The JFilm Festival is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The 11-day showcase, which will highlight 23 Jewish-themed independent feature films, kicks off April 20th in Pittsburgh.
WESA Morning Edition host Priyanka Tewari spoke to Kathryn Spitz Cohan, the executive director of Film Pittsburgh — the organization behind JFilm — about what festival attendees can expect to see this year.
Among the 23 films being shown is "Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul", which Spitz Cohan says is a "story that started here in our own neck of the woods."
Jack L. Warner and his brothers, children of first-generation Polish-Jewish immigrants who landed in Youngstown, Ohio, started their first movie theater in New Castle, Pa. The Warners then went on to found Warner Bros. studios in Hollywood. Warner's grandson, Gregory Orr, is the writer, producer, director of the film. He will participate in a Q&A following the screening on April 27.
Another noteworthy film is "The Cure For Hate," which Spitz Cohan says is a continuation of the conversation "We have here in Pittsburgh about trying to make this a better place to live for all people and eradicating hate from our community." Based on the book written by former skinhead and Holocaust denier Tony McAleer, the film documents his journey of atonement as he visits Auschwitz and Birkenau.
The documentary will have its world premiere April 25 at JFilm, and will also be shown to students in Film Pittsburgh's Teen Screen program the next day.
The film chosen for JFilm's opening night on April 20 is a romantic comedy out of Israel called "Matchmaking."
Though the films have a Jewish focus, Spitz Cohan says all are welcome to attend.
"You don't have to be Jewish," she said. "Most of the films are not religious in nature. There's just something that has an essence of Jewishness about it."
JFilm Festival runs April 20th to April 30th.
