Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Jewish Film Festival Review: ‘Righteous Rebel’

  By Jack Forman SAN DIEGO — Righteous Rebel: The Story of Rabbi Avi Weiss, a wide-ranging, celebratory feature-length documentary by filmmaker Phil Schneider honoring the life and the activism of the well-known and controversial Orthodox Rabbi who has been in the public limelight for almost a half a century screened before an attentive audience of

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Jewish Religion, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

‘Flory’s Flame’: Jewish history through Ladino music

LA JOLLA, California —  San Diego Jewish Film Festival audiences were bestowed a gift of immeasurable delights as Flory’s Flame was shown on On Friday, February 12, in the JCC’s Garfield Auditorium.  Before the airing of the hour-long documentary, we were treated to five live heart-rending pieces sung by Elizabeth Schwartz, accompanied by guitarist and professor, Fred Benedetti. 

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Eva Trieger, International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

‘Dough’ is worth spending your cash on

By Jack Forman SAN DIEGO — An improbable plot in a film is not necessarily a liability, especially when a movie has other things going for it — great acting, a funny and touching script with a good heart and an uplifting message, sure-footed direction, excellent cinematography and appealing, and off-center characters. Dough, a British comedy-drama

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San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Holocaust survivor takes last stand in new drama

By Cynthia Citron LOS ANGELES — Franz Altman is making his Last Stand.  Which is to be expected, because when a man is 90 years old there probably aren’t too many Stands left for him to take.  Or the energy to take them.But then, Franz Altman is a unique 90-year old.  As portrayed by  Michael Laskin, he rambles on at

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Cynthia Citron, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Film Festival Preview: ‘Imber’s Left Hand’

  LA JOLLA, California -The 26th Annual San Diego Jewish Film Festival is underway, and the film selections seem to run the gamut from comedy to maudlin, somber to joyous, but Friday morning’s film, Imber’s Left Hand, a documentary,  can only be described as bittersweet. Jill Hoy, artist and wife of Jon Imber, introduced the documentary of

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Eva Trieger, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Film Festival Preview: ‘Victor Young Perez’

Victor ‘Young’ Perez directed by Jacque Quaniche; Bulgaria, France, Israel; French with English Subtitles; Drama; to be shown twice at the San Diego Jewish Film Festival: At 8 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 7, at Edwards San Marcos Stadium 18, 1180 W. San Marcos Blvd., San Marcos, and at 4:30 p.m., Sunday, February 14, at the Reading

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Donald H. Harrison, San Diego Calendar, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Film Festival Preview: ‘The Singing Abortionist’

The Singing Abortionist directed by Dana Bratt; Canada; © 2014; 60 minutes; English; Documentary.  To be shown during the San Diego Jewish Film Festival at 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 7 at  Edward San Marcos Stadium 18, 1180 W. San Marcos Blvd., San Marcos, and at 2 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 9, at the Reading Cinemas 14,

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Donald H. Harrison, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

’45 Years’ seemed to take that long for concert lover

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Because both my husband and I tend to prefer going to a concert of an evening rather than attending the screening of a movie, our visits to the cinema are relatively few and far between. Due to a shortage of concerts we have, however, been to see a couple

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

San Diego is the temporary capital of short films

The Big Shorts By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO ─ This Sunday and Monday San Diego temporarily will become the world capital of short films.   At the same time the Landmark Ken Theatre is showcasing the Oscar-nominated animated and live action short films, the San Diego Jewish Film Festival will be screening the Ma’aleh School of Film,

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Lawrence Baron, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Memory vs. ecology in ‘Dream Catcher’

By Cynthia Citron LOS ANGELES — Once again the amazing and consistently fabulous Fountain Theater has mounted a play that, like most of their others, is a must see! This one is called Dream Catcher and it was created by the Fountain’s award-winning playwright and co-founder, Stephen Sachs, whose plays are often perceptive and thought-provoking explorations

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Cynthia Citron, Theatre, Film & Broadcast