What do Casablanca, Amadeus, and TheGoonies have in common? Yes, sure, they’re all being screened for free under the stars at Miami Beach Soundscape as part of the 23rd Annual Miami Jewish Film Festival’s excitingly diverse line-up. Even more than that however, festival director Igor Shtereynberg has also paired these classics with recent biopics being shown in theaters as part of the festival’s regular lineup. Today you have a chance to catch the acclaimed Forman vs. Forman, which recounts the life struggles of the Amadeus and One Flew Over the Cukoo’sNest director Miloš Forman, a prominent figure of the late 1960’s Czech New Wave who fled Czechoslovakia for the United States after the hard-line communist crackdown. Next Wednesday keep an eye out for Dave Grusin: Not Enough Time, a biopic of the multi-Oscar winning conductor who scored such films as The Graduate, Tootsie, and The Goonies.
The biggest Jewish cultural event in Florida is back and better than ever! The 23rd Annual Miami Jewish Film Festival (MJFF), which opened January 9th and runs through the 23rd, is showcasing 107 films from 25 different countries, setting a record this year for largest Jewish film program in the world.
The Miami Jewish Film Festival is known for the diversity of its offerings. Those of us interested in romance and uplifting stories got to enjoy the South Florida Premier of German director Marcus H Rosenmüller’s The Keeper, a passionate biopic about Bert Trautmann (played by David Kross, Steven Spielberg’s War Horse), a German prisoner of war turned Manchester City football star and a symbol for peace and reconciliation in the 1950’s.
As December heat and humidity give way to January heat and humidity, you know spring is around the corner in South Florida. And spring in South Florida means two things–film festivals (including ones for student filmmakers) and Oscars.