2015 HIGHLIGHTS
OPENING NIGHT GALA
LAST OF THE RED HOT MAMAS!
The Outrageous Sophie Tucker
Directed by William Gazecki
Produced by Suan & Lloyd Ecker
Featuring Barbara Walters, Tony Bennett, Michael Feinstein, Bruce Vilanch, Mamie Van Doren
Thursday, April 30
7:00 pm doors open for red carpet
8:15 pm show begin
Dessert reception upon arrival
(Life’s short… eat dessert first!)
The Steve Tisch Cinema Center at the Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills
Honoring LAJFF’s Founding Co-Chairs, Kim Cavallo and Michele Kaufman
Discussion to accompany film with Susan and Lloyd Esker and Mamie Van Doren
This year the the red carpet will sizzle as we celebrate the life of the “last of the Red Hot Mamas!” Sophie Tucker took the world by storm. This is the rags to riches story of the iconic superstar who ruled the worlds of vaudeville, Broadway, radio, television, and Hollywood throughout the 20th century. Before Madonna, Bette Midler and Mae West, Sophie Tucker was the first woman to infatuate her audiences with a bold, bawdy and brassy style unlike any other.
Dessert reception sponsored by Mickey Fine Pharmacy & Grill and Hansen’s Cakes.
Sponsored by Annette & Robert Lichtenstein
Co-sponsored by Temple of the Arts
RAKING IN THE DOUGH
What’s the secret to making a great challah?
Dough
Los Angeles Premiere
With this all-star British cast including Jonathan Pryce and Pauline Collins, comes this brand new heartwarming comedy. Nat Dayan, an old Jewish baker down on his luck reluctantly hires a Muslim refugee from Darfur as his new apprentice. What happens next is kind of a trip….
Saturday, May 2, 8:00 pm
Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills
In partnership with the UK Jewish Film Festival
THE WORLD IS BUT A CANVAS
The Art Dealer
Los Angeles Premiere
From French director François Margolin (The Flight of the Red Balloon) comes this new thriller set in the murky world of Nazi-looted art. Esther Stegmann, a young journalist discovers that some family secrets are best kept hidden.
Saturday, May 2, 8:00 pm
Laemmle’s Town Center, Encino
Q&A with Randol Schoenberg, renowned art restitution lawyer and subject of “The Woman in Gold”
Sponsored by Pamela & Randol Schoenberg in cooperation with the LA Museum of the Holocaust
Chagall-Malevich
Inspired by Chagall’s memoirs, and brimming with surreal imagery, this sumptuous melodrama mythologizes the artistic and political revolution of early 19th century Russia and the uneasy relationship of two artistic geniuses.
Wednesday, May 6, 7:30 pm
Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills
Q&A with Michael Schwartz, Chagall expert and owner of Galerie Michael
In partnership with Galerie Michael of Beverly Hills
70 YEARS LATER…LEST WE FORGET!
A sidebar program with a focus on the Holocaust, in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII and the vast heroic stories and legacies that live on today.
Auf Das Leben (To Life!)
West Coast Premiere
From the writer of Wunderkinder comes this unforgettable saga of courage and compassion. The unlikely friendship between two souls with dark secrets, Ruth, a Holocaust survivor, and young Jonas, who give each other a purpose to live — L’ Chaim!
Monday, May 4, 7:30 pm
Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills
Tuesday, May 5, 7:30 pm
Laemmle’s Town Center, Encino
Sponsored by the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League
Forbidden Films
West Coast Premiere
1,200 feature films were made in Nazi regime. Some 100 of these were blatant propaganda, crafted specifically to engender anti-Semitism among the masses. Seventy years later, more than 40 of these films are still banned from public viewing.
Tuesday, May 5, 7:00 pm
Goethe Institut Los Angeles
Q&A with Dr. Jan-Christopher Horak, Director of UCLA Film & Television Archive
Sponsored by the Goethe InstitutLos Angeles and the Consulate General of Federal Republic of Germany
CHANGE AGENTS
Bravery has no limits.
Secrets of War
Los Angeles Premiere
Those who would not exist save for the heroics of Curt Lowens.
Hear the amazing story of survival of one man and how he risked his life to save others during WWII.This film is a tribute to Lowens and the brave people in the Dutch Resistance who saved thousands of Jewish families. In this drama, childhood friends in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands find their loyalty severely tested in this coming-of-age story.
Tuesday, May 5, 7:30 pm
Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills
Q&A with Curt Lowens, Holocaust survivor and member of Dutch Resistance and Hollywood actor
Zemene
Los Angeles Premiere
What are the chances that a 10-year-old Ethiopian girl named Zemene, with a sever curvature of the spine, a life-threatening condition, would meet on the street the renowned American doctor, Rick Hodes, who makes the crooked straight? This is the remarkable story of how they changed each other’s lives.
Sunday, May 3, 2:45 pm
Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills
Q&A with filmmaker Melissa Donovan, moderated by Susan Freudenheim, Executive Editor of the Jewish Journal
In partnership with Jewish Wisdom & Wellness: A Festival of Learning HUC-JIR Kalsman Institute on Judaism & Health and Cedars-Sinai
Monday, May 4, 7:30 pm
Laemmle’s Town Center, Encino
Q&A with Melissa Donovan, moderated by Janice Kaminer-Reznik, Co- Founder and President of Jewish World Watch
In partnership with Jewish World Watch
CLOSING NIGHT
Prisoners of War (Hatufim)
Los Angeles Premiere
Thursday, May 7, 7:30 pm
ArcLight Cinemas, Sherman Oaks
Are you a “Homeland” fan? You wait all week just to tune in to see what happens to Carrie? Don’t miss the original series in which “Homeland” was based on! Join us for the first public screening of the first two episodes… you’re guaranteed to want more and more! Hear from the series creator of BOTH shows, Gideon Raff, how it all began. Fasten your seatbelt… it’s going to be bumpy ride!
Q&A to follow with series creator, Gideon Raff, moderated by Rob Eshman, Editor in Chief of the Jewish Journal.
Sponsored by the Israeli-American Council (IAC)
