The 41st Atlanta Film Festival Starts Today!
The 41st Annual Atlanta Film Festival begins today and will run throughout April 2, 2017. For a span of 10 days total, participators can expect an enthralling plethora of more than 160 feature length and short film presentations, 37 Creative Conferences and over a dozen Special Presentations. The Atlanta Film Festival has proven to be a monumental event that draws in filmmakers, writers, film lovers and more from all over the country and abroad. This highly anticipated Festival (aka ATLFF) has received global recognition as one of the "25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World" and "50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee". The Opening Ceremony and red carpet screening this year will feature a narrative, DAVE MADE A MAZE - a story about a character named Dave who falls victim to his own fort erected in his personal living room. Dave winds up "trapped by the fantastical pitfalls, bobby traps and critters of his own making." Following the opening film, there will be a after party available to pass-holders who have obtained wristbands at the conclusion of tonight's screening.
For more information on AFF, please visit, www.atlantafilmfestival.com and to check out my recap from last year's 40th annual AFF, visit http://urbanluxmag.com/2016/04/02/40th-atlanta-film-festival/.
DRESS LIKE A GENT
The 2017 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival in Review
Wednesday, February 15th marked the close of this year's grand Atlanta Jewish Film Festival (AJFF). With over 37,500 film lovers in attendance and a total of 202 screenings showcased over the span of 23 days, this year's film festival has been a huge success! This year, facilitators of AJFF deliberately focused on enhancing audience experience and accessibility to draw in more participation both local and otherwise. As a second year participant at AJFF, I was totally excited to see which film selections would be shown this year and excited about engaging with other die-hard AJFF fans! Beginning with the opening night at the Cobb Energy Centre where guests gathered together in a classy place, enjoying all of the delectable food items there to the brilliant Alone in Berlin opening night film, nothing has been a disappointment!
This year, AJFF announced for the first time, Jury Award Winners delegated among various categories including best Narrative Feature, Documentary Feature, Short, Emerging Filmmaker, Building Bridges and Human Rights. Details and results for these awarding films can be found via www.ajff.org. Beyond that, I think it's is important to mention that this film festival is a high-quality event from start to completion, which makes you feel like you've not only learned something about the culture, but also gained a greater appreciation for the diversity and history of Jewish community as a whole. And closing night was just as spectacular!
The finale screening for AJFF this year was the comedic drama known as The Women's Balcony. This film tells the story about a close-knit synagogue congregation that is torn apart after their dedicated women's balcony collapses during a Bar-Mitzpah. In utter shock including the rabbi's wife ending up in a coma, the congregation is swiftly engaged by the young Charismatic Rabbi David, who at first, appears to want to help them. Gradually, they realize Rabbi David's legalistic, fundamentalist ways only end up doing the congregation more damage than good. Finally, the women of the congregation speak out and peacefully protest their objection to his directives which proves to turn matters favorably for both the men and women involved.
A great closing film choice followed by a kingly dessert reception lacing the upstairs and downstairs lobbies of The Woodruff Arts Centre, there is no better way that I could imagine finalizing such an excellent film festival like this one!
For more information about #AJFF2017, please visit www.ajff.org. Desserts for the closing reception were provided by Icing Cake Designs & Sweets Boutique.
Also, be sure to checkout these photos from the closing ceremony all Courtesy of Rhema Word Enterprises.
DRESS LIKE A GENT
#AJFF2017 Film Review | Past Life
A brilliantly emotion-packed film, Past Life, is inspired by a true story about two sisters Sephi (played by Joy Reiger) and Nana (Nelly Tager), who find themselves, 30 years after the Holocaust, forced to dig up the truth about their father's haunting past. The story thickens after an electrifying vocal performance, when Sephi is abruptly reviled in public by an elderly Polish woman, Agnieska Zielinski (Katarzyna Gniewkowska), who accuses Sephi's father of being a murderer. Confused and devastated, the sisters commence their own secret investigation of their their Holocaust-surviving father, Baruch (Doron Tavory), with hopes of piecing together their father's secret wartime past. As the film progresses, Baruch decides to disclose the truth about what took place during the War and shares the dark story about the months he had to hide from the Nazis in a Polish cellar. With this new insight into their father's past, the sisters find themselves even more inquisitive about whether even this is truth or not as it poses serious questions about their own heritage and sense of personal identity.
Nana later discovers that she is severely ill as the family progressively begins to blame her condition as a curse resulting from her father's transgressions. Yet, the brilliance about this entire film is the turn of forgiveness and reconciliation that it teaches. We learn how the past has its direct and indirect influence on the future and about the burden of strong intergenerational ties. Past Life is a film for anyone who understands the importance of moving beyond the past no matter how painful it is, in order to move forward. This film empowers you to forgive, to let go and to courageously address matters that could either damage or otherwise restore for generations to come.
The 2017 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival Just 2 Days Away!
Patrons both local and abroad are eager to welcome the 17th Annual Atlanta Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) which will kick off this Tuesday, January 24th at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Just two weeks ago, the 2017 lineup for the festival was announced to feature over 200 screenings of 75 different films from 24 different countries. This year's opening ceremony will take place at the Cobb Energy Centre in Atlanta beginning with an awarding-winning WWII drama Alone in Berlin, starring Emma Thompson and Brendan Gleeson. In addition to this prime screening, there will be an array of amazing films throughout the festival including an enthralling story of survival called Across the Waters, a comedic drama called The Pickle Recipe by Director Michael Manasseri and many, many more.
As a second year media participant in the Jewish Film Festival, I can say that last year was an unforgettable experience and one in which left me very anticipatory for this year's festival! One thing for sure, AJFF is for anyone who is a film lover and has a genuine appreciation for cultureally-infused films and narratives. Its mission, to "seek to use the power of film to both entertain and educate, AJFF challenges conventional perspectives on complex and challenging issues facing the Jewish and global communities." Screenings will be held throughought the city in various theaters and the closing ceremony will be held on February 15th again at the Atlanta Symphony Hall featuring a comical women's narrative called The Women's Balcony.
The 2017 AJFF will take place from January 24 - February 15th thoughout Atlanta. To purchase your tickets or for more information, please visit www.ajff.org.
Don't you miss it!