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Shabbat Flix: Jewish Films from Around the World • Rabbi Juli Karol and CRS Congregant Rabbi Donna Cephas

Sat, Jan 21, 2023 • 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM

IN PERSON
|Recurring Event (See all)

One event on Sat, Feb 11, 2023 at 1:30 PM

One event on Sat, Mar 11, 2023 at 1:30 PM

One event on Sat, Apr 22, 2023 at 1:30 PM

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Grab your popcorn! Spend Shabbat afternoons with your fellow CRS congregants watching and discussing Jewish films from around the world. Following each screening, we’ll explore the Jewish history of the country in which the film takes place and then discuss our reactions to the film and its story. Come to one session or all four!

Presented courtesy of Menemsha Films. 

Sat, Jan 21, 1:30-4:00 PM  

Nora’s Will (Mexico, 2008, drama/comedy, Spanish with subtitles)

Runtime: 90 min

Nora’s Will is a comedy like nothing you’ve seen before, a truly unique tale of lost faith and eternal love from one of Mexico’s most talented new filmmakers, writer/director Mariana Chenillo. Nora’s Will was named Mexico’s Best Picture of the Year, taking home seven Ariel Awards. Chenillo is the first female director ever to win Mexico’s Best Picture award.

When his ex-wife Nora dies right before Passover, José (Fernando Luján) is forced to stay with her body until she can be properly put to rest. He soon realizes he is part of Nora’s plan to bring her family back together for one last Passover feast, leading José to reexamine their relationship and rediscover their undying love for each other.

Sat, Feb 11, 1:30-4:00 PM 

Mish Mish(Egypt, France, 2021, documentary)

Runtime: 75 min

In a basement near Paris a treasure-trove of Egyptian animated films has been found. The films show the work of the Arab world’s pioneers in this genre, the Frenkel brothers: three exceptional young film-makers, creators of Mish-Mish Effendi, the Mickey Mouse of the entire region, which disappeared from Egyptian screens when the State of Israel was created.

Through their animated images, we uncover the history of the Frenkel family, marked by exile, a trauma being repeated today.
“Bukra fil Mish-Mish” is a common Arabic expression referring to something which will never happen: “if pigs could fly”. At the same time the extraordinary discovery of these films reveals a forgotten era gone forever, an Arab-Jewish golden age when the two communities could create things together. Not only has it disappeared, it has been erased from the pages of history.

Sat, March 11, 1:30-4:00 PM 

Neighbours(Syria, 2021, drama, Kurdish with English subtitles)

Runtime: 120 min

In a Syrian border village in the early 80’s, little Sero attends school for the first time. A new teacher has arrived with the goal of making strapping Panarabic comrades out of the Kurdish children. To enable paradise to come to earth, he uses the rod to forbid the Kurdish language, orders the veneration of Assad and preaches hate of the Zionist enemy- the Jews. The lessons upset and confuse Sero because his long-time neighbors are a lovable Jewish family. With a fine sense of humor and satire, the film depicts a childhood which manages to find light moments between dictatorship and dark drama. Little Sero gets involved in dangerous pranks with his friends, and dreams of having a television so he can finally watch cartoons. But he also experiences how the adults around him are increasingly crushed by the despotism, violence and nationalism which surround them. The film was inspired by the director’s personal experiences, and so his bitter-sweet memories connect the Syrian tragedy to the present.

Sat, April 22, 1:30-4:00 PM

Xueta Island (Spain, 2021, documentary)

Runtime: 60 min

Xueta Island explores the fascinating legacy of the Xuetas (pronounced Chuetas): a unique group of families on the Balearic island of Majorca who are believed to be descendants of the island’s Inquisition-era Jewish population. Though they were practicing Catholics, the Chuetas were discriminated against up until the middle of the 20th century, always forced to marry within their subgroup population. Our story follows Dani Rotstein, a Jewish-American expat who moved to the island recently & quickly became fascinated with the story. Rotstein currently works as a social activist & filmmaker on the island, where he uses discoveries from his ongoing investigation to help rebuild community.