National Center for Jewish Film Festival

Join us for a vibrant program of new film premieres and rare archive treasures best experienced on the big screen! All screenings will be in person.

Highlights include new films from Israel, Germany,  Australia and Italy. And the New England premiere of our Center’s 35mm restoration of the Yiddish feature film Mothers of Today starring Esther Field, the 1930s radio personality known as the “Yiddishe Mama.”

Schedule:

6:00pm - Seven Blessings

In early 1990s Jerusalem, a boisterous Moroccan-Jewish-Israeli clan reunites for a cross-cultural wedding, celebrating the Moroccan-Jewish bride and French-Ashkenazi groom over the course of seven nights of dinners and ceremonies each hosted by a different family member in honor of the newlyweds. The week-long ritual of sheva brachot (seven blessings) occasions joy, laughter, dancing, and oh so much delicious food. But behind the joie de vivre and togetherness, are family secrets and lies. With humor, pathos, and confidence, Seven Blessings puts Mizrahi mothers, daughters, and sisters at the beating heart of this rich enveloping story.

Directed by Ayelet Menahemi (Noodle, NCJF’s 2008 opening night film), Seven Blessings was written by Reymonde Amsallem and Eleanor Sela, who co-star as sisters in the film.

Cousins in real life, Sela and Amsallem (star of NCJF festival films Three Mothers, Human Resources Manager, Kidon, The Attack, My Lovely Sister, Lebanon, Seven Minutes in Heaven) were inspired by their own family as well as interviews with Moroccan Jewish women. One of the best Israeli films in years, Seven Blessings became a cultural watershed upon its theatrical release this winter.

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Date: May 12-21, 2024