ERJCC Calendar

 
 8th Annual Houston
Jewish Film Festival
March 6 - 18
Funded in part by the ERJCC Patrons of the Arts 
    
  The Annual Houston Jewish Film Festival, a collaborative venture with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH)
and Holocaust Museum Houston (HMH), exposes the community to current documentary, feature and
short films with meaningful Jewish or Israeli content as well as Israeli-made films with contemporary themes.

FILMS 

TICKETS 

CALENDAR 

COMMITTEE 

Tues, Mar 6
7:30 PM • ERJCC
 
Friday, Mar 9
1:00 PM • ERJCC 
 
Directed by
Leo Khasin
Germany, 2011,
94 min.
Arabic, German, Russian
with English Subtitles
Drama 

Alexander, an 84 year old widowed Russian Jewish war veteran living alone in Berlin, wants to maintain his independence despite pressures from social workers to move into a nursing home. A Palestinian family from Lebanon occupies a downstairs flat; Ali, the teenage son in the family, together with his friends, vandalize and ransack Alexander’s flat and destroy some of his most treasured possessions. In order to avoid deportation, Ali’s family insists he repair the damage. Slowly, the mutual disdain each feels for the other turns to understanding and ultimately friendship in this coming-of-age film inspired by two real people.
 
Sponsored by June & Leonard Goldberg
Patron Sponsors: Helen Wils & Leonard Goldstein
and Paula & Irving Pozmantier
 

DEAF JAM

Wed, Mar 7
1:00 PM • ERJCC
 
Directed by
Judy Lieff
USA, 2011, 70 min.
English and American
Sign Language
with English Subtitles
Documentary

Aneta Brodski, a deaf Israeli teen, attends a school for the deaf in Queens, N.Y. where she explores slam poetry using American Sign Language. Proud of her deafness but aware of the isolation it brings, Aneta utilizes her unique experiences to create a powerful poetic art form. When Aneta meets Tahani, a hearing Palestinian slam poet, the two create a deaf/hearing duet in which they explore their shared and personal experiences and generate a new form of slam poetry which speaks to the deaf as well as the hearing.
 
Lunch & A Movie
Adults 65+
$8 Member / $10 Public
RSVP required w/24 hr. notice.
Call Esther Bethke at 713-729-3299 ext. 3258.
 
Throughout HJFF we will be accepting donations of gently used children’s books. Designated book drop-off screenings are Deaf Jam on March 7, Young Abraham on March 11, and Nicky’s Family on March 16.
 

Wed, Mar 7
7:30 PM
Studio Movie Grill at
CityCentre
 
Written by
Larry David
USA, (3) 30 Min. Episodes
English
TV Series, Comedy

In this largely improvised series starring himself, Seinfeld co-creator Larry David shamelessly takes issue with frustrating and frivolous social conventions. Always landing himself in awkward situations, David must negotiate how to get out of them…or decide that they aren’t so awkward after all. The three episodes featured at HJFF will get you laughing at David, at the convoluted yet familiar scenarios, and most importantly, at yourself.
 

Holy Mordechai! Dress up like your favorite Curb character for Purim. Best costume wins a special prize! 
 
Tickets are free! Seating is first-come, first-served beginning at 7:10 PM. Happy Hour from 6:00 - 7:30 PM in the Studio Movie Grill Bar.  
 

   
VIEW TRAILER 
 
READ REVIEW 

 

Wed, Mar 7
7:30 PM • 14 Pews
Special prices apply
for 14 Pews screening
  
Wed, Mar 14 
5:00 PM • ERJCC
$5 @ 5:00
All 5:00 PM movies
are only $5!
 
Directed by
Francine Pelletier
Canada, 2010, 52 min.
English and French
with English Subtitles
Documentary
 

Canadian novelist Mordecai Richler was one of the Jewish writers who dominated the literary landscape in the latter half of the 20th century. Richler, born to immigrant parents and raised on Talmud, comic books, and tales of the old world, explored the Jewish immigrant experience in the new world. His best known novels, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and Barney’s Version, were made into award winning films. This documentary features conversations with other outstanding literary voices, and captures the personality of the man known as contrary and unpredictable, one of the outstanding Jewish voices of the 20th century.
  

Thurs, Mar 8 
7:00 PM • MFAH 
Introduced by
Filmmaker
Jonathan Lee
  
Sun, Mar 11 
1:00 PM • MFAH 
Introduced by
UH Professor
Tony Hoagland
 
Directed by
Jonathan Lee
USA, 2011, 89 min.
English
Documentary
 

Author of the legendary bestseller Growing Up Absurd, Paul Goodman (1911–1972) was also a bisexual poet, family man, pacifist, visionary, co-founder of Gestalt therapy and a moral compass for many in the burgeoning counterculture of the 1960s. Paul Goodman Changed My Life immerses audiences in an era of high intellect, when New York was peaking culturally and artistically. Using a treasure trove of archival multimedia, director/producer Jonathan Lee and producer/editor Kimberly Reed (Prodigal Sons) have woven together a rich portrait of an intellectual heavyweight whose ideas are long overdue for rediscovery.
 
Partner: Inprint Houston
  
Tony Hoagland has published three collections of poetry: Sweet Ruin (a winner of the Brittingham Prize), Donkey Gospel (a winner of the James Laughlin second book award), and What Narcissism Means To Me, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. He has received grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment on the Arts, and the Academy of Arts and Letters. His poems and essays about poetry have appeared widely; he currently teaches in the graduate writing program of the University of Houston and in the Warren Wilson MFA program.
 

JOANNA

Thurs, Mar 8
7:30 PM • ERJCC
 
Tues, Mar 13
5:00 PM • ERJCC
$5 @ 5:00 
All 5:00 PM movies
are only $5!
 
Directed by
Feliks Falk
Poland, 2010, 105 min.
Polish with English Subtitles
Drama
 

In this tense and compelling film, Joanna, a Polish piano teacher living in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation, waits in vain to hear from her husband on the front line when she discovers a young Jewish girl hiding in a church after a round-up of Jews. At tremendous risk to her own safety, Joanna hides Roza in her home. Amidst the suspicions of neighbors and Nazi officers, Joanna faces difficult decisions and moral choices if Roza is to survive.

Sat, Mar 10
8:00 PM • MFAH
 
Directed by
Wolfgang Murnberger
Austria, Luxembourg,
2011, 109 min.
German with English
Subtitles
Thriller

From acclaimed Austrian director Wolfgang Murnburger comes this charming wartime suspense thriller. Vienna, 1939: Jewish art dealer Victor (Run Lola Run’s Moritz Bleibtreu) and newly minted SS officer Rudi (George Friedrich) are childhood friends who find themselves on opposite sides of the coming storm. With an international incident over a hidden original Michelangelo print at stake, Rudi, who has appropriated Victor’s family estate and fiancée, must also secure Victor’s cooperation to ensure his own survival. Much like Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds, this Official Selection of the 2011 Berlin Film Festival is action-packed, full of twists, turns, and reversals of fortune—a much welcomed first course that will have audiences on the edge of their seats wanting more.—Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival
  
Did you know? Every movie ticket at the MFAH gets you 10% off at Café Express in the Museum. Make it dinner and a movie on Saturday nights!
 
Photo by Petro Domenigg. © Aichholzer Filmproduktion GmbH/Petro Domenigg. A Sundance Selects release.
  

YOUNG ABRAHAM: FROM THE ANCIENT STORIES OF THE ISRAELITES

Sunday, Mar 11 
11:00 AM • ERJCC
  
Special Pricing:
$4 person
$20 family max
 
Directed by
Todd Shaffer
Canada, 2011, 48 min.
English, Animated

Written by two Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis, this cutting-edge animated film relates the story of Abraham and his quest to prove that God is much more than just stone idols. Spanning the first 75 years of the Jewish patriarch's life, Young Abraham is perfect way to teach children K-5 of the midrashim that describe who Abraham was before he is introduced to us in the Torah.
 
Recommended for ages 5-10. 
 
Throughout HJFF we will be accepting donations of gently used children’s books. Designated book drop-off screenings are Deaf Jam on March 7, Young Abraham on March 11, and Nicky’s Family on March 16.
 

MARY LOU (Tamid oto chalom)

Sunday, Mar 11
3:00 PM • MFAH
 
Directed by
Eytan Fox
Israel, 2010, 150 min.
Hebrew with
English Subtitles
Mini-Series, Musical

Following the trend of contemporary musicals like Glee, the made-for-Israeli-TV series Mary Lou features a soundtrack by Israeli pop star Svika Pick (who appears as himself). Acclaimed director Eytan Fox (The Bubble, Walk on Water) tells the story of a boy’s (Ido Rosenberg) search for his wayward mother (Maya Dagan, The Matchmaker) that eventually leads him to a new identity in Tel Aviv: as a drag queen named Mary Lou. The TV series won Israel’s national award for Best Miniseries in 2010.
 
Partners: QFest, Houston’s GLBT film festival, and Friends of Ernie
  

SURVIVING HITLER: A LOVE STORY

Sunday, Mar 11
7:30 PM • HMH
 
Directed by
John-Keith Wasson
USA, 2010, 65 min.
English
Documentary

Jutta Cords is a high school student in Nazi Germany when she learns that her maternal grandparents had converted from Judaism to Christianity. Accordingly, Jutta is considered Jewish, and as such, is denied every opportunity of a future. Jutta reconnects with her childhood friend, Helmuth, who, upon his return from the German front, becomes involved in the Valkyrie plot to assassinate Hitler. Jutta and Helmuth do their best to maintain a romance while they fight in the resistance alongside Jutta’s parents who use their home as a safe house. The documentary is narrated by Jutta herself with original 8 mm footage shot by Helmuth.
 

OTTO FRANK, FATHER OF ANNE

Monday, Mar 12
7:30 PM • ERJCC
 
Directed by
David De Jongh
Netherlands, 2010,
75 min.
Dutch, English, German
with English Subtitles
Documentary

Dutch director David De Jongh’s documentary draws upon archival footage and interviews to create a complex portrait of Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank and the only family member to survive the Holocaust. The film explores Otto’s early years as an assimilated German Jew, his obsession with maintaining Anne’s memory, his correspondence with young readers, and the zeal to promote her diaries. De Jongh does not ignore the controversies and questions surrounding editorial tinkering with Anne’s diaries and the Hollywood and Broadway adaptations in this well-rounded portrait of a man whose grief and pride inform his life’s work.
  

Tuesday, Mar 13
7:30 PM • ERJCC
 
Directed by
Ismaël Ferroukhi
France, 2011, 99 min.
French with
English Subtitles
Thriller

Set in 1942 in German-occupied Paris, Younes, a young Algerian immigrant, makes his living on the black market. Tracked down by the German occupation forces, and desirous of avoiding a jail sentence, he agrees to spy at the  Paris Mosque, a meeting ground for Muslim Resistance fighters whose activities include rescuing North African Jews, providing false identity papers, and assassinating Vichy government informers. There he befriends an Algerian cabaret singer involved in the Paris underground whom he later discovers is a Jew. Slowly, Younes is transformed from a politically ignorant black marketeer to a full-fledged freedom fighter.

 Patron Sponsors: Graciela & Albert Handy and Patti & Dan Steiner
 

LITTLE ROSE (Różyczka)

Wednesday, Mar 14 
7:30 PM • ERJCC
 
Directed by
Jan Kidawa-Błoński
Poland, 2010, 118 min.
Polish with English Subtitles
Thriller

1967 was the Summer of Love in the United States; in the Soviet Bloc, the yearnings for democracy played out against political repression and heavy-handed attempts to discourage such yearnings. Once again, Jews were scapegoats. In this thriller, Roman Rożek, a Polish Security Service officer, enlists his naïve girlfriend, code name “Little Rose,” to spy upon and become the lover of Warczewski, a professor, writer, and intellectual believed to be a Zionist. Little Rose begins to enjoy her role as a spy and the refined experiences she enjoys with Warczewski as opposed to the crude pleasures of Rożek. As she starts questioning her role and her loyalties, the love triangle becomes ever more dangerous: the totalitarian regime will go to any lengths to protect its interests.
 

 
VIEW TRAILER  
 
READ REVIEW 
 
 
 

DOLPHIN BOY

Thursday, Mar 15 
5:00 PM • ERJCC 
Director Dani Menkin
in Attendance

$5 @ 5:00 
All 5:00 PM movies
are only $5!
  
Directed by
Dani Menkin
and Yonatan Nir
Director Menkin in Attendance
Israel, 2011, 72 min.
Hebrew with
English Subtitles
Documentary
 

Dolphin Boy is a four-year study of Morad, an Arab teenager who is beaten and left for dead by his assailants. Israeli psychologist, Ilan Kutz, an expert in post-traumatic disassociation, agrees to take on his case. When Morad awakens, he is unable to speak, communicate or focus. His father quits his job and vows to devote himself to bringing Morad back from the near dead. As a last resort, Dr. Kutz decides to relocate Morad to the Eilat Dolphin Habitat where Morad begins to swim, play and hang out with dolphins. Initially non-responsive, as the months pass, we watch as Morad slowly emerges from the abyss as he responds to the healing powers of nature and love.
 

Thursday, Mar 15
7:30 PM • ERJCC
with Actor
Amos Tamam
in Attendance
 
Created by
Eliezer (Laizy) Shapiro
and Chana Divon
Israel, (3) 35 min.
episodes from
Season 1 (2008)
Hebrew with
English Subtitles
TV Series, Dramedy
 

Friday, Mar 16 
1:00 PM • ERJCC
 
Directed by
Matej Mináč
Czech Republic/Slovak
Republic, 2011, 96 min.
English
Documentary

Sunday, Mar 18 
1:00 PM • ERJCC
Producer
Nina Hawn Zale
in Attendance
 
Directed by
Yonatan Nir
USA, 2011, 60 min.
English and Hebrew
with English Subtitles
Documentary

For years photographer Nina Hawn Zale has been volunteering her services for Golshim L’Chaim-Ski to Live, and in 2011 she engineered the making of a documentary about the organization’s work. Beyond the Boundaries follows several injured Israeli veterans—some of whom are amputees—who were invited by Golshim L’Chaim for rehabilitative skiing in Aspen.  Directed by award winning Yonatan Nir (co-director of Dolphin Boy) with Highlight Films Israel, the film outlines the universal message of hope, overcoming life’s challenges, and how adversity opens the door for human potential.
 
Your chance to win! Each ticket purchase enters you into a raffle to win a gift card from Sun & Ski Sports.
 
Patron Sponsors: Linda & Jerry Rubenstein
 

Sunday, Mar 18
7:30 PM • ERJCC
 
Directed by
Guy Nattiv
Israel, 2010, 100 min.
Hebrew with
English Subtitles
Drama

The already dysfunctional Roshko household is thrown into further disarray when their autistic son and brother Tomer is sent home from the suddenly closed institution in which he has been living. Miri, Tomer’s mother, is a preschool teacher having an affair with the father of one of her students. Gidi, Tomer’s father, is a crop-duster who has been grounded for getting stoned. Yoni, Tomer’s brother, who resents Tomer’s reappearance in the household, is selling his services completing homework assignments for his not so intellectually gifted classmates while studying for his bar mitzvah portion—the story of Noah and the flood. Family pressures mount as secrets emerge and impact the lives of family and community in this touching and sometimes comic film.
 
Closing Night Reception Courtesy of Fleischer Wines.