A Message from the Chair
Welcome to the 17th Annual Pittsburgh Jewish Israeli Film Festival.  This is the culmination of months of work by a very devoted committee that was inspired to bring you the best films of Jewish content or Jewish interest from around the globe.

As one former Festival chair pointed out, 17 in Gematria - the method of applying a numerical value to each Hebrew letter - corresponds to the Hebrew word “Tov”, or good. That’s a good omen. And we know that the Festival this year is actually more than good, it’s great.

We’re bringing you films that are funny, provocative, informative, touching and inspiring, from countries around the world, including Australia, Argentina, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States.  These films are presented around the region so that we can share our culture and reach out to both Jews and non-Jews. Film has an unparalleled way of bringing people closer together - the shared experience of gathering in a theater, of allowing ourselves to be immersed, for an hour or two, into another life or culture. It not only entertains, it educates us.

That’s one of the reasons we proudly share the fact that the Festival is just one aspect of what we do. In addition to our cornerstone, the three-week Film Festival, we present Teen Screen, Reel to Real: Generation to Generation and the Jewcy Film Series. Please read more about these programs on Page 6 of the guide.

We have much more in the works. As the result of being awarded a national grant from the Schusterman Foundation, we will be hosting a visiting Israeli filmmaker for four months this fall. She will teach at area schools and make a film while she is here. That will then premiere at next year’s Film Festival - an event we will all eagerly await.  And this year we are also launching a wonderful new student film competition (made possible by the Sanford N. Robinson Endowment Fund of the United Jewish Federation) to encourage young area filmmakers. It is open to all high-schoolers in the area, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. They will take a theme that’s Jewish in nature but common to all and be invited to produce a short film. Learn more about this program at our kickoff meeting to be held Sunday, March 21, at 12 p.m. at SouthSide Works Cinema.

For the past six months, members of the Film Festival committee have been busy. They have previewed films, and found what we believe to be the best movies from around the world. We have everything from narratives to documentaries, comedies to high drama, films dealing with serious subjects like the Holocaust and terrorism and even movies that have made this year’s Academy Awards short list. 

I would like to thank every member of the Committee for the time and effort they give to making this program such a success. We simply couldn’t do it without them. In addition to screening films, they reach out to the community, write curriculum, hand out programs and usher, sell advertisements in our program guide, plan our Opening Night festivities, raise money and offer their own financial support – I don’t think there’s a more devoted group of people around. I think that’s because the Film Festival is such an important part of the fabric of the Pittsburgh Jewish community’s life. We have the opportunity to reach thousands of people, to educate and entertain, to provoke thought and make us examine our own lives and even encourage us to be more proactive about social issues.  The Film Festival enriches the entire Pittsburgh community.

One final note - an epilogue, if you will: The Pittsburgh Jewish Israeli Film Festival would not be possible without the outstanding work of our director, Kathryn Spitz Cohan, and her staff, Lauren Braun and Lori Sisson. Under Kathryn’s expert direction, these women work year-round to bring us all of these wonderful and meaningful programs. And I must thank our funders, our sponsors, our contributors and our audience who all allow us to do this every year.

See you at the movies!

Iris Samson