Seattle MetBlogs
The Seattle Jewish Film Festival kicked off with a pre-opening night party at Palace Ballroom featuring food and drinks, Israeli singer/songwriter Anna He, and local filmmaker Andy Schocken presenting clips from his films, including the Oscar-nominated documentary he co-produced, The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner. The SJFF officially opened Saturday, with Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film nominee Ajami, a “gritty, urban crime drama that tells the interwoven stories of Jewish, Muslim and Christian neighbors living in bloody disharmony in Israel’s impoverished Jaffa neighborhood”. The festival continues through March 21 with films and special events at a variety of venues including SIFF, Cinerama, the Stroum Jewish Community Center, and the Washington State History Museum. Films being screened include dramas, comedies and a slew of documentaries from around the world including Look Into My Eyes, filmmaker Naftaly Gliksberg examination of anti-Semitism on two continents, and Amnon’s Story about master violin maker, Amnon Weinstein who restores Holocaust-era instruments.