The 19th annual San Diego Jewish Film Festival sponsored by the Mizel Family Foundation will run Feb. 4 -15 at various venues. There will be feature-length films, shorts and documentaries. Here is a small sampling of the many films that will be shown. Star power is evident in the film “The Deal” with Meg Ryan and William H. Macy. Macy plays a failed Hollywood producer whose career is in a downward spiral. He convinces studio head Ryan to finance one of his action-adventure films for $100 million called “Lev Disraeli.” Shooting in South Africa, his star, L.L. Cool J, is kidnapped. Macy moves the entire production to Prague and starts over, filming the story of the real Benjamin Disraeli, the 19th century British prime minister. Director Steven Schacter takes a very funny look at the twisted side of Hollywood. Ryan married actor Dennis Quaid in 1991. She dumped Quaid and ran off with Australian actor Russell Crowe when they made a film together. Crowe later dumped Ryan and married a beautiful Australian girl. Ryan then had her lips inflated like an inner tube to pout about it. Feb. 14, 15. The hysterically funny actress/singer Lainie Kazan stars as — what else — a Jewish mother in “Beau Jest!” Her daughter Sarah is in love with a non-Jewish guy. To stop her mother from trying to fix her up with a “nice Jewish boy,” Sarah hires a Christian actor to pose as her perfect Jewish beau. This was a stage hit in San Diego and Off-Broadway. Kazan may appear in person. Feb. 7, 8, 9. French legend Jeanne Moreau stars in the film “Plus Tard: One Day You’ll Understand,” set in Paris in 1987. As the trial of Klaus Barbie, the Butcher of Lyons, is on TV, a French businessman becomes obsessed with discovering the truth of his family’s history. His mother (Moreau) has closed the door on her past. He visits the small village where his grandparents hid during World War II. Finally, Moreau reveals her past and hopes it will mean a better future for her family. The beautiful Moreau has been a star of international cinema since 1955. She was once married to American director William Friedkin, and had romantic affairs with Lee Marvin, Louis Malle (later married to Candice Bergen) and fashion designer Pierre Cardin. Feb 7, 14. This reporter always loved character actress Gertrude Berg on her old black-and-white ’50s TV show “The Goldbergs.” The radio show debuted in 1929 (I swear I wasn’t there) and then became a wildly popular TV show from 1949 to 1956. Playing Molly Goldberg, Berg was the quintessential “Jewish mother” character and brought laughs to millions of people for years. Now director Aviva Kempner brings us the splendid film “Yoo Hoo Mrs. Goldberg” about the life and career of this most famous of Jewish actresses. Feb. 11. “Darling!” is the catch phrase of South Africa’s Dame Edna — comedian Pieter-Dirk Uys. He calls his character, who is half Jewish, Mrs. Evita Besuidenhout. He fought the apartheid system with satire and is now a vocal spokes-lady for HIV/AIDS charities. He uses his campy drag style to inform teenagers about the dangers of AIDS, which has infected 5. 5 million South Africans. Feb. 10. There are many more films from which to choose. For information, call (858) 362-1348.
