For the next month, the Rialto will be home to the 24th annual Jewish Film Festival. The festival, which is put on by Sonoma County’s Jewish Community Center, will be showing films on select days from Oct. 10 to Nov. 12.
This year’s festival has a broad theme surrounding the way Jewish culture interacts with the world as a whole, Festival Director Irène Hodes said.
The films in this year’s lineup cover a variety of topics and genres — films range from “Sustainable Nation,” a documentary following three Israelis as they try and introduce sustainable water solutions to various parts of the world to “Abe,” a family comedy that follows a half-Israeli Jewish and half-Palestinian Muslim 12-year-old living in Brooklyn as he tries to navigate his family’s culture clash through food.
“He’s the embodiment of one of the largest struggles in the world,” Hodes said of “Abe.”
“I’m always trying to find a way to bridge gaps and relationships in our communities,” she said. “This is a cultural festival, not a religious festival, and we really want to share all different aspects of culture.”
She described the film festival as Jewish-themed, with a wider appeal.
Films like “Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas,” which precedes a series of shorts, tells a story of how Jewish culture is ingrained in everyday life in ways that people may not suspect — like with Christmas music. The film profiles popular Jewish-immigrant musicians such as Irving Berlin and Mel Torme, who wrote Christmas classics like “White Christmas” and “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.”
Viewing the festival through a more local lens, Hodes pointed to “Sustainable Nation,” which is making its Bay Area debut at the festival. The film tracks three different people trying to tackle water sustainability; one of them heads to an almond farm in California’s Central Valley to do so.
“We’re bringing this here because it’s very relevant to our community,” Hodes said.
As the director of the festival, Hodes is most looking forward to the sing-along showing of “Fiddler on the Roof.”
It’s been awhile since the festival has shown a revival film, she said, and she’s hoping that showing “Fiddler” will encourage the whole community to come out and view the film. In addition to the sing-along portion, there will also be a costume contest.
“We’re in difficult times in the country right now, and I think that representing minorities, international culture through fine art and celebration, and the sharing of cultures and different stories is always important,” Hodes said. “It’s about communication and connection and celebrating our differences and our similarities. Jewish culture has always been prolific in our arts, our technologies and our sciences, and it’s really our pleasure to share that with larger Sonoma County.”
The film festival will be held on select Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at Rialto Cinemas, 6868 McKinley St., Sebastopol
To purchase tickets or for out more information about the festival, visit jccsoco.org or call 707-528-4222.
