Film lovers of New Hampshire, get out your calendars and block out space for some exciting film events.
The ninth annual New Hampshire Jewish Film Festival begins Thursday in Manchester with For the Love of Spock and concludes on April 2 in Concord with a basketball-themed wrap party at Red River Theatres after the screening of On the Map. Eleven Jewish-themed films will be shown at venues throughout the state; six can be seen at Red River Theatres.
Star Trek? Basketball? All of the films selected for the festival have a Jewish connection.
For the Love of Spock recalls the life stories of Star Trek’s Mr. Spock and of the actor who played him for nearly 50 years, Leonard Nimoy, who was Jewish. Nimoy’s famous “Live long and prosper” Vulcan salute was inspired by his childhood memory of a gesture used during a blessing at synagogue.
The film, which features interviews with William Shatner and the original Star Trek cast, is directed by Adam Nimoy, and includes his experience growing up with a famous father. The associate producer, Kai DeMellow-Folsom, is from New Hampshire. “Trekkies” who attend are encouraged to don their pointy ears in celebration of Star Trek’s 50th anniversary.
On the Map is the inspiring story of the underdog Israeli basketball team that won a David-and-Goliath victory over Russia’s Red Army team in 1977. The story is told through the eyes of six American basketball players who joined the Israeli team and helped it win the European championship.
The win, occurring shortly after the massacre at the Olympic Games in Munich and the Yom Kippur War, was a huge morale boost for Israel. Tal Brody, an Israeli-American basketball hero in the event, proclaimed to the world that Israel is “on the map now.”
The film also features interviews with basketball’s Bill Walton and former NBA commissioner David Stern.
The rest of the lineup is equally impressive.
A group of spirited and clever Orthodox Jewish women stand up to patriarchal authority in The Women’s Balcony, the number one box office success in Israel in 2016. It has a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and was last week’s Los Angeles Times Critic’s Pick of the Week by Ken Turan, who called it a “charming, warm-hearted comedy”. A “Sociable Saturday” dessert reception follows the film.
A gay Israeli man, rejected by his family and friends, moves to London and is diagnosed with HIV in the true story Who’s Gonna Love Me Now? As Saar struggles with loneliness and his family tries to make sense of it all, the London Gay Men’s Chorus becomes his support system. The chorus also supplies the soundtrack for this poignant film.
The film is preceded by a performance by the New Hampshire Gay Men’s Chorus.
“We are so honored and pleased that they asked us to join them,” said Stephen MacInnes, chorus board president. “This is the first time we’ve collaborated with them.
“None of us have seen it,” he said. “We’re all looking forward to it.”
The pre-show program also features guest speakers Deputy Consul General Matan Zamir and Shira Yovel, cultural attache for the Consulate General of Israel to New England.
MacInnes has high hopes for the film’s lasting impact.
“For many years these choruses were in the forefront of getting the gay culture up front in a positive way,” MacInness said. “The whole chorus is looking forward to this as one more thing to get our good name and work out there.”
He also sees the need to keep a focus on HIV.
“It’s not something that we can become lax on,” he said. “It’s still there, it’s still an issue for many different populations but also for the gay population in particular, and still needs to be talked about as much as possible to keep people aware.”
The title character in the Dutch romantic comedy Moos has put her life on hold to take care of her aging father, but a surprise visit from an old friend on Hanukkah evening spurs her to follow her dreams.
A Sociable Saturday wine and cheese reception follows the show.
Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story is a touching personal story as well as a window into the behind-the-scenes aspects of movie production. Harold Michelson was a storyboard artist and his wife, Lillian, who is still living, was a film researcher whose job it was to assure authenticity in everything on the screen. Both were essential to the success of hundreds of Hollywood’s blockbuster movies for 60 years, but their work went unnoticed by the general public – until now.
Their relationship to each other and to the film industry is told through love letters, film clips, Harold’s cartoon drawings, films of their conversations, and commentary by Mel Brooks, Danny DeVito and Francis Ford Coppola.
Following the film, Matt Newton of the New Hampshire Division of Film and Digital Media will explore the behind-the-scenes workings of such films as The Ten Commandments, The Graduate, Rocky and Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
Dr. Mel Prostkoff, who had a long friendship with the Michelsons, will join Newton to share his experiences with the couple.
Fanny’s Journey, which is preceded by a short film, is based on the true story of a 13-year-old Jewish girl who leads her10 sisters to safety and freedom during World War II. The children were first sent to a foster home in Italy from their native France in 1943. Then the Nazis reached Italy, and the girls’ caretakers desperately orchestrated the children’s escape to Switzerland. It’s a tale of incredible bravery and resourcefulness.
Film selection for the festival is a lengthy process. Festival co-chairs Linda Gerson and Pat Kalik begin screening around 60 films in late June or early July, then narrow the list down to about 30 for the film committee to view.
“It’s a collaboration,” Gerson said. “We have a dedicated film screening committee. Pat and I do the research on the films, and the film committee will also suggest films that they hear about.”
The whole team then reviews two films each Monday night for months. They have a system for rating the films, Gerson said. Everyone fills out a survey after seeing a film, and rates it, and then they discuss it. They usually select eight to 10 films, but this year they’re having 11 because they’ve added a children’s film, Paddington.
The films don’t stand alone in the festival.
“This year we have more film events and activities than we’ve ever had before,” Gerson said. “We find it really enhances the film-going experience. It’s what makes the film festival so special instead of just going to the movies.”
The film-going community really likes social events, Gerson said, so the festival organizers came up with “Sociable Saturdays.” On the two Saturday nights when films will be shown at Red River, your ticket gets you into the film and the reception after.
There will be a dessert reception after The Women’s Balcony this weekend, and a wine and cheese reception after Moos on April 1.
“Every year we work hard to raise the bar for the film festival and do new things,” Gerson said. The Sociable Saturday is brand new and is being well received.”
It gives everybody a chance to talk about the film, she said, and the comments are very helpful to film screening going forward.
Five of the films in the festival will only be available outside of Concord:
For the Love of Spock will be shown in Manchester.
Breakfast at Ina’s (Bedford) is about a woman known as the “Breakfast Queen” in Chicago. Ina Pinkney ran a popular diner for 33 years before post-polio syndrome made it impossible for her to continue. The film chronicles the last days of the restaurant as Ina reflects on what it meant to her and to the customers she loves – and who love her right back. Ina herself will be at the gala brunch that precedes the film, and will sign copies of her cookbook Ina’s Kitchen: Memories and Recipes from the Breakfast Queen.
Paddington (Bedford) is an animated update of the children’s classic. Just about everyone remembers Paddington’s tag: “Please look after this bear. Thank you.” Author Michael Bond is said to have been inspired by his memories of children being evacuated during World War II. The family screening of this movie includes snacks and a “Teddy Bear Social”; children are encouraged to bring their teddy bears.
Sabena Hijacking: My Version (Bedford) is the harrowing account of the 1972 hijacking of Belgian Sabena Flight 571 from Brussels to Tel Aviv by four members of the Palestinian organization “Black September.” The film includes interviews with three Israeli leaders who were in charge of the rescue operation, and with the lone surviving hijacker.
Fever at Dawn (Merrimack) is based on the true story of a young Hungarian Holocaust survivor with a terminal illness who is looking for a wife by sending out 117 letters to Hungarian girls. Carolyn Hollman, professor emerita from Southern New Hampshire University, will lead a post-film discussion comparing the film to the book Fever at Dawn by Peter Gardos.
Tickets may be purchased at the door at all venues, Kalik said, but in the past some films have sold out, so she encourages advance sales.
“It’s a very good problem to have,” she said.