The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee Presents The
2016 Milman-Kover Jewish Film Festival
March 6-13
Special Festival Kick-Off: A Russ and Daughters Brunch
January 17 at Michael’s On East
The seventh annual festival features nine acclaimed new films that explore, record, and celebrate Jewish life and experience. Special guests will appear at selected showings and post-film discussions. On opening night, March 6, the Israel Defense Forces will be honored in connection with the screening of a new documentary, “Beneath the Helmet.”
(Sarasota, FL) The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee has selected nine outstanding new films that explore, record, and celebrate Jewish life and experience for its 2016 Milman-Kover Jewish Film Festival, March 6-13, at various venues in Sarasota and Manatee counties. (A complete list of films, dates, times and locations will be released in January.) Tickets are $10 per film, except the opening night film and dessert reception, which is $25. A nine-film Festival Pass is $100 and offers seating at every film, including the Opening Night program. Tickets to the films go on sale January 18 and can be purchased online at www.jfedsrq.org or by calling 1-866-465-3995. For sponsorship information, call Jeremy Lisitza at 941-343-2113.
Roz Goldberg, co-chair of the 2016 Milman-Kover Jewish Film Festival, explains that in response to last year’s unprecedented demand, “we plan to add matinee screenings at several local venues—to make it easier for audiences to see all the films. In addition, we planned exciting special events—and special guests—that will greatly enhance the festival experience.”
To kick off the 2016 Milman-Kover Jewish Film Festival, festival organizers planned a Russ and Daughters Brunch, January 17, 10:30 a.m., at Michael’s on East in Sarasota. Goldberg explains that the brunch, catered by the original Russ & Daughters in New York City, “was so popular last year that we’re repeating it this year.” Russ and Daughters has been a culinary staple on Houston Street on New York’s Lower East Side for 100 years. The brunch will feature foods from the famous “appetizing store,” including nova, sable, herring, whitefish, rugalach and babka. Tickets to the event are $37.50 and can be purchased now at www.jfedsrq.org or by calling 941-371-4546. Seating is limited; orders will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
On opening night, Sunday, March 6, “the courageous men and women of the Israel Defense Forces will be honored, in connection with the screening of a new documentary, Beneath the Helmet,” says Goldberg. Beneath the Helmet is a coming-of-age story about five Israeli high-school graduates who are drafted into the IDF. These young men and women undergo a demanding, inspiring journey, revealing the core of who they are and who they want to be. Goldberg adds that special guests from the IDF will answer questions after the film. A dessert reception will follow.
Goldberg adds that the closing night film, on Sunday, March 13, “will be the first-ever showing of Israeli screenwriter and director Dani Menkin’s new documentary, On the Map, about the astounding 1977 victory of the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team over the heavily favored Russian Army team. This will be a work-in-progress screening, after which Dani and a few members of that amazing Maccabi Tel Aviv team will answer questions.”
About The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee
The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to save Jewish lives and enhance Jewish life in the Sarasota-Manatee region, in Israel, and throughout the world. In addition, the Federation is responsive when worldwide catastrophes occur. For more information, call 941-371-4546 or visit www.jfedsrq.org.
