The Festival featured a gala ceremony where the movie "The Grey Zone" was screened with film star Harvey Keitel and Director Tim Blake Nelson attending.

The program aims to introduce, promote and market Israeli cinema in Boston; to encourage a dialogue between Israeli and foreign filmmakers, both in Haifa and Boston; and to look closely at the changing facets and expressions of Jewish identify in cinema.

The program included eight films, six of which are dealing with "the cinematic expression of the memory of the holocaust." The most prominent among the films is "Sobibor, 14 Octobre 1943, 16 Heures" by Claude Lanzmann, which was presented in competition at Cannes 2001 and won great admiration. The film tells the story of the uprising at the Sobibor concentration camp, as seen through the eyes of Yehuda Lerner, who took part in the uprising and survived to tell his tale. "Sobibor" will anchor the panel dedicated to "Cinema and the memory of the Holocaust."

Other films in the program include: "The Grey Zone" (USA 2001), a film by Tim Blake Nelson ("O Brother, Where Art Thou?"), about a Jewish Sonderkommando unit who did the wok of the crematoria at Auschwitz. The cast includes Steve Buscemi, Harvey Keitel, Mira Sorvino, and the film, produced by NU Image - Danny Dimbort and Avi Lerner, comes directly from the Toronto and San Sebastian Film Festivals. "Lisa" (France 2001) was directed by Pierre Grimblat (a guest at the festival) and stars Jeanne Moreau. Grimblat is interested in the aspect of second generation. He dedicates the film to his parents and talks about the haunting weight of the past, the living memory of the Holocaust, and its effect on our lives. Other films are "Les Fantomes de Louba" (France 2000) by Martine Dugowson, "Keep Away from the Window" (Poland 2000) by Jan Jakub Kolski, and "Edges of the Lord" (USA 2001) by Yurek Bogayevicz.

Directors Pierre Grimblat ("Lisa") and Jan Jakub Kolski ("Keep Away from the Window"), and Mrs. Kaj Wilson, Artistic Director of the Boston Jewish Film Festival, were among the guests.

The Boston Jewish Film Festival will be screening the following films: "Time of Favor," "Clean Sweep," "The Komediant" and "Wadi, Grand Canyon."

Tishrei 5762 - October 2001