Arts & Entertainment

'Israeli Reality' Set to Take Over Jewish Film Festival

Jewish Community Center will host filmmaker Galit Roichman and some shows will play at Emagine in Royal Oak, too.

For the 14th year, the Lenore Marwil Jewish Film Festival will take over the , starting April 22. This year, organizers promise an "Israeli reality" courtesy of a special guest filmmaker who knows day-to-day life in Tel Aviv firsthand and offer shows in Royal Oak.

Doors to the Jewish Community Center open at noon April 22 for the 12-day event featuring more than 30 films and guest speakers, including filmmakers from Michigan and filmmaker in residence Galit Roichman.

"Each one of these films is like entering another world, like going on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure," first-year festival Director Rachel Ruskin said in a news release.  

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"You buy a ticket to an Israeli film and you meet Israeli reality enlarged on the big screen, waiting for you to deal with it," added Roichman, a graduate of Tel Aviv University, screenwriter and online editor of popular Israeli web portal Ynet, where she discusses Israeli films.

Portions of the event will take place at the  in Royal Oak, the Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor and the Flint Institute of Arts, but the JCC will host every guest speaker as well as every film. 

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The basics

  • What: The 14th annual Lenore Marwil Jewish Film Festival. Portions of the event will be held at the  (200 N. Main St., Royal Oak), the Michigan Theatre (603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor), the Flint Institute of Arts (1120 E. Kearsley St., Flint) but the JCC will host every guest speaker as well as every film. Click here for a schedule.
  • When: Opening night is April 21, with events planned daily April 22-May 3. Events range in time from noon, 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
  • Where: The Berman Center for the Performing Arts and Handleman Hall and Auditorium in the
  • Cost: Tickets are $11 each and can be held at will call, or will be mailed for an additional $1 per ticket. Or purchase a patron pass, which allows guests to see all films, for $360, or a matinee pass (matinees only) for $40 for JCC members and $45 for nonmembers. To purchase tickets, visit theberman.org or call 248-661-1900.
  • What else: "A non-Michigander recently expressed his discovery that the Jewish population in Metro Detroit was very spread out," said Eric Lumberg, festival chair. "Yet, Jewish and non-Jewish we all come together for the shared experience of a film."


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