Seattle Jewish Film Festival Offers an Array of Pearls

Overviews
Written By Rachel Glass

This year marks the 30th Anniversary of the Seattle Jewish Film Festival (SJFF), and the organizers and programmers are taking full advantage of the opportunity to celebrate Jewish history, culture, and ideas.

A symbol of love, unity and growth, pearls are the traditional gift for the 30th wedding anniversary celebrations and the organizers have decided to intertwine the theme of the pearl with this milestone year. SJFF is offering 30 films for 30 years, calling them “pearls of wisdom,” and you can find a wide variety of narrative, documentary, animated, and short films at this year’s festival.

Pamela Lavitt, this year’s SJFF Emcee, spoke proudly of the festival, of which she has served as director for 20 of the 30 years it’s been in existence. Lavatt says that, “SJFF is the leading Jewish Film Festival in the country”, and “in its 30-year history, SJFF has hosted 1,000 films!” She also noted: “This year’s festival is enjoying its largest attendance, which hasn’t happened since the festival’s 20th anniversary” in 2015.

The following are some of the special events that have helped to create the welcoming, energized, and communal feeling that attendees like me experienced the minute we stepped into the world of the SJFF:

A dance party with a DJ spinning hits from the ‘60s, plus dessert and drinks, followed the opening night film Midas Man, which portrays the meteoric rise of Brian Epstein, the visionary who catapulted The Beatles from their scrappy, humble Liverpool beginnings to the band we now know as the biggest rock phenomenon of all time.

band performing on stage before a screening- The KlezKatz

The Klez Katz perform on stage before a screening of Welcome to Yiddishland.

The Evergreen Echo

The opening day film event, Welcome to Yiddishland, began with a full-course brunch (with bagels of course), which preceded the screening. After brunch, as the audience found their seats before the film started, a live Klezmer band (The Klez Katz!) played upbeat, high-energy tunes in the theater right beneath the screen, filling the space with a palpable pre-show excitement—they even took requests! The band engaged in back-and-forth banter with the audience between songs and gave some history and trivia about some of the songs they played! My favorite quote from one of the players who reflected on all the wars, chaos, and destruction in the world right now: “History doesn’t repeat itself, but many times it rhymes!”  

When the band finished their set, the audience settled in for the main event. Welcome to Yiddishland is an inspiring film, documenting how the Yiddish language is enjoying a global and cultural renaissance, and we follow the journey of several artists from around the world across numerous disciplines as they reignite a dying language and incorporate this mother tongue in music, theater, opera, and literature.

The closing day festivities, happening at the Stroum Jewish Community Center, Sunday, April 6, include a Mishpokhe (family) matinee screening and sing-along of Fiddler on the Roof. This perennial event is a Seattle Jewish Film Festival Closing Film tradition. All ages are welcome at this family-friendly screening of the classic film and sing-along; there will be prizes awarded for costumes and noshes (snack or light meal) provided (blintzes, a wrap based on a crepe filled with sweetened cheese, sometimes with the addition of raisins, or fruit preserves and then slightly sautéed; and borscht, a tart and tangy, ruby-hued, beet-based soup). Tickets are still available for this is popular event, so if you want to be guaranteed a seat, get your tickets sooner rather than later.

The closing night film will be Bad Shabbos, which won the top audience prize at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. The highly entertaining dark comedy takes place over the course of one night in New York City and follows a family’s Shabbat dinner that, over the course of the evening, descends into a chaotic whirlwind of hilarious mayhem.

The Closing Night audience members will be treated to a Q&A after the screening with the filmmaker, director Daniel Robbins. After the Q&A, there will be an end-of-Shabbat havdallah champagne toast and cheesecake reception. Havdallah is a Jewish religious ceremony that marks the symbolic end of Shabbat and ushers in the new week. Unfortunately, the Closing Night event is already sold out; however, due to overwhelming demand, the SJFF organizers added an extra screening of Bad Shabbos on April 6 at the Stroum Jewish Community Center.

More information, trailers, and events at this year’s Seattle Jewish Film Festival can be found on their website. Enjoy! 

Rachel Glass

(she/her) is a professional actress, singer, voice artist, broadcaster, director, writer, teacher, and coach. Two of her several plays held their world premieres in Seattle. She served for three years as a professional script reader for Sherry Robb (The Robb Company) in Los Angeles, writing summaries on hundreds of film & TV scripts and determining through recommendations which scripts should be accepted by the agency. She currently moderates forums in the arts and political arenas and conducts interviews with national- and world-renowned authors for the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library (where she writes her own questions, intros, and all her own scripts). Rachel is a professional adjudicator for the Washington State Thespian Society, which involves writing detailed feedback assessments for each of the hundreds of students she has coached locally, statewide, and nationally. She created, designed, and wrote her own public speaking and storytelling programs which she has taught around the country since 2009, and serves as the programs’ editor and writing coach, helping participants to create and shape their own stories and presentations.

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