his work, including three documentaries that record the ups and downs of everyday life. It is Berliner’s style that sets him apart from other filmmakers, according to Sandra Krauss, this year’s festival producer.
In “The Sweetest Sound,” (2001), Berliner invites everyone who has the same name as his to his home for dinner. Through a set of interviews with his elderly father, the filmmaker examines the humorous and emotional aspects of aging in “Nobody’s Business” (1996). “Wide Awake” (2006) chronicles insomniac Berliner’s efforts to fall asleep.
Directors Nicole Newnham and Bonni Cohn will also be on hand Wednesday, Feb. 14, for the screening of their film, “The Rape of Europa,” a documentary that delves into the lives of two U.S. Monuments men who are sent to Europe to safeguard and return displaced art that was looted by the Third Reich’s Nazi troops during World War II.
Showing 50 Jewish-themed films, the festival will also offer guest appearances from 17-year-old filmmaker Melissa Bloom, whose five-minute documentary, “Schmeardown,” captures a bagel sandwich-making contest between two teenage girls at a local coffee shop. Bloom will attend the Feb. 14 showing at the David and Dorothea Garfield Theatre.
The AMC La Jolla 12 Theatres is located at 8657 Villa La Jolla Drive, and the David and Dorothea Garfield Theatre is located at the Lawrence Family Jewish Center, 4126 Executive Drive.
Ticket prices for the films are $10.50 for JCC members, and $12.50 for the general public. Tickets can be purchased by calling (858) 362-1348 or by visiting www.lfjcc.com.
