From November 10-17, the Boulder Jewish Community Center (JCC) will present the Boulder Jewish Film Festival at the Dairy Arts Center. Now in its 12th year, the event is one of several organizational programs that promote education and engagement among the local Jewish community, which makes up roughly 10 percent of Boulder County’s population. However, festival founder and Boulder JCC cultural arts director Kathryn Bernheimer affirms that all are welcome to participate.
“Everybody goes to the movies. I think that’s one of the reasons Jewish film festivals have been so popular around the country—they bring people together in a very low-barrier environment,” she says.
For well over a decade, Bernheimer was the film and theater critic for the Daily Camera and has written two books on film criticism, including “The 50 Greatest Jewish Movies.” She took the director role with Boulder JCC in 2003 and made film an emphasis in its cultural programming. Bernheimer was keen on launching a festival, and when the Dairy Arts Center opened its Boedecker Theater in 2010, she knew she had a venue.
Since its debut, the event has grown its audience and introduced various themes. This year, several films in the line-up focus on Sephardic culture. Bernheimer explains that the Jewish world is largely divided into two heritage groups: Ashkenazi Jews, whose ancestors came from European nations including France, Germany, Poland and Russia; and Sephardic Jews, whose descendants originated from Spain, Portugal, the Middle East and North Africa.
The former applies to a large majority of the Jewish population, around 80 percent. Therefore, Sephardic customs and traditions are generally lesser-known. Bernheimer looks to bring their stories to light with three of this year’s films.
“’Seven Blessings’ is about the Moroccan Jewish community, which is very prominent in Israel and France. [‘Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara’] is set in 1858 [toward] the end of the Inquisition, and all the people in that story are Italian Sephardic Jews. The third one is ‘The Blond Boy’ from the Casbah, which is about a filmmaker who grew up in Algeria and was forced to flee along with most of the Jews who were exiled from the Middle East after Israel became a state,” says Bernheimer.
She adds that the upcoming festival has another central theme: positive and inspiring narratives. Bernheimer recalls that last year, Boulder Jewish Film Festival tickets went on sale on October 6. The following day, Hamas attacked Israel and killed more than 1,200 people.
“As the events have continued to unfold … I made a decision to have as many uplifting, warm, good-hearted films as possible because I think the audience really craves that. There’s so much heaviness in the world because of October 7,” says Bernheimer.
But she also made it a point to include one film that deals directly with the tragedy. “Song of Ascent” chronicles the experiences of Matisyahu, a Jewish, pro-Israel singer and rapper who experienced show cancellations in the United States.
In total, six of the 14 films featured in this year’s Boulder Jewish Film Festival are set in Israel, including “Israel Swings for the Gold.” The documentary follows Israel’s underdog baseball team at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, where players faced antisemitism. Among them was major league catcher Ryan Lavarnway, who lives in Denver and will be speaking after the film’s screening on November 12 at 6:30 p.m.
Bernheimer will facilitate talkbacks after every film showing and engage special guests including actors, directors and producers. But she emphasizes this is not an academic lecture. Many speakers are also members of the community who have special connections to the stories in the films, and audience engagement is highly encouraged.
“I’m always looking for movies that are a little more provocative and profound — [ones] that really leave us with things to think about, even if they’re light-hearted and fun,” says Bernheimer.
She concludes: “Our goal is for everyone to feel welcome. The Jewish community does not see itself as apart from the rest of the community. We are part of it, and we’re always happy to open our doors.”
Tickets to the Boulder Jewish Film Festival are priced at $15 per screening and can be purchased on the Dairy Arts Center website. They are also available at the Hartman Box Office on Mondays through Saturdays between 12 and 6 p.m., plus one hour prior to an event’s start time.