March 13th, 2019 - 4:00 pm to March 17th, 2019 - 7:30 pm
Rehoboth Beach Film Society presents Jewish Film Festival
The Rehoboth Beach Film Society is pleased to partner with Seaside Jewish Community in presenting the fourth annual Rehoboth Beach Jewish Film Festival. The mission of this event is to deepen awareness of Jewish cultures and experiences, and to explore community differences and commonalities through the art of film.
Over the course of ten films spanning five days (March 13-17), the viewer will journey through stories of bravery, love, trauma, family and reconciliation. The joys of dancing and new love will be set against the grim realities of contemporary anti-Semitism and gender discrimination. Histories, both personal and communal, will be explored. Through it all rises the endurance and vitality of the Jewish spirit.
“Black Is The Color”
Friday, February 15 at 7 PM
In 1969, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York mounted a major exhibit called “Harlem On My Mind.” There was just one thing wrong: the show had no work by African-American artists.
The “Harlem on My Mind” fiasco is emblematic of the barriers black artists have faced when it comes to having their work exhibited and collected. Both comprehensive and lively, “Black Is The Color” is a much-needed survey of great work by artists whose contributions were neglected by the mainstream art world for far too long. "Informative... One leaves the documentary with renewed awareness that recent battles over inclusion, representation, and appropriation are the results of struggles that have been going on for decades,” writes Tanner Tafelski of “Hyperallergic.com” [2017, US, Runtime: 52 minutes, Rated: Not Rated].
After the film, Reggie Lynch, the Curator of Education at The Biggs Museum of American Art, will moderate an audience discussion with several local artists of color whose works have been displayed in the museum. The names of the participating artists will be posted on our website (https://www.rehobothfilm.com/event/african-american-film-festival/) closer to the festival opening.
“Father’s Kingdom”
Saturday, February 16 at 4:30 PM
Father Divine was born in poverty, the son of emancipated slaves. At his peak, he was one of America’s most controversial religious leaders. He preached that he himself was an incarnation of God, and that by following his rules of purity and celibacy, you can live forever in “heaven on earth.” His movement was dedicated to integration and communal living. It was an innovator in desegregating neighborhoods, schools, businesses, and the ballot box in the 1930’s and 40’s. Father Divine commanded hundreds of properties and businesses, all funded by the work of his thousands of followers. But scandal, suspicion, and racism lead to clashes with the law. Though he was once a celebrity, and was decades ahead of his time fighting for civil rights, he has largely been written out of history because of the audacity of his religious claims, and doubt about his motives.
Today, Father’s few remaining followers live as a communal family on a magnificent estate outside Philadelphia. As time and mortality confront the followers, they struggle to preserve Father’s legacy. Through unprecedented access to this unique and reclusive community, the film explores the line between faith and fanaticism, between a religion and a cult. Father’s revolutionary ideas on race and identity still resonate today. [2017, US, Runtime: 96 minutes, Not Rated].
After the film, Charlotte King of the Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice, and a member of the Festival’s Planning Committee, will lead an audience discussion.
“Service To Man”
Saturday, February 16 at 7:30 PM
It’s 1967 and medical student Eli Rosenberg has a problem. Only one medical school in the country will accept him: Meharry Medical College, a legendary all-black school in Nashville, Tennessee.
Fellow student Michael DuBois also has a problem. Only one medical school in the country will do: Meharry Medical College, his father’s alma mater, and therefore his, whether he likes it or not.
Eli and Michael have a problem. They’re awkward, they’re outsiders, and they hate each other- but the moment they arrive, they’re forced to work together within the explosive pressure cooker of the turbulent 1960s. These uncommon allies battle the mysteries of medicine; demanding professors; crushing parental pressures; and an entire student body distrustful of them both.
Inspired by an exciting true story, “Service To Man” celebrates the courage to honestly look within ourselves, to find ourselves reflected in others, and explores this eternal question: how do we measure success—in the service to self, or to the “Service to Man?” [2016, US, Runtime: 92 minutes, Not Rated].
“Everything But A Man”
Sunday, February 17 at 2 PM
Once in a lifetime, a lover comes along who changes everything. The story follows Vanessa, an ultra-modern, independent career woman who appears to have it all on the outside, but is secretly lonely and unfulfilled on the inside. Things change after she falls into an unlikely romance with Max, a handsome and mysterious, French-speaking foreigner whose radical lifestyle differences clash with hers and cause her to reexamine everything she's come to believe about love, relationships and what it truly takes to be happy. This timely and socially-relevant, laugh-out-loud, romantic comedy-drama explores universal themes of culture-clash, polyamory, gender roles and women's empowerment from a bold, unconventional and thought-provoking perspective. [2017, US, Runtime: 110 minutes, Not Rated].
Admission is $10 per screening. Customers are encouraged to purchase tickets online. If seats are available, tickets can be purchased at the theater, starting 30 minutes prior to each screening.
The mission of the RBFS is promoting cinematic arts and providing education and cultural enrichment for our community. The Film Society sponsors ongoing screenings, special events, and the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival (Oct 31- Nov 10, 2019). Having met all the requirements for best practices in nonprofit management, the Rehoboth Beach Film Society is accredited by the Standards for Excellence Institute®. This organization is supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on www.DelawareScene.com. For more information on this series, other events, or to become a member, visit the Rehoboth Beach Film Society website at www.rehobothfilm.com, or call 302-645-9095.
For information, please visit rehobothfilm.com/event/jewish-film-festival/