San Diego’s annual Jewish Film Festival starts throughout La Jolla and San Diego next week, expanding on previous years’ genres in an effort to sate the tastes of a larger audience. “This year’s festival is different in that there’s more comedy, which is nice considering the state of the world,” said Dan Shapiro, director of marketing for the Center for Jewish Culture. “And there’s incredible diversity. We’re talking about a documentary about Jews in basketball to the Holocaust, to a farce — it really runs the gamut.” The Mizel Family Foundation again sponsored the 19th annual Jewish Film Festival, running Feb. 4 through 15 at the AMC La Jolla 12 Theatres; the David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, Jacobs Family Campus; and at Mission Valley, Carmel Mountain and Encinitas theaters. The San Diego Jewish Film Festival committee selects 50 of the best contemporary Jewish-themed films from around the world. The festival’s mission is to expose the community to a variety of Jewish experience through documentaries and fiction, visiting actors, filmmakers and scholars, according to a press release. Festival producers will open the Jewish Film Festival Wednesday, Feb. 4, with “The Little Traitor” and then replay the film Tuesday, Feb. 10, for teens as part of Teen Screen, one of a few days producers said they will hold to focus on families. “Tuesday, February 10 is free to teens, but they’ll need to make a reservation,” said Sandra Lynn Kraus, film festival producer. Festival producers also have created a Baby and Me day on Monday, Feb. 9, at 10:30 a.m., screening “Beau Jest” especially for moms and dads with small children, Kraus said. Babies are free and tickets are $7.50. “[Baby and Me Day] is for parents to bring their infants. We have the lights up a little for them and they know it’s OK if their baby cries,” Kraus said. “It’s getting more and more popular every year.” Families with older children can buy tickets for Sunday, Feb. 15; festival producers will screen “The First Basket” at 1 p.m. at AMC La Jolla Theatres, Kraus said. “For me, our family day is Sunday the 15th. We have two films. ‘The First Basket’ is the origins of basketball in the Jewish community,” Kraus said, adding that the film would be an ideal screening for men and their sons. Kraus said she recommends that women take their daughters to the screening of “Blessed is the Match: the Life & Death of Hannah Senesh,” screening two Sundays, Feb. 8 and 15. “That was funded by women’s groups. It is good for moms and daughters,” Kraus said. This year, Carlsbad High School created an amateur film called “We Must Remember” that was chosen to screen inside the seventh annual Joyce Forum – a collection of short Jewish films chosen by San Diego Jewish Film Festival founder Joyce Axelrod. “We Must Remember” is about 16 students touring concentration camps to learn about the Holocaust. Each year, a committee views and grades the best professional Jewish films, Shapiro said. The past seven years, the festival hosted the Joyce Forum, allowing amateur filmmakers one day to present their work to the public. The Joyce Forum was named in honor of Axelrod in an effort to support emerging filmmakers by showcasing their work. “Joyce and a couple of other people work with emerging filmmakers to choose [the amateur filmmakers],” Kraus said. The Joyce Forum – A Day of Emerging Filmakers begins Monday, Feb. 9, at 2:30 p.m., with the first group of six short films. At 5 p.m., the forum will screen the second group of seven shorts. “We Must Remember” is the final selection, screening at 7:30 p.m. at AMC La Jolla 12 Theatres. Tickets are $7.50 for each of the three sessions. Call (858) 362-1348 for more information, or visit www.lfjcc.org/sdjff. Ticket prices for most films are $11 for JCC members and $13 for non-members, except opening and closing nights, which are $13 for members and $15 for non-members; shorts are $7.50. Festival passes are available. For tickets and more information, visit www.lfjcc.org/sdjff or call (858) 362-1348.