Celebration of Jewish Film opens Thursday at Suncoast

Kirk Baird

Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2004 | 8:24 a.m.

For the first two Las Vegas Celebration of Jewish Film events, program director Joshua Abbey opted to let programmers from other Jewish film festivals dictate the schedule by selecting and presenting films.

"The intention was to share with the Las Vegas community how successful Jewish film festivals are at other sites," Abbey said.

With that mission accomplished, his approach for this year's festival was different.

"I felt this year that the goal had been achieved," Abbey said. "So this year I decided to give the individual presenting organizations the opportunity to select the film that they wanted to present."

The result is a widely diverse group of films, yet each connected by a single qualifier to be eligible for the Third Annual Las Vegas Celebration of Jewish Film, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Suncoast Century 16 and concludes Sunday.

"What qualifies a film to be a Jewish film is that it has Jewish content, something in the story that relates to the Jewish faith," Abbey said. "And this year we have some very exciting films."

The list includes:

"James' Journey to Jerusalem" 7:30 p.m., Thursday. In English with French subtitles, "James' Journey" details the story of a young man chosen by the people of his African village to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Along the way, James finds himself caught up in the contemporary life of modern Israel.

"This film is interesting because it deals with migrant workers in Israel," Abbey said.

"Taking Sides" 7:30 p.m., Saturday: "This is the West Coast premiere of this film, which is directed by a very famous film director, Istvan Szabo," Abbey said. "It stars Harvey Keitel as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army who prosecutes Wilhelm Furtwangler for being compliant with the Nazis, even though he helped Jewish members of his orchestra escape during World War II. It's about the conflict between art and politics."

"Left Luggage" 2 p.m., Sunday: The story of a rebellious young woman, who is also a Jewish philosophy student, coming of age in modern-day Belgium. Her relationship with her parents -- both of whom were concentration camp survivors -- is strained as the woman is unable to accept her Jewish heritage. After taking a job as a nanny for a Hassidic family, the woman begins to understand and appreciate her Jewish identity.

"It stars Isabella Rossellini and offers insight into Hassidic life," Abbey said.

"Train of Life" 4:30 p.m., Sunday: "It's been compared to 'Life is Beautiful' because it's a different take on the Holocaust, more humorous than somber. But by no means is it irreverent," Abbey said. "It's a fable about the Shtetls -- little Jewish villages that the Nazis took over -- and one Shtetl's (villager) invented means for pursuing freedom. ("Train of Life") offers insight into Shtetl life during the second world war."

"Amen" 7 p.m., Sunday: "Directed by a well-known director (Costa-Gavras), 'Amen' is a controversial film that deals with the Vatican's role in relation to the Holocaust," Abbey said. "It follows the efforts of a Jesuit priest trying to alert the pope about the Jewish genocide in hopes that the church will denounce the final solution -- the extermination of the Jews."

In addition to the movies, the Jewish Community Center of Southern Nevada's "Celebration of Jewish Art" will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Suncoast.

The art festival features hand-blown glass, hand-painted pottery, semi-precious and costume jewelry, paintings, ceramics, woodcraft and photography from local artists as well as worldwide.