Wednesday, May

MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Documentary

Sponsored by Richard Solloway

THE JEWS AND THE BLUES

Dir. Drew Stone | 67 min USA | 2021

Filmmaker, musician, and talk show host Drew Stone travels to Israel in search of the connection between Jews and the Blues. Along the way he discovers how deeply embedded its melodies and stories are to the mix of cultures that inhabit the Holy Land.

A fascinating history emerges, with roots in Arab, Jewish, Ethiopian, and Moroccan traditions, all filtered through the contemporary Israeli experience. Featuring interviews with—and a sizzling soundtrack from— leading contemporary Israeli musicians, including Ori Frank, Ravid Kahalani, and 2022 JxJ headliner Gili Yalo (concert info on p. 33).

Tuesday, May 17, 6:15 PM – EDCJCC NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE Documentary

A JEWISH LIFE

Dir. Christian Krönes, Florian Weigensamer, Roland Schrotthofer, Christian Kermer | Austria | 2021 German w/English subtitles

Marko Feingold used to say: “Nothing can hurt those who already died once.” He himself had died several times over, as a survivor of four concentration camps: Auschwitz, Neuengamme, Dachau, and Buchenwald.

From the moment of his liberation to the day he passed away in September 2019, aged 106, he dedicated his life to helping tens of thousands of survivors on their arduous journeys to Palestine, and later channeled his efforts into Holocaust remembrance. Feingold, who later became the President of the Jewish Community in Salzburg, gives his testimony with breathtaking clarity.

Presented with the support of the Austrian Cultural Forum.

Tuesday, May 17, 7:00 PM – Bethesda Row Cinema