A NY evening honoring Sharon Haber
Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012
5:30 p.m. Reception, Phillips Social Hall
with jazz music by the Keith Oxman Trio
7 p.m. Program & Film, Elaine Wolf Theatre, MACC

Restoration

Director: Yossi Madmoni
2011/Israel/90 minutes
Hebrew with English Subtitles

Fidelman’s life is turned upside down when his longtime partner in their furniture
restoration business suddenly passes away. With the business on the
edge of bankruptcy, his son Noah, who has no appreciation for antiques, is
eager to close the business, demolish the building and build a new apartment
complex. But, a mysterious stranger appears, and Fidelman sees new
possibilities for the business. The film comes alive through complex and
multi-layered characters and their relationships form the foundation of the
film. Like fine antique furniture, this film is full of subtleties and nuances to
be savored and enjoyed long after the film is over. Colorado Premiere
—Roberta Bloom

Tickets start at $150

Nominated for 11 Ophirs (Israeli Academy Awards), Winner of Best Film at the
Jerusalem Film Festival; Dramatic Screenwriting Award at Sundance

I tend to believe in coincidence, that the course of our lives is led by accidental incidents and the decisions we make as a result of these incidents.
— Director Anna Justice

Remembrance is the true story of two lovers who meet in a concentration camp in 1944. Tomasz, a Polish prisoner pulls off a daring rescue escaping from the camp with his Jewish lover Hannah Silberstein. Hiding her at the home of his sister-in-law, Tomasz returns to his work in the Polish resistance, promising to return for her. As the war comes to an end, each believes the other has died. Hannah is married and living in New York with her husband and daughter when she discovers that after more than 30 years, indeed, Tomasz is alive,. Now she must decide what to do. Anna Justice also directed the film Max Minsky and Me (DJFF 2009). Colorado Premiere

—Julie Schwarz

Winner of 2011 Berlin & Beyond Film Festival Audience Award for Best Feature Film

Film Sponsor

Ricky and Don Safer

Take the fundamental ingredients of the American slasher flick, a touch of camp and a sly cinematic wink, then stir the whole thing up in an Israeli national park and what do you get? Israel’s first bona fide horror film! This Friday the 13th meets Lord of the Flies thriller, opens on a dark, dark night, in a dark, dark forest, where a mysterious couple narrowly escapes a human trap set by a sadistic lunatic. The following day, with the killer still hunting his prey, a foursome of hapless tennis players, a duo of bad cops and a lone ranger with his dog, become snared in the deadly web of terror. In the tradition of the Scream films, Rabies combines informed nods to horror conventions
with genuine shock-and-chill frights. Wickedly fun!

—Steve Glickman

Shown with the short, A Reuben by Any Other Name

Critics Award, Fantasporto; Tribeca Film Festival; Israel Film Festival New York; San Francisco Jewish Film Festival

Film Sponsor

MACC XY Events

An L.A. deli provides the setting for this humorous look at an extremely popular sandwich-the Reuben. When a man walks in to order a Reuben patrons opine on the age old question: which is the real Reuben? You might ask yourself “Why should I care?” but these folks take themselves pretty seriously!

How could a blind accordion player see what Mossad agents and Nazi hunters could not? This is the thrilling true story of how a blind Holocaust survivor living in Argentina eventually uncovers the hidden history of his neighbor. As his suspicions grow, he enlists his daughter in his efforts to bring the truth to light. With cunning and persistence, they succeed where others could not. The account about SS Officer Adolf Eichmann’s secret life, his family and his capture is full of deception and intrigue. Presented by German filmmaker, Raymond Ley, as a docu-drama, this film will keep you on the edge of your seat. Colorado Premiere

Minneapolis International Film Festival; Documentary Edge Film Festival;Boston Jewish Film Festival

Film Sponsor

Julie and Saul Schwarz

In-Kind Sponsor

Holocaust Awareness Institute

Morad, a high school student from an Arab village in northern Israel is kidnapped and brutally beaten by classmates when an innocent text message to a female classmate is misinterpreted. Weeks later Morad appears physically healed yet remains completely disconnected from humans and unable to communicate, suffering from extreme post traumatic stress disorder. His devoted father quits his job and accompanies him to a treatment facility in Eilat where Morad begins to interact with dolphins and, eventually, with the humans around him. This remarkable film follows him through four years of recovery interweaving documentation from Morad’s doctor, tapes from the dolphin facility and footage shot by the filmmakers who are granted exceptional access by Morad and his family throughout his difficult journey. Colorado Premiere

—Roberta Bloom

Post Film Discussion with filmmakers

Dani Menkin and Judith Manassen Ramon

Israeli Ophir for Best Documentary; Jury Mention Award, Jerusalem Film Festival; Hotdocs Documentary Film Festival

Film Sponsor

Rose Youth Foundation & Joanne Singer

In-Kind Sponsor

Jewish Community Relations Council

Fania, her baby daughter, emotionally scarred brother and her uncle are all that is left of her family after the Russian pogroms. Together they join the first wave of European Jews seeking new lives in late 19th Century Palestine. Soon she meets Yechiel, a recent widower with two young children who is a farmer from the northern Galilee. As a means of survival, Fania and Yechiel agree to a marriage of convenience. Together they face the hard pioneer life in Yechiel’s tiny village in the north near Safed. Necessity brought them together, their intertwining lives begins to bind them. Based on the bestselling novel by Shulamit Lapid, this romantic saga interweaves a beautiful love story with the backdrop of the Jewish dream to rebuild the land of Zion. This story about the hardships of the land, the challenge of building a life and the blossoming of love will captivate your heart. Colorado Premiere

—Jeffrey Reiss

Selected Awards & Festivals
Best Israeli Film, Berlin Jewish Film Festival; Best Film, Strasbourg Jewish
Film Festival; Special Jury Award, Medias International Film Festival; Golden
Rooster, One Hundred Flowers Film Festival, China; UK Jewish Film Festival

Film Sponsor

Jeffrey and Shira Reiss

In-Kind Sponsor

The L.E.A. (Littleton-Englewood-Aurora) Chapter of Hadassah and The Denver Chapter of Hadassah

Two impoverished brothers in 1960s Poland are drawn into a neo-Nazi gang. When they are caught vandalizing a Jewish neighborhood, their mother is distraught. Only then does she reveal her hidden past. Determined to build a new and better life for her boys, she decides they must leave Poland. Due to her youngest son’s obsession with Australia, she leads them to believe that is where they will start a new life. It is not until they are well into their journey that the boys discover they are headed in a different direction. Once they are on land, they will struggle with their mother’s past and their own future. Colorado Premiere
—Roberta Bloom

Audience Prize, Jerusalem Film Festival; Off Camera Festival, Poland

Film Sponsor
Mark and Krista Boscoe

Between Two Worlds is a personal investigation using five unique stories that go beyond the superficial to reveal the passionate debates over identity and generational change that are taking place within today’s American Jewish community. Powerful and divergent feelings about Israel, issues involving ethnic and religious continuity, and the growth of the neo-conservative movement are just some of the provocative issues this film addresses. Once seen as a voting block, American Jews no longer seem to be speaking in a singular voice. Clearly intended to spark dialogue, Between Two Worlds is sure to spark a stimulating dialogue about today’s American Jewish community. Colorado Premiere

—Roberta Bloom

Post Film Discussion with Directors
Deborah Kaufman and Alan Snitow

Selected Awards & Festivals
Jerusalem Film Festival; San Francisco Jewish Film Festival; Toronto Jewish
Film Festival; Washington Jewish Film Festival

Film Sponsor
Marcia and Bernie Karshmer
Speaker Sponsors
Margery Goldman, Lynda Goldstein and the
program in Jewish Studies, UC Boulder
In-Kind Sponsor
Center for Judaic Studies, University of Denver

“We are in the preliminary stage of one of the greatest battles in history. I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”

“These indiscriminate bombings of London are a part of Hitler’s invasion plans. Little does he know of the spirit of the British nation or the tough fiber of the Londoners. You can ask, ‘what is our aim?’ I can answer in one word: Victory.”

Like his words, the man himself is an inspiration to his people during their darkest hour. Many say, if not for Churchill’s determination to fight Hitler’s invasion of Britain at any cost, the Nazi flag would wave over Europe today. Perhaps if the world heeded Churchill’s warnings about Hitler’s plan to eliminate the Jews in the 1930s, the Holocaust may never have happened. A majestic musical score, outstanding archival footage and Ben Kingsley’s masterful narration. create an inspiring documentary with surprising relevance to the 21st Century. Colorado

Premiere
—Jeffrey Reiss

Atlanta Jewish Film Festival

Film Sponsor
The Strear Family Foundation
In-Kind Sponsor
The Rocky Mountain Churchillians
an affiliate of the Churchill Centre and
Museum, London

With his bar mitzvah rapidly approaching, Yoni’s already challenging and complex life is further complicated when his autistic brother, Tomer, unexpectedly returns home after living in an institution for the past 12 years. The intellectually gifted Yoni struggles to achieve social and self acceptance in the face of his underdeveloped physique and dysfunctional family life. Tomer’s arrival not only introduces one more obstacle in Yoni’s quest, it also opens the door to family secrets that include infidelity, addiction and a searing trauma from the past. Yoni’s barmitzvah Torah reading, the story of Noah and the flood, becomes both the seed crystal for the development of a genuinely loving relationship between the two brothers and the thematic backdrop for this emotionally tense drama of family destruction and redemption. Colorado Premiere

—Steve Glickman

Post Film Discussion with filmmakers
Guy Nattiv

San Francisco Jewish Film Festival; Boston Jewish Film Festival

Film Sponsor
Gary and Terri Yourtz
Speaker Sponsor
Daniel and Van Ha Citron
In-Kind Sponsor
Jewish Family Services

Amidst the constant flow of headlines detailing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, arises a story of unlikely cooperation. The residents of Kibbutz Shoval enjoy all the conveniences of the modern world, while the nearby Palestinian villagers of Susia live in caves without electricity. When Israeli physicist Noam Dotan offers to help his Palestinian neighbors harness renewable energy, an amazing partnership is formed. Israelis and Palestinians alike challenge the bureaucratic obstacles of government policy and wrestle with their own fears of each other in a joint venture to literally bring light to the village of Susia. Shot over three years by filmmaker Danny Verete, The Human Turbine shows us what is possible when people make the choice to develop positive solutions. Colorado Premiere

—Steve Glickman

Admission to this film also includes screening of I’m Ready.

The Other Israel Best Documentary Award, Haifa Film Festival; The Best Mid-Length Documentary, Tranzyt Film Festival; FIFE Environmental Film Festival

Film Sponsor

All About Braces/Advanced Choice Braces
& Dr. Hilary and Rabbi Eliot Baskin

In-Kind Sponsor

Center for Research and Education in Wind (CREW)

First Prize, Jewish Film Festival, Athens Georgia USA 2011; Jewish Film Festival Miami 2009; Israel Film Festival New York 2009; Festival for Special Needs Actors, Jerusalem 2009; Atlanta Jewish Film Festival 2010; Moscow Special Needs Film Festival 2010; Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival 2010; Jewish Film Festival, Toronto Canada 2011

Film Sponsor

Anna & John Sie Foundation

Betrayal, role-reversal, romance and intrigue combine in this suspenseful caper about two friends who wind up playing cat-and-mouse with each other in Nazi-occupied Europe. Viktor Kaufman, the son of a wealthy art dealer, and Rudi Smekal, son of their housekeeper, have been best friends since childhood, but when Rudi joins the Nazi party the relationship is thrown into turmoil. Despite promising to protect Viktor and his family from the Nazis, Rudi betrays them, condemning the family to the camps. However, a secret Michelangelo drawing and several meticulous forgeries hold the key to both the Kaufman family’s salvation and Rudi’s rise up the Nazi ladder. The two former friends race to save the drawing – and their necks – in this swiftly paced thriller that will keep audiences guessing right up to the last shot.

Colorado Premiere

Berlin Film Festival, Boston Jewish Film Festival

Film Sponsor
Susan Mathews

Half Russian, half Greek, Vadik is a street smart 13 year old living in a seaside village in occupied Southern Russia in 1942. He wants to admire his father who has recently returned from a prison camp. But when other men volunteer for the front and his father stays home instead, Vadik’s disappointment and contempt is clear. The fact that his family risks their lives to hide Milka, a Jewish boy, in their attic is not the sort of heroism he envisions. As Vadik becomes friends with Milka he eventually comes to understand the enormity of his father’s seemingly innocent daily activities, and that the persona he portrays publically is a persuasive mask that is critical to the survival of many, including his own family. This Russian historical drama is based on a true story of courage and friendship.

Colorado Premiere
—Roberta Bloom

Best Narrative Feature, Fargo Film Festival; UK Jewish Film Festival; Toronto
Jewish Film Festival

Film Sponsor
Joanne and Art Kleinstein & Family

This is the moving story of Sir Nicholas Winton, an Englishman who organized the rescue of 669 Czech and Slovak children just before the outbreak of World War II. He did not speak of these events to anyone until his wife discovered a suitcase full of documents in their attic 50 years later. This story has inspired not only those that he saved, but thousands of others, to invest themselves in positive actions around the world. Colorado Premiere

—Jeffrey Reiss

Audience Award for Best Documentary, Montreal World Film Festival 2011;
Forum for the Preservation of Audio-Visual Memory Award, Jerusalem Film
Festival 2011; Audience Award Winner, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
2011

Film Sponsors
Jordon and Essie Perlmutter; Vicki and David
Dansky; Lisa and Shell Cook; Lisa and Jay
Perlmutter; Lisa and Jonathan Perlmutter
In-Kind Sponsor
Holocaust Awareness Institute

It might seem strange to make an entire film about an old German Jewish cemetery, but rest assured this film is compelling. One hundred-thirty years old, The Weissensee Jewish Cemetery is the oldest Jewish cemetery still in use in Europe. Amazingly, its 115,000 graves, gorgeous trees and grounds, and meticulous archive survived even the terrors of the Nazi regime, remaining in Jewish hands the entire time. What forces kept the Nazis away from this site? Through the stories of various visitors from around the world and their ancestors whose graves they have come to visit, interviews with grave diggers and the family that lives there, history unfolds in this most intriguing of settings. Beautifully filmed to capture the essence of the environment, this film is a unique and charming experience. Colorado Premiere

—Roberta Bloom

Audience Choice Award, Berlinale Film Festival; San Francisco Jewish Film
Festival; Hotdocs Documentary Film Festival

Film Sponsor
Sue Miller and Harold Cohen

Architect Erich Mendelsohn wrote twelve hundred letters to his wife Louise, many containing powerfully drawn sketches of his ideas. These dramatic drawings form the foundation of this captivating documentary. This visionary Jewish architect became the busiest architect in Germany with the help and support of his wife, who was herself a talented cellist. Designing the Einstein Tower, Schocken Department Stores, the Universum Cinema, and a beautiful home for his wife, opportunities suddenly disappeared as the Nazis rose to power. Forced to flee Germany and leave behind the home and life they loved, he then worked in England, Israel and the U.S. Award-winning filmmaker, Duki Dror, presents an illuminating documentary bringing to life the vibrant work and relationships of an extraordinary individual. Colorado Premiere

—Roberta Bloom

Post Film Discussion with filmmaker
Duki Dror

Honorable Mention at the Jerusalem International Film Festival; Vancouver Jewish Film Festival; Saint Louis Jewish Film Festival; San Francisco Jewish Film Festival

Film Sponsor
Carol and Irwin Wagner
Speaker Sponsor
Priscilla Press in memory of Joel Ehrlich
In Kind Sponsor
American Institute of Architects, Colorado

“That it happened is fact. How it happened is fiction.” Percy and Felix Adlon referring to the meeting of Mahler and Freud. Percy Adlon (Baghdad Cafe) and his son Felix have crafted a dreamlike biopic of illustrious composer Gustav Mahler during the years of his marriage to Alma Schindler. An actual meeting that occurred between Mahler and Sigmund Freud is expanded to form a framework for the film. We see a Mahler in crisis after learning that his beloved wife/muse is having an affair with the architect Walter Gropius. The “sessions” between brilliant psychiatrist and equally brilliant composer give rise to memories, recollections and flights of fantasy set to the gorgeous strains of Mahler’s music. This powerful and sensitive film captures the essence of the German Jewish intellectual community of the time. Colorado Premiere

—Julie Schwarz

Film followed by a Dessert Reception

World Premiere Los Angles Film Festival; Opening Night Film NY Jewish Film
Festival

Grand Finale Sponsor
MorEvents (Betsy & Gareth Heyman)
In-Kind Film Sponsor
Colorado Public Radio

Fidelman’s life is turned upside down when his longtime partner in their furniture restoration business suddenly passes away. With the business on the edge of bankruptcy, his son Noah, who has no appreciation for antiques, is eager to close the business, demolish the building and build a new apartment complex. But, a mysterious stranger appears, and Fidelman sees new possibilities for the business. The film comes alive through complex and multi-layered characters and their relationships form the foundation of the film. Like fine antique furniture, this film is full of subtleties and nuances to be savored and enjoyed long after the film is over.

Colorado Premiere
—Roberta Bloom

Nominated for 11 Ophirs (Israeli Academy Awards), Winner of Best Film at the Jerusalem Film Festival; Dramatic Screenwriting Award at Sundance

Alfi Selinger is the alter ego of director Dani Levy, and any suggested references to the Alvy Singer of Woody Allen’s Annie Hall are not accidental. Alfi Selinger, filmmaker, is a man in crisis: his kids can’t stand him, his wife is cheating on him and his bank has lost his investments-including his mother’s holocaust reparations. Meanwhile, Alfi is trying to make a film that would be a comic treatment of the Danish controversy over the Muhammed cartoons. Lines between fantasy and reality become blurred. With scenes that are reminiscent of both Fellini’s 8 1/2 and Woody Allen’s Stardust Memories, some of the most “laugh out loud” moments involve absurd sequences from Alfi’s personal life including his daughter videotaping his colonoscopy. Oy vey! Colorado Premiere

—Julie Schwarz

Admission to this film includes screening of A Reuben By Any Other Name

Toronto Jewish Film Festival; San Francisco Jewish Film Festival; Vancouver
Jewish Film Festival; Boston Jewish Film Festival

Film Sponsor
Suzi and Bob Wagner

It is April 1945 when thousands of Hungarian Jewish prisoners are forced on a death march to Mauthausen. A small group of prisoners become stranded in a secluded Austrian village, finding refuge in a hay barn. Amongst them is an opera singer from Budapest who persuades his fellow Jews to stage a version of the operetta Weiner Blut. His strategy is to lift the spirits of his comrades and possibly gain the protection of the locals. These strangers in a small Austrian village arouse tremendous conflicting emotions amongst the villagers, ranging from senseless hatred to nostalgia and longing for a time when singing and dancing brought happiness and joy to their lives. The outstanding ensemble performances of the cast elevate the range of human emotions into a gripping story of human compassion and raw contempt. Colorado Premiere

—Jeffrey Reiss

Cannes Film Festival; Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival; Boston
Jewish Film Festival; Atlanta Jewish Film Festival

Film Sponsor
Erica Singer
In Kind Sponsor
Holocaust Awareness Institute

Famed Israeli director Etyan Fox (Walk on Water, The Bubble) brings us the
story of Meir, a young man searching for his mother who abandoned him as
a child on his birthday. Meir and his best female friend fall for the hot new
boy in school, creating an interesting love triangle, which both brings them
together and tears them apart. Finally fed up with everything, Meir leaves his
home then finds his way to Tel Aviv and into a drag show where he becomes
the star attraction, Mary Lou. Through the process of this journey, Meir finds
his true self. Mary Lou has been described as a cross between “Glee” and
Mamma Mia. From its opening song to the closing number you will find yourself
swaying in your seats to the music, based on songs by 1970s Israeli pop
star Svika Pick. Mary Lou, which was a miniseries in Israel, flows as a full
length feature.
—Erica Singer

Israeli Emmy Award for Best Miniseries 2010; Washington Jewish Film
Festival; UK Jewish Film Festival; San Francisco Jewish Film Festival

Film Sponsor
Dan Recht & Rick Kornfeld,
Recht Kornfeld, P.C.
In-Kind Sponsor
Keshet