The fifth annual Jackson Jewish Film Festival begins on Wednesday, Jan. 21 at Millsaps College and will present four films ranging from comedy to drama to documentary.
Presented by the Millsaps College Jewish Culture Organization/Millsaps Hillel, The Institute for Southern Jewish Life and Jewish Cinema South the films will screen in the Ford Academic Complex Recital Hall.
Sixty-Six begins at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 21. Film description: Based on the real life experience of director Paul Weiland, Sixty-six is a coming-of-age comedy about a young man whose life is about to get good—or so he thinks until all hell breaks loose. Starring Eddie Marsan (Mission Impossible III, Vera Drake), Helena Bonham Carter (Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Big Fish), Stephen Rea (V for Vendetta, Breakfast on Pluto), Catherine Tate and Peter Serafinowicz.
The Counterfeiters begins at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22. Film description: Based on the historical work The Devil's Workshop by Adolf Burger, The Counterfeiters is a compelling docudrama about a Russian-born Jew living the good life in Berlin as the best counterfeiter in the world. Then comes Hitler. He wants you to help the Reich. What would you do?
Arranged begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 24. Film description: Centered on the friendship between an Orthodox Jewish woman and a Muslim woman who meet as first-year teachers at a public school in Brooklyn. Arranged shows how both deal with the experience of arranged marriages and a world that doesn’t quite “get it.”
Praying with Lior begins at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 25. Film description: The winner of numerous Audience Awards for Best Documentary, Praying with Lior asks whether someone with Down syndrome can be a “spiritual genius.” Many believe Lior is close to God -- at least that's what his family and community believe -- though he’s also a burden, a best friend, an inspiration and an embarrassment, depending on who is asked and when. As this moving and entertaining documentary moves to its climax, Lior must pass through the gateway to manhood - his Bar Mitzvah.
For tickets and more information: www.isjl.org/cultural/jcs.htm, or call 601-956-6215. Or contact James Bowley, Millsaps Professor of Religious Studies, at 601-974-1328 or bowleje@millsaps.edu.
