YSU Jewish film series begins 2nd year with 'Promises'

One of the directors of the film will be on hand to answer questions.
By MILAN PAURICH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Now for its second year, the Youngstown Area Jewish Film Festival kicks off this weekend at Youngstown State University's DeBartolo Hall Auditorium with "Promises," an internationally acclaimed documentary about the Palestinian/Jewish conflict as seen through the eyes of schoolchildren.
Justine Shapiro, one of the film's directors, will be on hand to introduce the screening and field audience questions during an informal Q & amp;A format. The presentation begins at 7 p.m. Saturday.
In making "Promises," Shapiro and co-directors B.Z. Goldberg and Carlos Bolado followed seven Jewish and Palestinian children from disparate backgrounds over a three-year period spanning 1995-98. As a bonus, Shapiro is bringing along an epilogue shot earlier this year which updates the lives of her youthful protagonists.
Other films
"Promises" is just one of a handful of films that YAJFF is featuring in its sophomore season. Also playing at DeBartolo are "Moving Heaven and Earth," an examination of a Jewish tribe in Africa; and "Shalom Ireland," the story and history of the Jewish community in Ireland. Both nonfiction works will screen as a double-feature at 4 p.m. Oct. 31.
Additionally, two narrative features are scheduled to be shown as part of the festival at Cleveland Cinemas' Austintown Movies. The bittersweet charmer "Monsieur Batignole" is the fable-like tale of a Gentile butcher who hides three Jewish children during the Nazi occupation of France in World War II. And "Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi" -- a coming-of-age comedy-drama about a 16-year-old boy -- was a blockbuster hit in Israel last year where it enjoyed a 40-week theatrical run. "Batignole" plays at 4 p.m. Sunday; "Shlomi" can be seen at 7 p.m. Oct. 30.
Event host
As CEO of the only independently owned and operated area movie house, Cleveland Cinemas' Jon Forman takes considerable pride in once again helping to showcase the YAJFF series. "We are pleased to host this event for a second year," Forman said in a recent telephone interview. "It demonstrates that there is an interest in the greater Youngstown/Austintown community for all kinds of films, including Jewish-themed films, like those that Austintown Movies presents all the time."
Single tickets ($8 for adults; $5.50 for teens and seniors), as well as a $26 festival pass good for admission to all five films, can be purchased in advance at the Jewish Community Center Office, 550 Gypsy Lane, or at DeBartolo Hall or Austintown Movies before each film. For more information, call Sherry Weinblatt at (330) 746-3251.