BJFF - Wrap Up

So we enjoyed seeing Only Human so much, we decided to take in more screenings of the Boston Jewish Film Festival.  We did a little research, and decided that we would probably enjoy Campfire, Live and Become, and Monsieur Batignole.  Each of the four films we watched happended to be foreign.  There were plenty of English language films in the festival, but for some reason the four that we chose were most appealing.  I don't think I have ever seen as many subtitled films in such a short period of time.  It was a new, and enjoyable experience.

 

Campfire was about an Israeli widow and her two daughters coping with life after the death of the husband.  It deals with issues of Israeli settling, adolescence, social structures, etc...  It had some dark moments, and coming after our screening of Only Human, it was a bit of a downer.  Well worth watching, just difficult at times.  After the film, the actress who played the younger daughter held a Q&A session.

 

Live and Become tells the story of an Ethiopian boy who's mother sends him off to Israel with a Jewish Ethiopian woman who pretends he is her son.  In 1984/1985 a rescue mission dubbed Operation Moses was carried out to relocate thousands of Ethiopian Jews who were facing both famine and persecution at home.  The story follows the life of this boy as he assimilates into Israeli culture and deals with his "secret" that he is not really a Jew.  Three actors played the boy in three stages of his life: child, teen, and adult.  The film was fantastic, and won this year's Best Feature Fiction Film award.  After the film, the actor who played the boy as an adult held Q&A session.  It turns out that his own story was quite similar to that of the main character, and his role in the film went far beyond playing a role.  He was a primary consultant on cultural and historical aspects of the film, and really put a lot into getting the film made.  It was really inspirational to listen to him and to see what he had accomplished.

 

Monsieur Batignole was last years Best Feature Fiction Film winner, so they decided to screen it again.  It deals with Nazi occupied France and one man's unintentional involvement in hiding and saving three Jewish children.  This was also difficult to watch at times, but well worth the discomfort.  And every hard moment was balanced out by a comedic moment, so there was some pleasure with the pain.

 

I'm so glad we made an effort to see these films.  Well worth the price of admission.