by Emily Jacobs
Staff Writer
The 13th-annual Northern Virginia Jewish Film Festival begins this evening with a dinner program and screening of Hava Nagila: The Movie at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia in Fairfax. Presented by the JCCNV and the Angelika Film Center & Cafe at Mosaic, this year’s festival runs through April 28 and features 13 unique and diverse films.
“In celebration of our 13th (bar mitzvah) year, we’ve selected films that demonstrate, illuminate and celebrate the breadth and depth of Judaism’s culture, identity, creativity, diversity and resiliency,” said Dan Kirsch, JCCNV cultural arts director and film festival director in a press release.
Kirsch and the festival committee previewed more than 70 entries before selecting the 13 films that include: A Bottle in the Gaza Sea, An American Tail, Dorfman in Love, Hava Nagila (The Movie), Hitler’s Children, Kaddish for a Friend, Kinderblock 66, Koch, Let My People Go, Life in Stills, Orchestra of Exiles, Portrait of Wally and The World is Funny.
This is the JCCNV’s first year working with the Angelika Film Center, a partnership that Kirsch hopes will allow the festival to “have more visibility within the broader community,” as all films aside from the opening night screening will be shown at the state of the art facility that boasts eight screens.
Single tickets are $11; senior (60+) and student tickets are $9; an all-access pass (excluding opening and closing events) is $60; the opening night dinner-and-film event is $39; the closing night event is $13 and includes a dessert and coffee reception; and a double feature ticket (two films in the same day) is $16. Tickets for all film showings and special events are now on sale online through www.jccnvarts.org; tickets will also be on sale at the door starting one hour prior to each screening.
For more information about the Northern Virginia Jewish Film Festival, visit the website at www.jccnvarts.org or call the JCCNV box office at 703-537-3000.
