30th Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film February 23–March 1, 2023 The Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, presented by Alma & Howard Laderberg, marks its 30th Anniversary with another exciting line-up of five films. This year’s films include topics as wide-ranging as modern Israeli friendships, the joy in getting older, hiding during the Holocaust, and the Jewish history of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Registration for all five films and the festival season pass is available now at JewishVA.org/FilmFest. For more information, contact Hunter Thomas, director of Arts + Ideas, at HThomas@UJFT.org.
THE BIG SATURDAY NIGHT CELEBRATION OF JEWISH FILM
Karaoke Preceded by the short film West Bank Story
iMordecai
Directed by Moshe Rosenthal | 2022 | Israel Hebrew with English Subtitles | 100 Minutes
Includes a conversation with a star of the film, followed by a champagne and dessert reception with klezmer music by Bagels & Fraylox
Thursday, Feb. 23 • 7:30 pm
Directed by Marvin Samel | 2022 | United States | English | 102 Minutes
Cinema Café Kemps River, 1220 Fordham Drive, Virginia Beach
Saturday, Feb. 25 • 7:30 pm
M
eir and Tova are a retired couple living in an upscale Tel Aviv apartment complex. With their children grown and off on their own, the parents are left with each other— which, after 46 years, has gotten stale. The couple meets Itzik, their confident, flashy bachelor neighbor in the penthouse upstairs. When Meir and Tova visit Itzik for karaoke night, things begin to change. His influence is invigorating: Almost immediately, the couple finds themselves more attentive to their looks, more adventurous, and eager for their neighbor’s flattering attentions. But like wallflowers unexpectedly befriended by the cool kids, they also rapidly become over-dependent on their new pal.
TICKET INFORMATION The BIG Saturday Night Film & Celebration: $25 Individual tickets for other films: $12 Kids Night Out Babysitting is available at the Simon Family JCC for the BIG Saturday Night Celebration of Jewish Film. Registration is required in advance. Space is limited. Register at JewishVA.org/KNO-FF.
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Zeiders American Dream Theater, 4509 Commerce Street, Virginia Beach
A
heart-warming movie based on a true story, iMordecai stars Academy Awardnominated and two-time Emmy-winning actor Judd Hirsch (star of the Emmy-winning sitcom Taxi, and films Ordinary People and Independence Day) as Mordecai Samels and Academy Award-nominated actress Carol Kane (Hester Street) as his wife, Fela. Both are Polish Holocaust survivors living in Miami. Their son, Marvin (Academy Award-nominated actor Sean Astin, The Lord of the Rings), is an ambitious cigar maker trying to support his own family while still being there for his aging parents. When Mordecai’s ancient flip phone breaks, he starts to take lessons from Nina (newcomer Azia Dinea Hale), a young employee of Ultratech. She tutors Mordecai on his new iPhone, opening him up to all kinds of novel experiences and adventures, which make him feel like a kid again. An uplifting comedy and a love letter to the city of Miami, iMordecai urges all to live our one life to the fullest.