The Columbia Jewish Film Festival, which began Oct. 7 and will continue through Oct. 28, gives Columbia residents an opportunity to explore the rich culture of the Jewish experience. The mission of the festival is to promote awareness, appreciation and pride through film, including history, language, people, the State of Israel and the history of the Jewish people.
The 18th annual Jewish Film Festival is a partnership between the Nickelodeon Theatre and the Katie and Irwin Kahn Jewish Community Center in Columbia. The festival offers a variety of genres of film, including documentaries, comedies and historical dramas.
With films being presented at the Nickelodeon Theatre over the next two weeks, festival director Patty Tucker hopes everyone will have the chance to be educated and entertained through what she considers some of the world's best cinema.
Although the festival started in early October, there are still several films and events attendees can look forward to throughout the month. One film that Tucker thinks students would especially enjoy is "An Act of Defiance," which is showing Tuesday. The drama follows Nelson Mandela and the events of the 1963 Rivonia Trial in South Africa.
“It connects what happened in South Africa to what’s going on in our country with social justice,” Tucker said.
"Scandal in Ivansk," a film exploring the small Polish town of Ivansk and the Polish people’s complicated role in World War II, will be introduced by USC professor Federica Clementi.
In addition to showing professional films, each year the festival hosts a South Carolina student short film showcase. This year, they are presenting four high school student films and four USC student films. Several Capstone Scholars at USC will show their film from their Maymester experience in Amsterdam this past spring. The winner is eligible for for prizes, and the event is open to the public and free of charge.
After the showing of each film, the festival holds a reception with wine and cheese that is open to all viewers. The reception is an opportunity for the audience to discuss the film they've just experienced.
This year’s festival aims to pull movies from a diverse range of countries in order to give audiences diverse points of view on the Jewish experience and global social justice.
“This year, we really focused on an international base,” Tucker said. “We have movies from China, Poland, Israel, Argentina ... it gives people that ability to travel to different countries via film.”
Tucker also said she hopes the film festival is a reminder that people are more alike than they are different and to embrace the differences that create humanity.
“It’s important to experience different people’s cultures and understand in this tumultuous time in our country that we are more similar,” Tucker said. “We need to appreciate whatever differences we have.”
Tickets to individual films and a complete schedule of remaining events can be found on the Nickelodeon Theater's website.