Hoping to strengthen ties between the greater Long Beach community and its students, Cal State Long Beach will host Long Beach’s fourth annual Jewish Film Festival in the University Theater this weekend.
The two-day festival will show four movies that come from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, all of which have a correlation with the Jewish experience, both from the Jewish point of view and the outside.
“These films will expose people to a community that is far more diverse than they might otherwise appear,” said Jeffrey Blutinger, assistant professor of history and co-director of the Jewish studies program.
With only one film in English, the rest of the films featured are either Israeli or Chilean and will have English subtitles. The films were reviewed and selected by a committee and were chosen based on their appeal to their audiences and relation to the Jewish experience.
“We wanted diversity. We didn’t want four serious movies or four comedies,” Blutinger said. “The films last year were more depressing. This year, [the films] are lighter.”
Although the Academy Awards is also scheduled for this weekend, the Jewish Studies department, which co-sponsors the event, had compromised to end the festival about two hours earlier so those who wish to attend every film of the festival can still get home in time to catch the Academy Awards on Sunday night.
The Long Beach Jewish Film Festival started four years ago and has been steadily improving in the number of people attending each year.
“We are going into the festival with over 150 tickets sold so far,” said Susan Paletz, who is a part of the Alpert Jewish Community Center, which also co-sponsors the festival. “Ticket sales seem to be on a par from last year. We are hoping for the same turnout, around 300.”
The department hopes to see the festival expand in movies and days in the future, and looks to be recognized as a festival that can stand on its own rather than dwell in the shadow of the Jewish Film Festivals of Los Angeles and Orange County.
“I think it’s important for the Jewish Program of Los Angeles and Long Beach to see that Long Beach represents a center in its own right,” Blutinger said. “People [in the Jewish community] should start thinking of us as a place to come to.”
The first film will be showing Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and the last film on Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets can be purchased either at the Alpert Jewish Community Center in Long Beach or at the University Theater door. Each film costs $12. Although there are no student discounts for CSULB students, a festival pass can be purchased for $40, allowing access to all four films. A complimentary parking pass for Lot 7 is included with each ticket.
Jeffrey Blutinger: (562)985-2196, [email protected]
Susan Paletz: (562)426-7601, [email protected]