By Eva Trieger
LA JOLLA, California –“Like a proud mama, showing off her new baby,” crowed Chris Fink, in response to my query about how she felt as this year’s Chairperson for the San Diego Jewish Film Festival. The 27th annual festival runs from February 8-19, and boasts films from twenty one different countries, every genre, spanning many age groups and focusing on our community and how we come together over a “stellar collection of films.”
Fink first became involved seven years ago when she was invited to join a group that met monthly at the Lawrence
Family JCC, to get a bead on how first time viewers might enjoy films. To her joy and amazement, Fink was then invited to the main screening committee where she served for five years. Ultimately, Sandra Saperstein the most recent Chairperson, handpicked Fink to pick up the scepter.
Chris Fink shared that she is elated and hugely proud of the work the committee has done and the incredible package they have put together to draw in festival attendees. The selection of Jewish films contains documentaries, history, comedy, politics, romance and family themes. When asked her personal favorite genre, the chairperson reported that historical drama captures her heart. She told me that she “loves films that uncover a story we’ve never heard. They provide us with nuggets of history.”
Fink related the one such film caused her to go home and do research. This is what excites and attracts her to the art form. This year Murder in Polna delivers a true, little known story in two parts. Fink left the viewing and was hungry for more information about this event. The germination of this seed fuels her enthusiasm, and will almost certainly be experienced by the audiences.
Filmmakers, sculptors, college professors and speakers will attend the numerous talk-backs and opportunities for the audiences to interact and share their own responses and reactions. This again, underscores a sense of communal sharing and elevates the film festival to a new level. Fink doesn’t want people to come to the show as the lights dim, and leave following the credits. She encourages the conversation to begin while waiting in line, and to linger long after a coffee at a nearby Starbucks. These unique opportunities for the San Diego Jewish community to schmooze and bond over a film, exemplify Fink’s raison d’être.
This festival requires some serious planning. I was amazed to learn that only two short weeks after the last film rolls, the committees begin meeting and viewing the films for the upcoming year. On March 1st the floodgates open and new films come pouring in. The deluge of new stories, talent, ideas and images make their way to the committee’s viewing from March 1st until the end of October. From that point onward, choices are made and the JCC begins to implement their marketing. Their goal? To get the films to an eager, appreciative and curious audience. To bring this to fruition the current festival includes five venues: Clairemont Reading 14, ArcLight Cinemas, Carlsbad Village Theater, David and Dorothea Garfield Theater at the JCC, and Edwards San Marcos Stadium 18.
Films are selected through a rigorous process. When you attend the festival (and you must), you should know that the 74 films presented have scored over a 4.4. This is out a five point scale. These “grades” are given by the committee members who watch each film and make decisions based on genre, country of origin, message etc. Once the film makes the master list, every one of the seven judges has seen every film. This really celebrates what independent filmmaking is all about!
I wanted to know Fink’s favorite. She did not have only one, but shared three with me, and further explained the critical nature of selecting an Opening and Closing Night film first. The films selected for these two nights really are a first priority because they envelope and “showcase a brilliant piece of work.” To begin and end with a strong statement, is one of the messages that Fink wants to make. To this end, Opening Night will feature a film by returning festival darling, Nancy Spielberg. Last year’s, Above and Beyond impressed judges and audiences so greatly, that this year she has the cat bird seat of opening with On the Map, a film about the Maccabi basketball team’s triumph against all odds. Body and Soul: An American Bridge will conclude the festival on a hopeful, multicultural, harmonic note.
Other films that piqued Fink’s curiosity and caused her to dig for deeper understanding, included Hollow Dog, a world premiere; Kapo in Jerusalem, a Holocaust story relayed in a Rashimon style; 1945, an edgy black and white Hungarian film; and Lamb, a story about a Jewish boy, Ephraim, sent to live with Christian cousins. Each of these films is intended to open a dialogue among viewers and to encourage a sharing of thoughts, values, fears, and celebrations.
With a year so chock full of advanced planning, it’s obvious that Fink won’t be needing a layette, crib, or rocker, but we can all share her elation and wish her much nachas on birthing a sensational and eagerly anticipated baby!
San Diego Jewish Film Festival tickets may be purchased at each individual venue, or in advance at www.sdjff.org, at the LFJCC, pr on the phone at 858.362.1348.
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Trieger is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. She may be contacted via eva.trieger@sdjewishworld.com