11170 N. Central Expressway, Dallas, TX 75243
(at Royal Lane)

Jewish Film Festival Committee
Lori and Trace Ordiway, Co-Chairs
Eleanor Eidels, Leon Eidels, Harry Granoff,
Catherine Lake, Paul Lake,
Marianne Lichtenstein,
Brenda Marcus, Peter Marcus, Haiya Naftali,
Norma Phillips, Ted Rubin,
Sydelle Schectman, Sol Stein, Marcel Weiner,
Carole Wolanow, Shelly Young

Special Opening Night Presentation
Followed by Dessert Reception
The Little Traitor
Drama - 88 minutes
Israel/USA - 2007 in English It's Palestine, 1947, just months before the Israeli state becomes reality, and everyone resents the still-occupying British. Then eleven year old Proffy Liebowitz finds an unlikely best friend in Sergeant Dunlop, a British officer. How can an eleven year old boy make sense of it when the best adult father figure in his life belongs to "the enemy"? Based on the world renowned novel by Amos Oz, and starring Alfred Molina and Theodore Bikel. Winner "Best Film" 2008 Palm Beach International Film Festival.
Saturday, April 18 - 9:00 p.m. / Studio Movie Grill, Dallas.

 

 

  
The television sensation that has Israelis riveted to their screens.
A Touch Away
Episodes 1-4
DALLAS PREMIERE
Drama - four 38 minute episodes
Israel 2007
In Hebrew and Russian with English subtitles A groundbreaking tale of forbidden love between a young Russian immigrant and the ultra-Orthodox girl next door, A Touch Away has earned seven Israeli drama awards, made stars of its unknown players, and is soon to appear in an American version for HBO. See the original eight episodes of Season One and find out why A Touch Away holds the record as the most popular contemporary adult drama on Israeli TV!
Sunday, April 19 - 7:00 p.m. - JCC, Zale Auditorium 

Beau Jest
DALLAS PREMIERE
Romantic Comedy - 98 minutes
USA 2008 In English Chris loves Sarah and Sarah loves Chris - but he's not Jewish. So to please her parents Sarah tells them she is instead seeing "David," an imaginary Jewish doctor boyfriend. When her folks insist on meeting "David" at their home Sarah is forced to hire Bob, an unemployed actor, to play the role. Is Bob up to the challenge? Will her family discover the ruse? In the spirit of My Big Fat Greek Wedding or Kissing Jessica Stein, James Sherman's 1989 popular stage play Beau Jest now comes to the screen.
Thursday, April 23 - 7:00 p.m. - Studio Movie Grill, Dallas  Nominated for Seven Israeli Academy Awards!
 
Lemon Tree
DALLAS PREMIERE
Drama - 106 minutes
Israel/Germany/France 2008
In Arabic, Hebrew and French with English subtitles Salma, a Palestinian widow, finds her beloved lemon grove threatened with destruction when a stubborn Israeli defense minister declares it a security threat. With only a young Palestinian lawyer as help, Salma goes all the way to the Israeli Supreme Court to try to save her trees, while her struggle earns the compassion of the minister's wife, a woman left unhappy by her husband's blossoming career. Lemon Tree turns a minor political skirmish into an affecting parable of a region that is hopelessly divided and united.
Saturday, April 25 - 9:00 p.m. - Studio Movie Grill, Dallas  The television sensation that has Israelis riveted to their screens.

A Touch Away
EPISODES 5-8
DALLAS PREMIERE
Drama - four 38 minute episodes
Israel 2007
In Hebrew and Russian with English subtitles A groundbreaking tale of forbidden love between a young Russian immigrant and the ultra-Orthodox girl-next-door, A Touch Away has earned seven Israeli drama awards, made stars of its unknown players, and is soon to appear in an American version for HBO. See the original eight episodes of Season One and find out why A Touch Away holds the record as the most popular contemporary adult drama on Israeli TV!
Sunday, April 26 - 7:00 p.m. - JCC, Zale Auditorium

Winner of four Israeli Academy Awards!
Lost Islands
DALLAS PREMIERE
Drama - 110 minutes
Israel 2008 In Hebrew with English subtitles It's 1980 and a more innocent time in Israel. The colorful Levi family is helmed by a father who preaches fulfillment of one's dreams and a mother who believes in family loyalty above all else. Twin brothers Ofer and Erez are the yin and yang of their parent's ideologies - and their opposing views are put to the test when a tragic event reverses their roles, forcing each brother to take on the other one's place in the family makeup. Can one challenge destiny? Is a life worth living if you have to give up your dreams?
Saturday, May 2 - 9:00 p.m. - Angelika Film Center, Plano  Writer/Director Roberta Grossman will be in attendance.  

Blessed is the Match
The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh
DALLAS PREMIERE 
Documentary - 86 minutes USA 2008 In English Combining reenactments, interviews and archival materials, this inspiring documentary commemorates the life of the Hungarian poet and resistance fighter who is a national heroine in Israel. Encountering anti-Semitism in her high school years in Budapest, she enlisted in a wartime mission to liberate Hungarian Jews. Parachuting behind enemy lines, Senesh was captured, tortured and ultimately executed by Nazis. Narrated by Oscar-nominee Joan Allen. Filmmaker Roberta Grossman will discuss the film following the screening.
Sunday, May 3  - 7:00 p.m. - JCC, Zale Auditorium 

Co-sponsored by Dallas Holocaust Museum and 3  Stars Cinema Nominated for four Israeli Academy Awards!
The Debt
DALLAS PREMIERE
Psychological Drama - 93 minutes
Israel 2007
In Hebrew and German with English subtitles In 1964 three Mossad agents working in Berlin capture the notorious Nazi war criminal "The Surgeon of Birkenau." But before they can deliver him to Israel a tragic blunder provides his escape. Unable to confess their failure, the agents fake The Surgeon's death and return to Israel as national heroes. Thirty years later, The Surgeon resurfaces in the Ukraine, ready to confess to his war crimes! Before he goes public the agents must recapture and then terminate The Surgeon in order to protect their three decade old lie.
Thursday, May 7 - 8:00 p.m. - Angelika Film Center, Plano
The Debt is co-sponsored by the Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest.  

Closing Night Presentation
Letters for Jenny
DALLAS PREMIERE
Drama - 96 minutes
Spain/Israel/Argentina 2007 In Spanish with English subtitles Knowing she will not be there for the milestones in her daughter's life, a dying mother writes four letters to the girl; one to be opened at her Bat Mitzvah, the second before her wedding,  the third when she is expecting her first baby, and the fourth when she is in a time of great trouble. Spanning two decades in the daughter's life, from childhood in Buenos Aires to a cathartic journey of self-discovery in Israel, Letters For Jenny is an unapologetically sentimental rite of passage experience. Ladies - bring plenty of tissues!
Saturday, May 9 - 9:00 p.m. - Angelika Film Center, Plano 

Online Ticket Sales for Letters for Jenny end at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, May 8. Tickets are still available at the door.

For information about sponsorship of the 14th Annual International Jewish Film Festival of Dallas, please contact Judy Cohn at 214-239-7115 or jcohn@jccdallas.org.