. good morning and welcome to mosaic. i'm rabbi eric. and we're honored to have the annual visit with the jewish film festival. this is the executive director and the program director. welcome. >> thank you. thanks for having us. >> it's so wonderful to have you for the annual jewish film

festival. let's jump in and talk with us about what's new this year. >> yeah. well, wewe've got 65 films from3 countries. and as you mentioned, we'll be in five bay area cities. at the run at the caster theater for ten days starting on july 18th. and palo alto, marin, oakland, albany, and san rafael. >> and you can repeat and people can go to more than one place at a time. >> that's right. and if you love the film, see it again in another venue. we're excited to be back in the venues. we have something really amazing that's new this year. we have the shabat dinner open to the public at city hall.

it's the night after opening night on july 19th at city hall. it's a sit down, family-style dinner. it's the event to welcome the international filmmakers here visiting us from out of town to join us. they say a little bit about the films and we have a celebration. and people get a chance to mix and mingle. that's on the 19th. and people can buy tickets or tables on our website. >> wonderful. and we should say i know we'll get to this later on during the show. but the festival attracts so many people, jewish and non-jewish. july 19th is a friday evening. the sabbath begins on friday night. >> that's right. >> and folks can make the weekend plans. >> it's open to all. and you know, it's a very festive evening. really different in city hal

and we encourage people to join us and get personal and intimate with the guests and film makers that will be showing us their t. >> the public can come and intermingle with the people who made the films. >> that's right. it's a cocktail party from 6:00 to 7:00 and the dinner is to follow. and it's really a wonderful event. >> and what are some of the other themes going on this year? >> yeah. this year, we have 12 big night films, which are special events and really high profile films. we're excited this year our opening night is fiddler, a miracle of miracles. it's a really well done documentary about fiddler on the roof. it's really, really a special film. it's very focused on all of the issues that fiddle letter brings

to the table. the feminism with the sisters who defy, you know, the traditional roles that are expected of them. it's about the transition from tradition to modernity that cultures around the world share. the film highlights all of the different countries and cultural communities that have adopted fiddler as their own. we see productions in thailand and china and all over the world that people have really adopted this incredible musical. it's a great night with the party afterwards at the contemporary jewish museum. >> that's opening night. >> that's right. >> and i know we'll talk more about this as we continue the conversation, but fiddler on the roof, it's the way it's been

adopted in different communities as well as the themes that the movie portrays. >> that's right. and it has sheldon sheldon and lin-manuel miranda. there's a section on jerome robins. you get the inside scoop about the broadway show production and the history of fiddler emerging on the scene. >> fantastic. we'll leave the segment with a clip. set up the clip for us. >> yeah. we have a side bar per story. we're focusing on films that have themes, feminist themes. and we're looking at the role of equity and diversity in the film industry as a whole. we have a wonderful film about pauleen kale and equity and

inclusion in criticism and lack thereof impacting the film industry as a whole. and this is what she said.. >> and for folks whoon know, she is no longer living and a film critic published in the new yorker. >> and she had roots in the bay area. she was from a jewish family. it's the local spotlight film and a local story we will. we'll follow the film with a panel of film critics. we hope everybody will join us. we would love to show the clip. >> wonderful. here we go. the one review she wrote that ended up meaning something to me in a big way was for a band of outsiders. she said it was as if a bunch of movie mad young french

boys had taken up a now american crime novel and translated the poetry they had read between the line. it was like that is my aesthetic. right there. that's what i hope i can do.

. good morning and welcome back to mosaic. we're middle of a wonderful

conversation about the jewish film festival. it's the 39th year from july 18th to august 4th throw the bay area. and this is the executive director of the institute and jay, the program director. welcome back. so let's continue to have conversations about what the themes are and look at some of the clips along the way. >> sure. well, i want to tell you about our closing night film, which is part of the side bar on ethiopian jews. we call it desperately seeking israel. the closing night film is one of the three films part of this, the red sea diving resort. this is a big budget film with stars like chris evans, who played captain america, and michael kenneth williams, in the

wire. and greg kinnear. they play mussad agents that try to help the jews escape to israel. it's fictionalized and takes place in '80s. it's a fun, big budget film about an important issue. and one film is called the passengers about the ethiopian jews currently trying to get to israel and one called fig tree, a narrative about a family in ethiopia. >> and what clip are we seeing now? >> this is a clip from a center peas film. the narrative is a film called tel aviv on fire. we showed a film of his from a few years ago called man without a cell phone.

held be joining us. this is a biting satire which takes place currently. but the soap opera within the film takes place right after the six-dat' kind of like the front, somebody posing as a screen writer who gets his advice from an israeli colonel. and it's just kind of a mad attire comedy. but gets to some important issues also. >> let's take a look.

. wonderful. lexi and jay, typically the festival has films in english and lots and lots of other language. this was in hebrew with subtitles. i wonder before the break, if you can say in a quick way, how does somebody actually come to you if they have a film, how is

it you make choices? we talk about how people can be considered the following year. >> we have a submission process through without a box and people can submit the films to us. and we seek out great films from around the world and go to several festivals around the world such as berlin, sun dance. this year, a record ten films from the sun dance film festival. we go to to ran toe and tribecca and find films and invite them. >> you curate the festival from many sources. >> yes. and we follow a lot of filmmakers and their careers and know when they're working on a film and try to see it before it's released. >> we'll take a quick break and come back as we continue the conversation with the jewish film festival.

. good morning. and welcome back to mosaic. we're getting to know the 39th an jewel lexi, the executive director, and jay, the program director. welcome back. >> thanks. >> and we want to show a couple of clips in this segment. i know you do an expression award to at a director every year. >> yeah. this year is award is judiht, an amazing filmmaker in her own right. she's a pea body award winning filmmaker. her films have been at past festivals, including blue vinyl and healthy baby girl. she'll be back with the new film, cooked, survival by zip code, about the chicago heat wave of the '90s.

and how climate change affects people of color in communities and big cities in america. she'll be here to receive the award. it's also she's an amazing feminist and started chicken and egg pictures, which has funded women filmmakers for millions of dollars of production. so she'll be talking about her work behind the camera and behind the scenes in the industry. and then continuing on the feminism theme, we've got a great next wave spotlight film, which is for young adult populations, people under 35. they can buy a pass to the festival for $45 and get into all the films except some of the big nights. the next wave spotlight is kind of a very funny comedy, fiction film that pokes fun a little bit at the me too movement.

it's about a young adjunct professor played by justin long who makes an inappropriate comment during one of his lectures. and a student is triggered. and then kind of a serious but, you know kind of critical look at me too and the conversations about sexual harassment unfold. and it stars fran drescher as well. we'll show a clip. . >> hey, hey. >> i don't want to go to the fancy theater. >> i'm not going to. >> oh, my god. that's the student. stop. please stop. >> she can't tell. >> jackie, turn around. please. >> just pretend. >> jackie. >> where's my friend?

>> that's her. that's her. which one? >> they're doing it. nobody. >> josh, listen to me. this is an opportunity for you to go over there and jazz. listen to her. validate her feelings. shd eed that. >> will you pay the bill, please? >> wonderful. and what are some of the other things before we look at the next clip? >> we have another film in that next wave group of films is a film that we're combining with a feast. we call it film and feast. and this is a film called abe that was at sun dance. it stars noah shepp, in stranger things, a popular tv show. and he plays a young boy that his parents, his mother is israeli and jewish and his

father is palestinian. and he just wants to cook. he's known as abraham and he wants to be called abe. we're combining in with a feast next door to the theater. >> in the east bay. yes. let's take a look at abe. . >> food. some kids at school like computers, cars, selfies, toys. i eni just simple ordinary things in life like food. . >> you are a jew. from your mother. >> he is a muslim because of his father. >> i'm sorry, is atheism? >> my name is abraham. i prefer abe. >> interesting. that clip is quite provocative on lots of different levels.

>> yeah. >> it's really fun. >> it's about different cultural communities coming together over food. >> and we'll take a quick break and come back with more from the jewish film festival.

. good morning. welcome back to mosaic. we're continuing the conversation about the jewish film festival. what about the east bay opening night? >> well, the east bay opening night film is called picture of his life. this is directed by two israelis

and produced by nancy spielberg. it's about an underwater photographer. all four of them will be here for the screening. and his goal in life is to photograph the polar bear underwater. and the polar bear is the most ferocious animal there is. we'll see a clip from that. >> let's take a look. this is one subject that eludes me, that is photographing the polar bear in the water. he's obsessed to create these things, these images allow him to tell his story. >> he's one of the best ambassadors of the ocean. not only of images, but of message. he takes huge risks to bring the

images which nobody else has been able to capture. . >> if the wind is too turbulent and we can't do it, we're not going to go there. >> i wouldn't want to be >> wow. the diversity of the films is so vast and educational. >> yeah. and this film we actually have a block party afterward. so if people come to the albany for the east bay opening night, there's a wonderful street fair with a lot of great food and drink afterwards. really fun. >> there's so many other eventses. what are the other things happening? >> we have a lot of music films. one has a live performance. is first one is unique.

it's an animated feature film. and it's literally the animatio, feature length. it's beautiful and artistically done and has a great sound track. and we have a live musical performance and the mapbonix. the jews who went crazy over mambo and became e nam mored with the dancing of the mambo. we have a live performance with club havana 1950. let's take a clip. it's really fun. this was cuba, a land of song and dance and gaiety. . >> i want to be here in havana and listen to the music. i want to feel the waves.

i want to get drowned. as long as they play music, i can get drowned. . >> latin music was born in africa and came through cuba and got mixed in with jazz. >> this is a mambo party off broadway who had jewish people, puerto ricanses, black people. you were accepted if you knew how to dance. . >> lexi, jay, we'll say good-bye in a moment. we want to encourage people to come to the 39th jewish film festival in the bay area july 18th through august 4th. and again, let us know the areas of the bay. >> yeah. people can come to the san francisco run at the castro theater. we're be in the albany theater. the christopher b. smith in

marin. palo alto, and oak land. >> wonderful. thank you for being with us. and we want to encourage you to buy tickets and go to the jewish film festival. thank you for being

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i'm devin kelley. >> i'm m