Get ready for the 11th Annual Summer Shorts Film Festival with the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s Chester County Kehillah.
Grab dinner in Downtown West Chester and then come and explore the full spectrum of Jewish life, values and culture portrayed on screen as we celebrate the richness and diversity of the Jewish experience through short film and media.
EVENT DETAILS
Date & Time:
Wednesdays: August 21 and 28
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Location:
Chester County History Center
225 N. High Street, West Chester, PA
Cost:
$10 per person per night
Additional Information:
- All Bags will be subject to search.
- If you have any questions about this program or the Chester County Kehillah, please contact Community Engagement Specialist Shelley Rappaport at chestercounty@jewishphilly.org.
- If the cost poses any financial barriers and you are unable to pay for the festival, please contact Shelley Rappaport at chestercounty@jewishphilly.org. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
FEATURED FILMS
Wednesday, August 21
A hybrid of musical memoir and narrative fantasy, A Kaddish For Bernie Madoff tells the story of Madoff and the system that allowed him to function for decades through the eyes of musician/poet Alicia Jo Rabins, who watches the financial crash from her 9th floor studio in an abandoned office building on Wall Street.
Fueled by her growing obsession, real-life interviews transform into music videos, ancient spiritual texts become fevered fantasies of synchronized swimming, and a vivid, vulnerable work of art is born from the unique perspective of an artist watching the global financial collapse up close.
“If Anna Deavere Smith, Sarah Koenig, and Joey Soloway wrote a self-reflexive musical about finance and religion, it might approach [this] film’s impish, mystical spirit…it’s a blessing.”
– The Atlantic
“A whimsical hybrid of musical, memoir and documentary looks at Bernard Madoff through the lens of Jewish identity.”
– The New York Times
Equally fluent in Yiddish and Javascript, Russel Neiss is a Jewish educator, technologist and activist who builds critically acclaimed educational apps and experiences used by thousands of people each day. His work has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, the Atlantic, CNN, the Wall Street Journal, the Jewish Telegraph Agency, and other media outlets. In 2017 he was selected by the Forward as one of the 50 most influential Jewish Americans, and in 2020 he received the Covenant Award, one of the highest honors in the field of Jewish Education.
Wednesday, August 28
Ali, a young Palestinian, comes to Israel for a home visit after a long absence. Following a cold welcome, he decides to seek peace for a few days in the desert of Sinai, Egypt, before he will have to deal with the harsh return to the place he has left behind. After telling one little lie on the way, Ali finds himself embroiled in an unexpected identity crisis on the beautiful beaches of Sinai.
Winner
FreshFlix Short Film Competition
Boston Jewish Film Festival, 2021
Winner
Best Short Film
Warsaw Jewish Film Festival, 2021
Film making and life intersect around the problem of lost footage. A husband records his dying wife while a grieving son loses the tape. Directors Yuval Hameiri and Michal Vaknin use simple objects to great effect to recreate the lost sequence. The resulting documentary effectively captures what was lost in the original footage – a much deeper loss that no recreation can ever replace.
Official Section
IBAFF International Film Festival, 2013
Best Students Film
Epos International Art Film Festival, 2013
Best Students Film
Nashville Film Festival, 2013
Second Award
San Sebastián Film Festival, 2012
A man finds his stolen bicycle and it now belongs to a stranger. In his attempts to retrieve the bicycle, he struggles to remain human.
Nominee, Best Live Action Short Film
93rd Academy Awards, 2021
Best Short Film Award
Haifa International Film Festival, 2019
Best International Short Fiction Award
Galway Film Fleadh, 2020
Beth Klemow Razin has spent 20 years at the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, currently serving as the Associate Director of Jewish Life, where she is dedicated to building a vibrant Jewish community. Her previous experience includes roles at Gratz College, the JCC of Greater Philadelphia and the JCC of West Hartford, CT.
Razin has a B.A. in Jewish Studies and Political Science from Emory University, an M.A. in Jewish Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and an M.A. in Jewish Education from Gratz College.
Born in Philadelphia, PA, and raised in Fairfax, VA, Razin returned 35 years ago to the Overbrook Park neighborhood in Philadelphia where she grew up.
ABOUT DOWNTOWN WEST CHESTER
Shop, dine, and explore beautiful and historic Downtown West Chester before joining us.
Nestled in the heart of the Brandywine Valley just 30 minutes from Wilmington and 45 minutes from Center City Philadelphia, Downtown West Chester, Pennsylvania reflects the small-town charm and cosmopolitan tastes that prompted The Philadelphia Inquirer to call West Chester “…one of the world’s most perfect small towns.”