Berkshire Jewish Film Festival

On behalf of Knesset Israel and the Berkshire Jewish Film Festival, we extend a warm Welcome Back to you as BJFF embarks upon its 38th season. We are so happy to be able to present six Mondays of excellent film programming in person at the Duffin Theater at the Lenox Memorial Middle and High School.

Our screening committee has chosen the best of the many films they watched this year. We are excited to bring you a wide range of documentaries and narrative films from the US, Israel, Germany, Italy and Canada. Please visit our website to read about the films and speakers, sign up for our e-newsletter, make a much-appreciated donation, and purchase your Season Pass. As in past years, individual tickets can only be purchased on the day of the show.(Cash or Check Only)

Schedule:

4pm - Unbroken

Against all odds, the seven Weber siblings who are the subject of Unbroken manage to stay together through the Holocaust thanks to acts of courage, resilience and a series of miracles. After their mother is deported from Berlin to Auschwitz for being Jewish and part of the resistance, the children are slated to follow days later on a different transport. Instead, their father arranges to baptize and then hide them on the farm of a Christian couple outside the city, where they fend for themselves for two years before ending up in a displaced person’s camp. The youngest child, Ginger, is the mother of Beth Lane, the documentary’s writer, producer and director. Relying on journal entries, archival film footage, photos and interviews, Lane lovingly documents this poignant story of the siblings who arrive in the United States together, only to be separated for many decades. She leaves us understanding the impact of courageous individual choices through a film that inspires hope and compassion.

USA 2023, English, Documentary, 96 minutes

Director: Beth Lane

8pm - The Catskills

This film is a loving and nostalgic tribute to the family-run Jewish resort and bungalow culture that became known as the Borsht Belt, the inspiration for iconic films like Dirty Dancing. Through the archival film footage and reminiscences of patrons and proprietors, we see the legendary comedians, the all-you-can-eat meals served by eligible college-boy waiters, and the seductive dance instructors, and we learn this was the backdrop of an important chapter in American Jewish history. Jews were denied access to hotel and resort life and resisted their exclusion by forming their own enclaves in the scenic and welcoming Catskill mountains. These places, where Jews flocked after summer, offered refuge along with fun, and celebrated Yiddishkeit without restraint. More than anything they served up the power of community, both for the poor Jewish immigrants who needed to get out of the crowded city, and the well heeled crowd who wanted a lavish playground. Director Lex Gillespie is a three-time Peabody award-winning public radio journalist-turned filmmaker; this is his second film.

USA 2024, English, Documentary, 86 minutes

Director: Lex Gillespie

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Date: July 8 - August 12