Monday, February 22

Rafting to Bombay  9:45 a.m.
Israel, 2009, 70 minutes, Hebrew, Polish with subtitles
Two generations of the Laufer family visit Bombay (Mumbai), India, to see where the grandparents lived as Polish refugees during WWII. In the midst of their visit, the largest terrorist attack in the city’s history occurs. A moving documentary about two intersecting periods of history and one family’s struggle to survive.

CCJCC | $5
In Memory of Norma Sherman.

The Road to Tel Aviv  11:15 a.m.
Israel, 2009, 18 minutes, Hebrew with subtitles
This provocative short feature reveals the impact of terrorism on everyday citizens. A young Israeli man finds himself in a tricky situation when a suspicious looking woman enters the same bus as his fiancée. Adult content. Playing with a selection of other short features.

With Pinhas
Israel, 2008, 30 minutes, Hebrew with subtitles
Six year-old Pinhas’ mother works the night shift, leaving him alone in their small apartment. He envies the close family ties of the tight-knit Orthodox Sephardic family next door. When that family welcomes him into their home, his mother, a firm non-believer from the former Soviet Union, expresses her outrage.

CCJCC | $5

Inside Hana's Suitcase  2:00 p.m.
Canada, 2009, 75 minutes, Japanese, English with subtitles
Blending documentary and dramatic techniques, this moving film tells the story of two children who grew up in pre-WWII Czechoslovakia and the terrible events that they endured just because they happened to be born Jewish. Based on an internationally acclaimed book, it is also the present-day story of a group of Japanese children and their tenacious teacher, Fumiko Ishioka, and how they solved the mystery of Hana Brady, whose name was painted on an old battered suitcase that they received from Auschwitz. The film seamlessly transports us through history and back and forth across three continents, providing the viewer with a contemporary global perspective.

CineArts | $5
Co-sponsor: Holocaust Center of Northern California. Underwritten by Selma & Paul Forkash and Eve Gordon-Ramek & Henry Ramek.

Out of Sight  4:15 p.m.
Israel, 2006, 90 minutes, Hebrew with subtitles
Starring Assi Dayan, this taut and haunting mystery follows 24-year-old Ya’ara, a blind Israeli woman who leaves her Ph.D. studies at Princeton after she learns that her cousin and best friend Talia has committed suicide. Joining Talia’s family for the traditional 7-day mourning period, Ya’ara investigates her friend’s death only to reveal secrets that were always kept “out of sight.” Adult content.

CineArts | $10

A Gift to Stalin (Podarok Stalinu)  7:30 p.m.
Kazakhstan/Russia/Poland/Israel, 2008, 99 minutes, Russian and Kazakh with subtitles
Set against the harsh, sweeping beauty of the Kazakh Steppes in central Asia, this earthy and poignant feature film is the story of Sashka, an “orphaned” Jewish boy, who is sent into exile in 1949 during a Stalinist purge, but saved by Kasym, an older Muslim man. Likened to such acclaimed films as Cinema Paradiso and Il Postino, A Gift to Stalin reminds us of the crimes that Stalin committed against Jews and other Soviet minorities. Adult content.

CineArts | $10
Co-sponsors: Beth Chaim Congregation
and JCRC/East Bay.

A Touch Away, Episodes 1–3  9:30 p.m.
Israel, 2007, 90 minutes, Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian with subtitles
Forbidden love blossoms in Bnei Brak in this popular Israeli TV miniseries. We follow a recent Russian immigrant who is paving the way for his family to join him. Unknowingly, he rents an apartment in an Orthodox section of town and falls in love with the daughter of his religious neighbor. Add a few more storylines and you have a marvelous multi-family drama that will keep you glued to the screen.

CineArts | $10

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