Columbus, Ohio. Fourth Annual Jewish Film Festival events and film reviews to be featured on Bexley Public Radio, WCRX-LP, 102.1 FM.

The Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Greater Columbus will present six days of film, drama, comedies and documentaries during the 4th Annual Columbus Jewish Film Festival.

The film festival runs from Saturday March 8 through Thursday March 13. This major cultural event has been organized by Emily Schuss, film festival director for the JCC.

WCRX-LP, 102.1 FM will broadcast film previews and film reviews beginning Thursday March 6 and continuing throughout the run of the festival.

This fourth annual festival presents eleven feature films and documentaries from Argentina, France, Germany, Israel, Mexico and the United States.

The films will be shown at six venues throughout the Columbus including the Drexel Theater in Bexley and the Drexel Gateway.

To see a complete film and event schedule, order tickets, or view film trailers, visit the film festival website at www.cjfilmfest.org.

One entire day of the festival is scheduled for documentaries at the Drexel Gateway.

The documentaries will all be shown on Sunday, March 9. Free bagels and cream cheese will be provided by Block’s Bagels at this event. Appropriately, the event is called “Block’s and Docs.”

The subject matter of the documentaries include films about a father-son road trip, a boxing feature, female comics and the eviction of Jewish settlers from their Gaza homes.

There is an Opening Night Party on Saturday, March 8, at the Columbus Museum of Art. At this event, the Distinguished Arts Award will be presented.

On Monday March 10, there is a pre-screening reception at the Michael Garcia Salon in Bexley.

There will be an educational symposium on the question “Can Confronting the Past Heal a Community?” in tribute to the late Benson A. Wolman. This symposium will be held Tuesday March 11 at the Wexner Center for the Arts.

The following event schedule is provided by Kriss Galloway, manager of communications and marketing for the Jewish Center of Greater Columbus.

Opening night ‚ Saturday, March 8, at the Columbus Museum of Art, 480 E. Broad St., downtown:
My Mexican Shiva ‚ a dramatic comedy about how the death of a man results in the celebration of his life. Directed by Alejandro Springall, this feature was produced in Mexico in 2006. The 102-minute film is in Spanish, Hebrew and Yiddish, with English subtitles. Rating equivalency is PG-13. Film starts at 7:30 p.m.

The Opening Night Party‚ complete with Mexican food and drinks, will begin after the first film ends at approximately 9 p.m.

During the party, this year’s Distinguished Arts Award will be given to Dr. Wayne Lawson, Director Emeritus of the Ohio Arts Council.

The Bubble - a drama about three young Israelis who share an apartment in Tel Aviv's hippest neighborhood; when one of the men falls in love with a Palestinian man, he and his roommates conspire to help his lover stay on in Tel Aviv illegally. Directed by Eytan Fox, the feature was produced in Israel in 2006. The 117-minute film, most recently selected for both New York Tribeca and Berlin International film festivals is in Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles. Rating equivalency is R for graphic sexuality. Film starts at 10:00 p.m. Audiences may remember Eytan Fox film, Yossi & Jagger, which was shown at the Columbus Jewish Film Festival in 2005.


Blocks and Docs‚ Sunday, March 9, at the Gateway Drexel Theater, 1550 N. High St., on the OSU campus:
Souvenirs ‚ A documentary about a father and son who take a road trip to retrace the father’s trail with the Jewish Brigade, with which he served during World War II and the ”souvenirs” he may have left behind with the local girls. Directed by Shahar Cohen and Halil Efrat, the documentary was produced in Israel in 2006 and won an Israeli Academy Award for Best Documentary. The 75-minute film is in Hebrew with English subtitles. Rating equivalency is PG-13. Film starts at 11 a.m.

Orthodox Stance . A documentary about Dmitriy Salita, a champion boxer and an uncompromising Orthodox Jew. Directed by Jason Hutt, the documentary was produced in the United States in 2006. The 82-minute film is in English and rated PG-13. Film starts at 1 p.m.

Making Trouble. A documentary that tells the story of six of the greatest female comic performers of the last century - Molly Picon, Fanny Brice, Sophie Tucker, Joan Rivers, Gilda Radner and Wendy Wasserstein. Directed by Rachel Talbot, the film also was produced in the United States in 2006. At 85-minutes, the film is in English and rated PG-13. Film starts at 3 p.m.

5 Days. A gripping documentary that captured history being made when the Israeli Defense Force moved to evict the 8,000 remaining Jewish settlers from their Gaza homes. Directed by Yoav Shamir, the film was produced in Israel in 2005. The 94-minute film is in Hebrew with English subtitles. Rating equivalency is PG-13. Film starts at 5 p.m.

On Monday, March 10, at the Drexel Theater, 2254 E. Main St., Bexley:
Gorgeous! (Comme Ty Es Belle) - A snappy romantic comedy set in Paris that celebrates the au courant Parisian woman, with tons of wit, smarts and not an insignificant amount of sexiness. Directed by Lisa Azuelos, the feature was produced in France in 2006. The 84-minute film is in French with English subtitles. Rating equivalency is PG-13. Film starts at 7:30 p.m.

A pre-film reception will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Michael Garcia’s A Salon, 2440 E. Main St., Bexley.

On Tuesday, March 11, at the Wexner Center for the Arts, 1871 N. High St., on the OSU campus:
Greensboro: Closer to the Truth. A documentary about the Nov. 3, 1979 murders of five Communist Workers Party members by the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazis in Greensboro, N.C., and how 25 years later the horrific event has changed the lives of witnesses, spouses, and the murderers themselves. Directed by Adam Zucker, the 83-minute film in English was produced in the United States in 2007. Rated PG-13. Film starts at 6 p.m.

Following the film, a light dinner will be served at 7 p.m., with discussion leaders facilitating small group conversations based upon the theme “Can Confronting the Past Heal a Community?.”

At 7:45 p.m., Greensboro director Adam Zucker will give a keynote presentation, followed by a panel discussion and question-and-answer session at 8 p.m.

Panel members include Prof. David Goldberger of the OSU Moritz College of Law, OSU Prof. Hasan Kwame Jeffries, and Jane Ramsey, executive director of the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs.

On Wednesday, March 12, at the JCC of Greater Columbus, 1125 College Ave., Bexley:
The Champagne Spy. A documentary about Major Ze'ev Gur Arie, a Mossad operative drafted in 1960 to penetrate the circle of German scientists developing weapons of mass destruction in Egypt. While his father was away, his son, Oded, was told that he must never speak about this secret because his father's life depended on it. He didn’t until now. Directed by Nadav Schirman, the film was produced in Israel and Germany in 2007 and won an Israeli Academy Award for Best Documentary. The 90-minute film is in Hebrew with English subtitles. Rating equivalency is PG-13. Film starts at 7:30 p.m.

Following the film, Oded Gur Arie will be on hand to greet filmgoers during a dessert reception.

On Thursday, March 13, at the Arena Grand, 175 W. Nationwide Blvd., downtown:
Sweet Mud. A feature about a 12-year-old boy, Dvir Avni, who lives on a kibbutz in southern Israel in the 1970s with his mentally ill mother, Miri. In this closed, unique society, bound by rigid rules, Dvir navigates between the kibbutz motto of equality and the stinging reality that his mother has, in effect, been abandoned by their collective community. Directed by Dror Shaul, the feature was produced in Israel and Germany in 2006. The 100-minute film is in Hebrew with English subtitles. Rating equivalency is PG-13. Film starts at 7 p.m.

Only Human. A wonderfully twisted Spanish comedy about the unfolding comedy of errors that occurs when a hyperactive Jewish family’s elder daughter brings home her Palestinian fiancé. Directed by Dominic Harari and Teresa de Pelegri, the feature was produced in Argentina in 2004. The 85-minute film is in Spanish with English subtitles. Rating equivalency is R for some sexual content, nudity and language. Film starts at 7:30 p.m.

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