Jewish Film Festival Begins March 30

This year the Westchester Jewish Film Festival at the Jacob Burns Film Center features 34 films from Israel and around the world—both documentaries and narratives—along with a rich slate of guests. Included is a special look at the films of the hilarious, uncompromising, and brilliant director Elaine May, who will come to the center on March 31. And don't miss the sensational Presenting Princess Shaw, which kicks things off on Opening Night.

Here are just a few of the films that will be shown:

 

If you loved Showtime's Homeland—which was the US adaptation of the sensational Israeli TV series Hatufim (Prisoners of War) —get ready to binge-watch all 12 episodes of Israel's latest hit TV political thriller. Fauda, which means "Chaos" in Arabic, was co-created by The Times of Israel's Middle East analyst Avi Issacharoff, whose deep knowledge of the region and internal conflict brings undeniable street cred to the unfolding stories. This critically acclaimed series follows undercover Israeli agents—a team of mista'arvim, Israeli soldiers who dress like Arabs to carry out a military operation—searching for a Hamas terrorist in the West Bank. We'll show the complete season in three separate programs.

What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy

"Imagine what it must be like to grow up as the child of a mass murderer." That's the first sentence spoken in David Evans' searing and provocative What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy. While researching the Nuremberg trials, eminent human rights lawyer Phillippe Sands came across Niklas Frank and Horst von Wächter, the sons of two high-ranking Nazi officials who were indicted as war criminals for their roles in World War II. Sands was astonished to learn that the younger men held diametrically opposed views about their fathers. As the three take an emotional journey through Europe, this powerful film explores those feelings, the complicated connection between the two sons, and the story of Sands' own grandfather, who escaped from the town where the fathers carried out mass killings. This unique view of the father-son relationship ultimately comes to difficult and unexpected conclusions.

The Midnight Orchestra uses humor and compassion to smash stereotypes about Jewish/Muslim relationships. It's the bittersweet story of Michael (played by Moroccan rising star Avishay Benazra), who went abroad as a child amid racial tensions spurred by the Yom Kippur War. Years later he returns to Casablanca to see his estranged and ailing father, who had been a famous Jewish musician. Michael is eventually tasked with giving his father a proper burial, which entails finding and bringing together the remaining members of his father's once renowned orchestra, and coming to terms with his own surprising family history.

The Jewish Film Festival includes 34 films from Israel and around the world and runs from March 30 – April 20 at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville. Shows sell out quickly – buy your tickets here today.