In Judaism, the number 18 has special significance. 
The numerical value of the Hebrew letters that form the word Chai, meaning “life,”  add up to 18. 
The Mobile Jewish Film Festival is proud to be celebrating its 18th year or our “Chai” year.
                             We honestly feel that this year’s lineup of films is one of the best ever!                                                       
From comedy to drama, from modern-day Israel to the                                   
World War ll era, from espionage to wonderful music,this year’s festival has something for everyone. 
Along with our regular festival, we continue our Julien E Marx Holocaust Student Film Series for more than 2500 students in our area.  We feel that, in the times we live in, this series is more important than ever,  as we help students understand the roots and
ramifications of prejudice racism, and stereotyping in  society.
So please, look through this great selection of films then make your reservations,
Click on Brown Paper Buy Ticket logo,  or call Kathy 490-4872 for sponsorship opportunities.  
Join us for our best year ever, our “Chai” year! 
Barry Silverman & Rickie Voit, Co-Chairs

                                    Film Ticket Price – General Admission $8.00                                            Student (to 21) or Senior (60+) $6.00

“The Invisibles” Thursday, January 10th at 1:30 and 6:00

Mobile Museum of Art – Reception will follow 

In June 1943, Germany infamously declared Berlin “free of Jews.” But at that moment there were still 7,000 Jews living in the Nazi capital: hiding in attics, basements and warehouses, protected by courageous Berliners while desperately trying avoid deportation.  Only 1,700 lived in liberation. The Invisible tells the story of four survivors, interweaving their testimony with highly accomplished dramatizations, that bring edge-of-the-seat suspense to their years spent underground. Introduction by Museum’s Director, Deborah Velders.

This incredible film will be shown Thursday, January 10th at 1:30 and 6:00, Mobile Museum of Art – Reception will follow, No Ticket Charge.  Call or text Kathy for reservations, Mobile Area Jewish Federation – 490-4872 or email kathymajf@gmail.com

The Boys – Sunday, January 13, 2019, 3:00 – Ahavas Chesed Synagogue

Followed by a Disney Singalong and Wine & Cheese, Dessert Reception

“The Boys” is the behind the scenes story of Robert Sherman and Richard Sherman, the astoundingly prolific, Academy Award winning songwriter team that defined family musical entertainment for five decades with songs you know and love.  But despite their successful professional relationship, they were estranged throughout most of their lives. Lots of great music and interviews followed by a wine and cheese, dessert reception and a fun Disney singalong.

The Last Suit – Tuesday, January 15, 2019 – 7:00 pm, Laidlaw USA

Heartfelt and charming, THE LAST SUIT exudes a poignant message of the enduring importance of family, friends and honor. An eighty-eight-year-old Holocaust survivor  is about to be put  into a retirement home by his children. Instead, the sharply-dressed suit maker travels by train across Europe, in search of the man who saved him from certain death at Auschwitz. Undeterred by a series of travel mishaps, along the way, the hard edges of the cantankerous Abraham gradually soften. The  Audience Award  winner  at 8 Jewish Film Festivals! Introduction by Professor David Meola.

THE CAKEMAKER – Wed., January 16, 2019, 7:00 pm, Laidlaw USA Campus

“The Cakemaker” captured the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress awards in the Israel Academy awards. Thomas, a young German baker, is having an affair with Oren, an Israeli married man who has frequent business visits in Berlin. When Oren dies in a car crash in Israel, Thomas travels to Jerusalem seeking for answers regarding his death. Under a fabricated identity, Thomas infiltrates into the life of Anat, his lover’s newly widowed wife, who owns a small Café in downtown Jerusalem. Thomas starts to work for her and create German cakes and cookies that bring life into her Café.  Thomas finds himself involved in Anat’s life in a way far beyond his anticipation, and to protect the truth he will stretch his lie to a point of no return.

The Band’s Visit – Thursday, January 17, 2019, 7:00 pm, Laidlaw Performing Arts Center USA

Followed by a Dessert Reception

Our final film at USA on Thursday Jan.17th is an older film called “The Band’s Visit.” If the title sounds familiar, its because the musical version of this film swept the Tony Awards this last spring.  A band comprised of members of the Egyptian police force arrives in the middle of the  Israeli desert to play at the inaugural ceremony of an Arab Arts Center only to discover they have taken the wrong bus to the wrong destination. Don’t miss this charming film involving two “enemies,” Arabs and Israelis, that shows them as only ordinary people with ordinary hopes, lives and disappointments.  Followed by a dessert reception.

Humor Me – January 19, 2017, Saturday, 6:30 Springhill Avenue Temple

We begin the evening with delicious deli dinner, optional ($15.00)

A once-acclaimed New York playwright moves in with his widowed father in his retirement community, where he ends up directing a senior-citizens in a musical. Jemaine Clement and Elliott Gould star in this mid-life crisis comedy full of heart, humor, and healing.  If you’re looking for a feel-good movie, Humor Me is it!
Join us at 6:30 for a delicious deli dinner ($15.00) film to follow (film prices $8.00 or $6.00)

The Interpreter – Tuesday, January 22, 2019 7:00, USA Campus Fairhope

Followed by a Reception

An 80-year-old translator,  armed with a pistol,  sets off to Vienna to look for the SS man who may have killed his parents But the only person he encounters is the man’s 70-year-old son Georg. Together they set out on a road  trip through Slovakia, each with his own agenda. and each trying come to terms with the past. Winner of the Film Critics Circle Award in the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. 

A Bag of Marbles – Wednesday, January 22, 2019, 7:00  Bernheim Hall

Left to fend for themselves in Nazi-occupied France, two Jewish brothers must rely on their courage and cunning to escape Nazi barbarism and avoid capture, in the lavish, family-friendly adventure A BAG OF MARBLES. In 1941 Paris, with the merciless persecution of Jews underway, young Joseph and Maurice are forced to flee their home and make their way south to the demilitarized zone, their best hope of survival. Aided only by their own ingenuity and the occasional kindness of others, the boys set off on a dangerous mission, overcoming extraordinary odds in hopes of one day reuniting with their family. This suspenseful and heartwarming adaptation of the classic novel is based on a true story, and features stunning scenery, immaculate period detail, and an ensemble of outstanding performance.

Inside the Mossad – Thursday, January 24, 2019 7:00 pm,

Ahavas Chesed Synagogue

Followed by Reception in Honor of Reita Franco

Reita Franco Memorial Film presents Inside the Mossad. For years the Mossad, Israel’s legendary foreign intelligence agency, has been sealed off to the media. Now, for the first time since its founding, a dozen of Mossad’s former spies give us a first-hand recount into their inner work and their moral dilemmas. You will be drawn into this personal account of the top-secret operations that have shaped Israel’s past.

Itzhak – Sunday, January 27, 2019, 3:00 pm, Springhill Avenue Temple

Followed by Violin & Piano Mini Concert and Dessert Reception

This enchanting documentary looks beyond the sublime musician, to see the polio survivor whose parents emigrated from Poland to Israel, the young man who struggled to be taken seriously as a music student when schools saw only his disability. ITZHAK is a portrait of musical virtuosity seamlessly enclosed in warmth, humor, and above all, love. An audience award winner in Atlanta and numerous other cities.