Windsor Jewish Film Festival begins
Riveting Jewish-themed cinema once again comes to local big screens with the annual Windsor Jewish Film Festival, which opened on Monday and runs until Thursday.
A total of 10 award-winning films from around the world will be shown across four days of special screenings at the Devonshire Mall (3100 Howard Ave.).
Screenings on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday take place at 2 p.m., 5 p.m., and 8 p.m.
Admission for each screening is $10 (cash only), with proceeds benefiting the Windsor Jewish Community Centre.
It’s the 15th year for the film festival, named after major donors Ruth and Bernard Friedman.
WJCC executive director Jay Katz said that although all the films have something to do with Jews, there’s entertainment and inspiration to be had by everyone — no matter your creed.
“These stories are about overcoming challenges, getting through difficult situations, handling conflict and emerging victorious — or finding ways to make everybody happy,” Katz said.
“These are the struggles, the challenges, the fears, and the joys of everyday life.”
That said, some of the films in the lineup do have heavy dramatic content related to the Jewish experience of the Second World War. Katz feels that’s inevitable: “When it comes to Jewish film festivals, there’s always something about the Holocaust, because it had such a major impact on Jewish culture and society.”
TUESDAY, 2 P.M.
The Last Blintz — The closure of the iconic Jewish-owned New York eatery Cafe Edison (a.k.a. the Polish Tea Room) is captured in this 2015 documentary.
The Sturgeon Queens — Authentic New York lox is celebrated in this documentary about the 100-year-old Russ & Daughters smoked fish shop on the Lower East Side.
TUESDAY, 5 P.M.
Secrets of War — This 2014 Dutch drama puts the Second World War in the context of two boyhood pals, whose friendship is tested when a new girl to their community shares a secret.
TUESDAY, 8 P.M.
Riphagen: The Untouchable — A 2016 Dutch drama about the real-life villain Dries Riphagen — a gangster turned Nazi collaborator, described by some as “the worst war criminal in Amsterdam.”
WEDNESDAY, 2 P.M.
Between Worlds — A 2016 drama from Israel portraying the connection between two women at a hospital: One there for her son who was injured in a terror attack, the other there for her dying father.
WEDNESDAY, 5 P.M.
The People vs Fritz Bauer — A dramatic 2015 retelling of the life of the German prosecutor and judge who brought Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann to justice.
WEDNESDAY, 8 P.M.
Fanny ’s Journey — Children are the stars of this 2016 French drama which depicts a group of kids fleeing Nazi-occupied France.
THURSDAY, 2 P.M.
Cloudy Sunday — A 2015 Greek romance portraying the forbidden love between a Christian man and Jewish woman in German-occupied Greece during the Second World War.
THURSDAY, 5 P.M.
Sabena Hijacking: My Version — This 2015 Israeli docu-drama describes the events behind the 1972 hijacking of an aircraft in Tel Aviv, and the subsequent rescue operation by Israeli special forces.
THURSDAY, 8 P.M.
The Women’s Balcony — Humour and reflection arise in this 2016 comic drama from Israel that portrays an Orthodox community trying to deal with the fundamentalist ways of a zealous new rabbi.
For more on the festival — including trailers for each of the featured films — visit www.jewishwindsor.org.