Southampton Cultural Center Presents Second Jewish Film Festival

The Jewish community's film scene will be on display throughout the summer as the Southampton Cultural Center presents the second annual Southampton Jewish Film Festival, taking place at the Southampton Arts Center.

Starting Tuesday, July 12, and happening every Tuesday through August 30, the festival will showcase a series of archival films that celebrate and educate about the Jewish experience. The first night and the final night of the showcase are both free to attend, while the other six nights cost $15 each to attend.

The festival will kick off with 2007's I Have Never Forgotten You," a documentary about Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal, who helped track down more than 1,100 Nazi war criminals over six decades. The festival will close with 2014's "My Italian Secret," a documentary about sports star Gino Bartali and other Italian athletes who rescued thousands from Nazi-occupied Italy.

The Cultural Center collaborated with both the Chabad Southampton Jewish Center and the Southampton Arts Center to put this festival together.

"Our objective is to provide the entire community with the opportunity to see films about the Jewish experience, films people otherwise would not have the chance to see,” said Tina Silverman, the curator of the festival. “As I am a student of history and political science, I love films that tell true stories. No surprise then, all of the films are either documentaries or of general historical significance."

In fact, all but one of the eight films in the festival are documentaries. The lone theatrical film in the lineup is 2015's " The Midnight Orchestra," telling the story of the son of a famous Jewish musician who returns home to bury his father.

Ms. Silverman says that there is a major difference between the films from last year's festival and this year's films.

"Last year, we presented several Yiddish films. These were made purely for entertainment, and produced in Poland prior to the Second World War. But today, they offer us a precious window into a world forever lost. Many of the actors in the film were locals who likely did not survive, nor did the way of life portrayed," Ms. Silverman said. "This year, I mainly chose films recounting the expulsion of the Jewish people as a result of the Holocaust and the creation of Israel. They span Europe, Asia, North Africa and the Middle East. Many baby boomers who are children of escapees from anti-Semitism know little of the old world because parents and grandparents found it too painful to speak about the past. These films provide important insight into the rich culture they left behind. Twentieth-century Jewish history is more than the pogroms and death camps. It is about what flourished before and after."

The festival will also have guest speakers discussing two of the films’ subject matter. On July 19, Rabbi Eliezer Zaklikovsky will talk about the rescue of the 6th Lubavitcher Rebbe from Poland. This will tie in with that night's movie, 2011's "Hitler's Jewish Soldiers," about the same rescue. The festival's second guest speaker will be director Carole Basri talking about the 2005 documentary, "The Last Jews of Baghdad," which she co-directed with Adrianna Davis and Bryan Durr.

The second annual Southampton Jewish Film Festival will run every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. from July 12 through August 30 at the Southampton Arts Center, 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton. Tickets are $15 except on July 12 and August 30, when admission is free. On August 2, student admission is $7.50. Visit scc-arts.org for more information.

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