San Francisco Jewish Film Festival

I often say that the two weeks or so of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival each summer is a special time. So special that I generally arrange my travel schedule so I can be in town during the festival's run. Is every film great? No. In fact a number are either just OK or simply disappointing (I won't comment on films in either of those categories). But on balance, this festival is an absolute winner and one of the highlights of my year. Now at about the half-way point I wanted to provide my take on a number of films.

Two documentaries are absolute must sees :

Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story - This film documents the life of Benjamin Netanyahu's older brother and the history of the State of Israel in an artfully edited, highly compelling way and;

Besa: The Promise - A little known story of how Albanian Muslims offered asylum to Jews from other countries - there were hardly any Jews in Albania - during World War II. How the "besa", the Albanian concept of "promise" or "pledge" is played out, will leave you emotionally drained.

Find these films somehow and see them. Your efforts will be rewarded.

If not absolute must sees, what follows are outstanding films that you should see if you can:

• Life in Stills - The story of the 96 year-old widow of the official photographer of the Israeli Declaration of Independence as she and her grandson try to save their Tel Aviv studio.
• The Other Son - The Israeli-Palestinian conflict told through a separated at birth story. Powerful, moving and somewhat reminiscent of Incendies a recent Academy Award nominee.
• White: A Memoir in Color - White, Black, Jewish and the notion of identity, this documentary tackles the Jewish/Black relationship in America in a novel, highly personal way.
• The Flat - An Israeli Best Documentary Award winner, The Flat tells the story of the discovery of the little known relationship between a German Jewish couple who emigrated to Palestine and a high-ranking German official and his wife. In so doing, we learn about a different kind of Holocaust denial.
• Sharqiya - A drama about the Bedouin place in Israeli society. Winner of the Best Feature Award at the Jerusalem Film Festival.
• A.K.A Doc Pomus - Do you know the song, "Save the Last Dance for Me"? Or "This Magic Moment"? Or "Viva Las Vegas"? Or so many more? Then you know the work of Doc Pomus (aka Jerome Felder). An amazing documentary about music, talent and courage, you will leave the film humming.
• The Law in These Parts - An often troubling investigation of how Israeli law is applied, or not applied, in the Occupied Territories. No matter which side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict you're on, this will provoke thought.
• A Bottle in the Gaza Sea - Romeo and Juliet with a twist; Romeo is Palestinian and Juliet an Israeli Jew. This is a unique and unconventional love story set against the Gaza conflicts of 2007-08.
• Harbour of Hope - This documentary tells the story of the efforts of Red Cross authorities in Malmo Sweden to save inmates of concentration camps in Germany at the end of World War II, focusing on the stories of both the saviors and the saved then and now.
• Broken - What it's like to be a young, Jewish teacher in the slums of Paris, Broken is not your ordinary teacher in a bad school story. It will leave an indelible impression. 

With one more week to go and a lot more films to screen, I'll provide another update next week.