Atlanta Jewish Film Festival 2016: The city’s largest film festival comes to SCADshow

by Sharita Gilmore, contributor

For more than 15 years, the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) has brought Israeli cinema to the ATL. Showcasing films about identity, history and culture, the annual festival is as much about community as it is about the Jewish experience.  

Founded by the Atlanta Regional Office of American Jewish Committee, the event is Atlanta’s largest film festival. With last year’s AJFF becoming the largest Jewish film festival in the world, there is quite a bit of anticipation surrounding this year’s activities. Running from Jan. 26-Feb. 17, the festival will show more than 50 films in eight venues all across metropolitan Atlanta, including, for the first time, our very own SCADshow. With films ranging from social documentaries like “East Jerusalem West Jerusalem” to coming-of-age dramas like “Time to Say Goodbye” to more suspenseful films like “A Grain of Truth” to wanderlust and millennial-driven “It’s Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong,” there is no better time or place to experience international cinema than our own theatre.

For those willing to venture beyond SCAD, the festival’s other seven venues are showing an ever greater variety of films. While history lovers will be moved looking back at archival footage of Holocaust survivors in “Every Face Has a Name,” Woody Allen fans can experience the wonder of his comedy in “The Front” and thrill seekers can hold onto their seats as they watch the world come to an end in “Jeruzalem.”  In addition to the film screenings, this year’s festival includes social activities. For example, on Tuesday, Feb. 16, the day before the festivities end, the Woodruff Arts Center will host a post-film food tasting after screening “In Search of Israeli Cuisine.”

Whether you simply enjoy watching movies, interacting with people from a different culture, or are seeking to learn more about your own heritage, go see a show at this year’s AJFF. General admission tickets are $13 but student tickets are $11 with a valid ID. Be sure check out the festival’s website for more information and to decide which film you’d like to see.