FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS 

Join us on the red carpet as we celebrate our 14th year! From Holocaust remembrance to Israel’s independence, here are the uplifting stories of visionaries, music legends, Oscar winners and more. This is a year you won’t want to miss….


OPENING NIGHT GALA!

An exclusive event celebrating the history of Hollywood and commemorating Yom HaShoah with the premiere of

CARL LAEMMLE 
Los Angeles Premiere!
Directed by James L. Freedman  
Documentary/USA/2018/91 minutes

He gave us make-believe monsters, and then saved people from a real one! Carl Laemmle is a documentary about the extraordinary life story of Carl Laemmle, the German-Jewish immigrant who founded Universal Studios and later fought to rescue over 300 Jewish families from Nazi Germany. Told through the interviews with family members, historians and luminaries including director Peter Bogdanovich; film critic/historian Leonard Maltin; Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center; Ron Meyer, vice chairman of NBCUniversal; and others, and with the voice of Carl Laemmle portrayed by actor Willie Garson.

Special guest – Hollywood legend, director PETER BOGDANOVICH (The Last Picture Show, What’s Up Doc, Paper Moon, Mask) will be honored with the Marvin Paige Hollywood Legacy Award!

Introduction by Rabbi Marvin Hier, Founder and Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

  • Q&A writer/director James L. Freedman and other special guests, moderated by Stan Taffel, Classic film expert
  • In partnership with the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany
  • Thursday, May 2
  • 7:15 pm – Doors Open for red carpet, dessert reception upon arrival, sponsored by Factor’s Famous Deli 
  • 8:00 pm – Show begins
  • Ahrya Fine Arts Theater, Beverly Hills

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Second screening of CARL LAEMMLE 

  • Sunday, May 5, 5:00 pm
  • Laemmle’s Town Center, Encino
  • Q&A with director James L. Freedman

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“MAN’S BEST FRIEND”

CENTERPIECE PROGRAM 

SHEPHERD: THE STORY OF A JEWISH DOG
West Coast Premiere!
Written & Directed by Lynn Roth
Drama/USA, Hungary/2019/93 minutes
Starring August Maturo (Girl Meets World), Ayelet Zurer (Man of Steel)
English and English subtitles when needed

Appropriate for ages 11-12 and above.

When the Nuremberg Laws outlaw Jews from owning pets, Kaleb, a German Shepherd, is taken from his Jewish master, 10 year old Joshua (August Maturo, Girl Meets World). Kaleb is retrained for use in a concentration camp. But things change when Joshua arrives to the same camp. The timeless, unbreakable bond between a boy and his faithful dog is put to the ultimate test in wartime Germany, in this heartwarming family drama.

  • Q&A with award-winning director Lynn Roth and cast members
  • Sponsored by the Goldrich Family Foundation an LA Museum of the Holocaust
  • Saturday, May 4, 8:00 pm
  • Laemmle’s Music Hall


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Second screening of  SHEPHERD: THE STORY OF A JEWISH DOG

  • Q&A with award-winning director Lynn Roth and actor August Maturo (“Girl Meets World”)
  • Sunday, May 5, 2:30 pm
  • Laemmle’s Town Center, Encino

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“WANDERING CHEWS”

CHEWDAISM: A Taste of Jewish Montreal  

Los Angeles Premiere!
Written and Directed by Jamie Elman and Eli Batalion (YidLife Crisis)
Documentary/Canada/2018/62 minutes

Eli Batalion and Jamie Elman are the co-stars of YidLife Crisis, a successful Yiddish language web series exploring, with wit and humor, the burning questions of Jewish life. In this warm-hearted, mouth-watering film, the comedic duo return to their city of birth, Montreal, on a mission—to eat their way through the city in 24 hours. They don’t miss a bite—bagels, babka, deli; all the tantalizing Jewish delights! Join us for this gastronomic adventure with a pair of hilarious and hungry guides with a bottomless appetite for great food and witty conversation.

Preceded by 

EGG CREAM 
Documentary Short/USA/2018/16 minutes
Written and Directed by Nora Miller & Peter Miller

A delightful short film about memory, history, and the enduring meaning of a beloved chocolate soda drink born in Jewish immigrant neighborhoods at the turn of the 20th century. The egg cream contained neither eggs nor cream – it was a product of necessity and hardship, but a source of joy and sweetness.

  • Sunday, May 5, 2:30 pm 
  • Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills

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“JAZZ AND JEWS”

BLUE NOTE RECORDS: Beyond the Notes
Los Angeles Premiere!
Directed by Sophie Huber
Documentary/Switzerland, USA/2018/85 minutes

Family friendly film for music lovers of all ages!

Blue Note Records president, Don Was in person!

Blue Note Records, was founded in 1939 in New York by two music-obsessed German Jews who fled Nazism in Berlin. The most iconic jazz label of all time became home to Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, and so many more. Its current president, Grammy Award-winning music producer, Don Was (The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, John Mayer), remembers the glory days, while ensuring Blue Note’s growth and musical relevance. This film is a must see for any music lover!

  • Q&A with Don Was, President of Blue Note Records, moderated by Rabbi Naomi Levy of Nashuva
  • In partnership with Nashuva
  • Sponsored by Elke & Larry Ereshefsky

  • Sunday, May 5, 7:30 pm
  • Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills 

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“ERACISM”

SKIN  
Los Angeles Premiere! 

Directed by Guy Nattiv
Produced by Jaime Ray Newman
Drama/USA/2019/120 minutes
Starring Jamie Bell, Danielle Macdonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga.

Academy Award Winner® Guy Nattiv makes his English-language feature debut with this galvanizing story of transformation, inspired by actual events.

This full-length version, although following a different story than the short film, Skin, that just garnered the Israeli director Guy Nattiv (Mabul, Strangers) an Oscar, centers on the true story of Bryon Widner (actor Jamie Bell, delivers a visceral, explosive performance), a young man raised by skinheads, now desperately trying to turn his back on hatred.

  • Q&A with Academy Award Winner®, Guy Nattiv and producer Jaime Ray Newman, moderated by Ariella Loewenstein, Deputy Regional Director of Anti-Defamation League
  • In partnership with the Anti-Defamation League
  • Monday, May 6, 7:30 pm 
  • Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills 

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“PAY IT FORWARD”

Celebrating two extraordinary survivors who turned their suffering into beauty and made it their life’s mission to leave a legacy for future generations.

HENRI DAUMAN: Looking Up

West Coast Premiere!
Directed by Peter Kenneth Jones
Documentary/USA/2018/88 minutes
English, French with English subtitles                              

You probably don’t know the name Henri Dauman, but you almost certainly have seen his pictures. A leading photojournalist whose work has been seen by millions, Dauman took celebrated pictures of John and Jackie Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Andy Warhol, Brigitte Bardot, Miles Davis, Marcel Marceau, Elvis Presley and countless others. Hidden in France in the midst of the Holocaust and orphaned at thirteen, he set out to rebuild his family at any cost and to leave a legacy behind for the world through his work.

Official Selection of Hamptons International Film Festival

  • Q&A in with director Peter Kenneth Jones and special guests
  • Tuesday, May 7, 7:30 pm
  • Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills

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WALTER ARLEN’S FIRST CENTURY
United States Premiere! 

Directed by Stephanus Domanig
Documentary/Austria/2018/94 minutes
English, German with English subtitles  

Walter Arlen is almost 100 years old, and the entire century comes to life in his stories and in his music. Forced to flee Vienna in 1938, his journey began as one of loneliness. What kept him afloat was his music. This sensitive film captures the complex story of a musician exiled, but who finally got to see his works performed late in life.

  • Q&A with Walter Arlen, director Stephanus Domanig, Austrian Consul General Andreas Launer and Randy Schoenberg (grandson of two Austrian composers: Arnold Schoenberg and Eric Zeisl)
  • Sponsored by the Consulate General of Austria
  • Co-sponsored by Pamela & Randol Schoenberg
  • Wednesday, May 8, 7:30 pm
  • Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills

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“A WOMAN OF VALOR”

CLOSING NIGHT

Celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut! What better way to celebrate Israel on her birthday than with this LA premiere about Golda Meir, the mother of Israel!

GOLDA’S BALCONY
West Coast Premiere!  
Directed by Scott Schwartz, Produced by Dave Fishelson 
Dramatic Feature USA/2019/86 minutes

With an appearance by special guest and star of the film TOVAH FELDSHUH!

Tovah Feldshuh gives a mesmerizing performance as Golda Meir, the fourth Prime Minister of Israel in this masterpiece. A rare, multi-camera shoot from the play’s original run was recently unearthed (literally, from a safe) and assembled into this new but absolutely riveting motion picture. Over 500 performances on Broadway were sold out, making it the longest-running, one-woman show in Broadway history.

* Audience Award – Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival, 2019
* Audience Award – Pittsburgh Jewish Film Festival, 2019
* Audience Award – Charlotte Jewish Film Festival, 2019
* Audience Award – Honolulu Jewish Film Festival, 2019
* Best of the Fest – New Jersey Jewish Film Festival, 2019

  • Q&A with Tovah Feldshuh
  • Thursday, May 9
  • 7:00 PM – Doors Open for red carpet 
  • 7:30 PM – Program begins
  • Ahrya Fine Arts Theater, Beverly Hills

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