Jewish Film Festival opens at Rialto Cinemas

Six Jewish films from around the world will be shown at the Rialto Cinemas in Sebastopol over the next two months as the Jewish Community Center Sonoma County presents its 21st annual Jewish Film Festival. They begin Wednesday and run through Nov. 30.

“You don’t have to be Jewish to love Jewish films,” said Ellen Blustein, the center’s executive director. “Our purpose is to promote multicultural understanding and tolerance for everyone in Sonoma County for the price of a movie ticket.”

Each film will be screened at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for matinées and $15 for evening showings. Order tickets at jccsoco.org. Information: 707-529-4222.

The complete line-up:

Wednesday - “Wounded Land” (2015, Israel, 80 min., in Hebrew with English subtitles). When a suicide bomber survives his own attack in Haifa, his presence in an Israeli hospital causes conflict and controversy.

Oct. 19 - “Once in a Lifetime” (2014, France, 105 min., in French with English subtitles). A drama based on the true story of a French high school teacher who assigns her underprivileged inner-city students to enter a national competition examining the Holocaust from the point of view of young people.

Nov. 2 - “East Jerusalem/West Jerusalem” (2014, Israel, 80 minutes, in English, Hebrew and Arabic, with English subtitles). Israeli folk-rock superstar David Broza uses music to unite artists on both sides of the Middle East divide. This documentary also features Grammy winner Steve Earle and Palestinian singer Mira Awad.

Nov. 9 - “Fire Birds” (2015, Israel, 105 min., in Hebrew with English subtitles). In this darkly comic mystery, the stabbing death of an 80-year-old man with a number tattooed on his forearm is investigated by a detective who is a second-generation Holocaust survivor.

Nov. 16 - “Fever at Dawn” (2015, Hungary, 109 min., in Hungarian with English subtitles). Based on a true story from 1945, the film follows a Hungarian Holocaust survivor given six months to live, who writes letters to more than 100 Hungarian women, searching for a wife.

Nov. 30 - “Moos” (2016, Netherlands, 91 min., in Dutch with English subtitles). The wallflower Moos devotes her life to mourning the death of her mother, taking care of her grieving father until an old friend Sam encourages her to start a life of her own.

The series will be followed Dec. 4 by a special showing of “In Search of Israeli Cuisine” (U.S., 97 min., in English). The documentary features a culinary tour of Israel conducted by Michael Solomonov, celebrity chef, restaurateur, author of “Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking” and 2016 James Beard Foundation Book Award winner. Admission for the film only costs $18.

The 3 p.m. screening will precede a sold-out Israeli dinner at the Sonoma Wine Shop, based on dishes from the film and prepared by chef/owner Meekk Shelef. with seating limited to 50 people.

You can reach staff writer Dan Taylor at 707-521-5243 or dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @danarts.