Levis JCC Sandler Center hosts Highly-Anticipated 3rd Annual Judy Levis Markhoff Boca Raton Jewish Film Festival

ByHeather Redlich

Three Weeks, 40+ Films, Two Thumbs Up

It’s time for ‘lights, camera, action’ as The Adolph & Rose Levis Jewish Community Center’s Sandler Center revs up for this year’s newly named Judy Levis Markhoff Boca Raton Jewish Film Festival (BRJFF), which runs from March 10 – March 31, 2019.  Now among the top 10 Jewish Film Festivals in the US, this year’s BRJFF features the best narrative, documentary and short films from around the world.  The broad array of films explores the Jewish experience, culture, history, identity, and topics relevant to Jewish life with a diverse collection of over 44 international and independent premiere films from over 19 countries.  Films will be screened at Cinemark Palace 20 Theaters in Boca Raton from March 10-23 and at Movies of Delray from March 24-30 and at Beifield Auditorium at the Levis JCC Sandler Center on various dates.

The Festival’s opening night on Sunday, March 10 will take audiences on an unlikely adventure with the dark comedy To Dust starring odd couple Matthew Broderick and Géza Röhrig.  To Dust was the winner of both the Audience Award and Best New Narrative Director at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival and is a Palm Beach County Premiere.  Director and South Florida local, Shawn Snyder and the star of the film, Géza Röhrig (star of the Academy Award-winning ‘Son of Saul’) will be making special guest appearances and will host a post-screening discussion. 

The closing night film at Cinemark on March 23 will feature the US Jewish Film Festival Premiere of The Bird Catcher, a Norwegian thriller about a 14-year old girl who had to assume a new identity as a boy in order to navigate her survival on a remote snowbound farm amidst the hostility of Nazi-occupied Norway.  The event will be attended by Director Ross Clarke and Producer Lisa Black.

Fans of the BRJFF will mambo their way into the final closing night of the Festival on March 31 at Zinman Hall with the premiere screening of the documentary ‘Mamboniks,’ a film with a huge connection to the New York transplants of South Florida.  Surprisingly, many of Mambo’s biggest fanatics were Jewish, a diverse, offbeat group of devotees whose zeal for mambo dancing earned them the hipster nickname: “Mambonik.”  Following the film there will be a concert and dance party with several local ‘Mamboniks,’ and the Grammy and Latin Grammy-nominated band PALO, who will be performing their own style of Cuban music they call “Afro-Cuban Funk.”

Other not-to-be-missed films:

  • Golda’s Balcony – a film of the original Broadway show starring Tovah Feldshuh
  • The Unorthodox – a film that is one of Israel’s biggest box office hits of the year
  • The Other Story – directed by Avi Nesher, one of Israel’s most renowned filmmakers
  • King Bibi – a film based on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
  • Family Practice – US PREMIERE of a feature situation drama from Switzerland

Additionally, three official entries to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film will premiere at the Festival including Slovakia’s The Interpreter, Austria’s The Waldheim Waltz, and Russia’s Sobibor. 

“Due to the overwhelming success of our last two Festivals, we will be joined by more high-profile producers, directors, actors, and scholars from around the world than ever before.  We have been so touched by the outpouring of support from our community for this Festival and for our year-round programming,” said Wendy Honig, BRJFF Artistic Director. 

The full 2019 Program Guide including dates, show times, a synopsis of each film and theater location is available on bocajff.org.  For individual general admission tickets or information on sponsorships and passes, please call 561-558-2514 or visit the Levis JCC Sandler Center Box Office located at 21050 95th Avenue S., Boca Raton.