New York Jewish Film Festival 1997

In recognition of the success of last year’s festival, this year the festival formally becomes The New York Jewish Film/Video Festival. Screenings will be held at The Walter Reade Theater (January 12 – 22) and The Jewish Museum (January 26 – 30). Extending the festival by one week allows us to present a richer array of films and videos than ever before. As in the past, however, what binds the festival is the enormously complex issue of Jewish identity. From Odessa’s Jewish underworld (Benya Krik) and a forgotten concentration camp in Roumania (Transnistria, The Hell) to mixed marriages between Jews and Palestinians in Israel (Forbidden Marriages) and a look at Hasidism in the United States (A Life Apart), this year’s festival dramatizes the richness and diversity of the Jewish experience.

This festival was organized by a committee consisting of Kim Bistrong, Film Festival Coordinator; J. Hoberman; Richard Peña; Jack Salzman, Chair, Film Festival Curatorial Committee; Ella Shohat and Alexandra Verlotsky.