Miami Jewish Film Fest & the Liberation of Auschwitz

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Monday, 12 January 2015 17:24

Written by Renzo Adler

Anita B.

Marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the Miami Jewish Film Festival (January 15 - 29, 2015) at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center (3385 Northeast 188th Street Aventura, FL 33180) examines a dark and painful chapter of history, but also “celebrates the unexpected,” as its tagline touts, in Jewish history and life.

• Anita B., directed by Roberto Faenza, is a story of healing and change as a woman liberated from Auschwitz starts a new life in Prague.

• The Last Mentsch, directed by Pierre-Henry Salfati, shows a man denying his Jewish identity since escaping Auschwitz. But now that he’s aware of his own mortality he wishes to be burried in a Jewish cemetary and must prove something that he has spent most of his life denying.

• The Decent One, directed by Vanessa Lapa, examines the life of SS chief Heincrich Himler through personal photographs, documents, and journals, and how he became one of the top designers of murder and genocide for the Third Reich.

• Colette, directed by Milan Cieslar, is based on the novel by Arnost Lustig, a concentration camp survivor. The film is a tale of escape and survival that draws from Lustig’s own experiences.

Along with its films set around Auschwitz, the festival also has works focuses on Jewish life today. In it’s North American premiere, Bible Kings, a documentary directed by Antoine Arditti, examines a world of Talmudic scholars (of sorts) that are competitors in The World Bible Quiz, a global competition testing knowledge of who said what, where, and when in the Old Testament. Director Arditti will be in attendance to introduce the film and give a Q&A when it is over.

The Miami Jewish Film Festival touches on Jewish life, past and present, with a wide array of films.

To learn more, go to: http://miamijewishfilmfestival.net/

Miami Jewish Film Festival
January 15 - 29, 2015

Aventura Arts & Cultural Center
3385 Northeast 188th Street
Aventura, FL 33180

Various other locations.