South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Best of both worlds for 25th Jewish film festival
Event to include outdoor and free virtual screenings
The Miami Jewish Film Festival’s upcoming milestone 25th edition will be a hybrid program of virtual and live outdoor events from Jan. 13-27.
According to MJFF, its 2022 edition will feature a record-breaking 148 films from around the world. There will be 108 feature and 40 short films representing 25 countries, including nine world premieres, 22 international premieres, 18 North American premieres and nine U.S. premieres. The lineup includes 22 first-time feature filmmakers and 54 films directed by women, which comprises 37 percent of the total program.
Igor Shteyrenberg, the film festival’s executive director, said, “As we celebrate our milestone 25th Miami Jewish Film Festival, we are delighted to invite our community out of their homes and back to the movies.”
“This year’s festival will bring the largest Jewish film program in the world to audiences not only online, but in once-in-a-lifetime big-screen experiences as we share the wonder of seeing films under Miami’s dazzling stars,” Shteyrenberg continued. “From intimate, personal tales to entertaining comedies and international award winners, the films this year are enriched by inexhaustible curiosity and a fearless desire for adventure. They prove that cinema continues to illuminate and inspire, provides light through the darkest times, and has the ability to lift our spirits.”
Barbara Black Goldfarb, the festival’s board chair, said, “Despite the formidable challenges imposed by the ongoing pandemic, I am excited to say that this year’s 25th Miami Jewish Film Festival will once again exceed all expectations.”
“Under the capable leadership of our festival’s brilliant director, Igor Shteyrenberg, and his dedicated team of professionals, this year’s lineup will include 148 film premieres including 18 outdoor screenings throughout Miami-Dade County and more than 100 films available to stream virtually at no cost to any resident of the State of Florida,” she continued. “We anticipate that over 50,000 film lovers will experience this year’s festival, making us the largest Jewish film festival in the world.”
The free virtual screenings will be hosted on Eventive and geo-locked to the state
of Florida or the U.S. The festival’s popup outdoor screenings will take place at a variety of locations across Miami-Dade County, and will feature special guests, live performances and other surprises.
The festival opens with the world premiere of “iMordecai,” which will be one of the films that is part of the festival’s “Made in Florida” presentation, and closes with “Persian Lessons,” which is Belarus’ official entry to the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film and will be screened to honor International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27. Both screenings take place at the North Beach Bandshell in Miami Beach.
Other outdoor events taking place at the North Beach Bandshell include premieres of the documentary “Bernstein’s Wall” about legendary composer Leonard Bernstein which will be accompanied by a special live performance by the Amernet String Quartet, and “Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen,” which will be accompanied by a live performance of songs from the musical “Fiddler on the Roof.” Another event includes an outdoor premiere at the University of Miami of “The Automat,” which is about the automat restaurant chain Horn & Hardart and includes interviews with well-known personalities such as Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner and the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Complementing the film’s premiere will be a live discussion with director Lisa Hurwitz and Rene Rodriguez, former Miami Herald film critic and new manager of the Bill Cosford Cinema at UM.
This year’s edition includes the festival’s launch of its inaugural “Yiddish & Jewish Cinema Between Two Worlds” program at the Betsy Hotel’s rooftop in Miami Beach, as well as a a section dedicated to Accessibility+Inclusion cinema. Also taking place is the Next Wave Competition which is juried by 21-35-year-old college students and young professionals .The festival has also expanded its Headliners program, which launched last year, and its Ibero-American section.
For the first time, the festival will present a dedicated block featuring international series, including the entire season of the Israeli show “The Chef ” from the producers of “Fauda” and “Shtisel,” the limited series “The New Jew” that is hosted by Israeli comedian and television personality Guri Alfi, the miniseries “Labyrinth of Peace” and an entire season of “Just for Today,” a Tel Aviv set drama which won the Special Jury Prize at Cannes Series Mania and is directed by Nir Bergman of MJFF 2021 Audience Award Winner “Here We Are.”
The festival has partnered with the City of Miami Beach’s OnStage! cultural arts initiative to present free family movies nights at public parks which includes screenings of Steven Spielberg’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” for its 40th Anniversary at Muss Park and a special 35th Anniversary presentation of “The Princess Bride” at Altos Del Mark Park.
In celebration of its 25th edition, the festival has partnered with the digital streamer ChaiFlicks to highlight some of MJFF’s most acclaimed and noteworthy films from years past. They will be presented for free on the festival’s virtual program courtesy of ChaiFlicks’ film library and geo-locked to Florida residents.
Tickets for the festival’s in-person outdoor events are now available for the public to purchase and sales continue throughout the festival. Films will be available to stream for free from Jan. 14-26 in MJFF’s virtual program.
Visit miamijewishfilmfestival.org or follow the festival on Facebook at /miamijewishfilmfestival or on Twitter @MiamiJFF for more information or updates.
The festival is a program of the Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education, a subsidiary of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.