For the 36th Boston Jewish Film Festival, opening Wednesday and running through Nov. 17, bigger is indeed better.
“The scope is bigger than years past,” Artistic Director Joey Katz allowed in a Zoom interview. This BJFF has 20 film premieres. They include eight fiction features, six feature documentaries and eight short films (including the FreshFlix Short Film Competition). Nine films are made by women, seven have LGBTQ+ content. And no fewer than 30 guests will be on hand to exhibit and discuss the wide-ranging material that makes this 36 so distinctive.
Shira Piven’s “The Performance,” Katz said, “is a quintessential opening night film. Based on an Arthur Miller short story, it’s set in 1937 and is about a Jewish tap-dancing troupe who get booked for the Fuhrer. It’s all about identity, passion and what people may or don’t do to achieve success in an artistic endeavor.”
Preceding the film’s screening at the Coolidge Corner’s main movie house, he noted, is something special: A tap dance performance.
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“It’s indicative that we’re adding these performances or music to elevate the experience and allow people to immerse themselves in the world where these films are.”
That something extra continues with a dynamic drag show before “Sabbath Queen” at the Brattle. This marks the return of director Sandi DuBowski whose hit “Trembling Before G-d” played the 2001 BJFF.
You’re invited to join Chef Jerrod Perry and Chef Tali Pinnolis and learn how to make your challah. While your challah rises, enjoy an exclusive screening of Sarah Rosen’s 12-minute FreshFlix entry, “How to Make Challah!”
The midfest entry “Yaniv,” Katz explained, “is about a couple of teachers in New York City who get involved in illegal card gambling to pay for their spring musical. It’s a raucous comedy and after the film at Congregation Kehillath Israel, people can learn to play the card game — not for money! But with food, drink and music that is really exciting.”
Following “Yaniv” a conversation with co-writer/director Amnon Carmi and co-writer/actor Benjamin Ducoff, a BU alumnus.
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Board president Ken Shulman’s personal favorite is “Pepi Fandango” (at the Center for Arts in Natick, Nov. 11). “He’s close to 90, known as Pepi and with his best friend they do a geriatric road trip, all the way to Spain to look for a certain type of flamenco music he heard when he was in a French concentration camp.
“It’s a fun movie and is preceded by a fandango guitar performance to set the mood by Francesco Barone, who lives in Lexington and teaches at Wayland School of Music.”
Tickets are only available online, at bostonjfilm.org (with credit card only). No refunds or exchanges.
A scene from “Bad Shabbos,” part of the lineup for the 36th Boston Jewish Film Festival. (Photo courtesy Boston Jewish Film Festival)
A woman out for a run along the Charles in Boston couldn’t believe her eyes on Tuesday morning — floating on the water was a little reptile.
“I looked a little bit closer and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! That’s a baby alligator!” Whitney Lieberman told NBC10 Boston.
She took some video of the animal encounter, just a crawl away from the Hatch Memorial Shell along the Esplanade.
“I was so caught off guard that I didn’t think to grab anyone else and say is anyone else seeing what I’m seeing here,” Lieberman said.
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Animal educator Joseph Kenney, of Joe’s Crazzy Critters, said the video does show an American alligator, and said it’s not dangerous, though the cold weather in Boston is dangerous to the animal.
And after he spoke to us, Kenney went out to find the gator.
“Actually in that same area — you guys had sent me the location after we spoke — he was tucked into some reeds, kind of along the edge there, in about a foot-and-a-half of water,” Kenney said. “He was just tucked in and laying on the bottom.”
In his social media post, Kenney explained that it took him just 15 minutes to locate the animal.
“With some luck and a couple of bright flashlights after 15 minutes I found the Boston alligator. I was able to capture him safely and he will be warm and housed until we get more information and instructions on what’s next for this little guy,” he wrote.
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MassWildlife told Boston.com that they’d seen videos of the alligator and were working with other agencies to catch it before the cold does.
A man sustained life-threatening injuries after being shot in Dorchester Tuesday afternoon, Boston Police said.
Officers went to 77 Bowdoin Ave. at 3:15 p.m. for a report of a person shot, said Sgt. Det. John Boyle, the department’s chief spokesman. At the scene, police found a man had been shot and took him to a hospital.
The man’s injuries were initially believed to be non-life-threatening, but police later said his injuries were more severe.
Homicide detectives were called to the scene, Boyle said.
The shooting remains under investigation and no arrests have been made, Boyle said.
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Charlie McKenna is a reporter on the public safety team at MassLive. Based in Boston, he covers the entire state. Before joining MassLive, McKenna worked for The Daily Item, where he covered Saugus, and on The…
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Boston was the only New England city to make WalletHub’s list of the top 100 Thanksgiving destinations — and its restaurant scene helped secure a top 20 spot.
Willow & Ivy Thanksgiving meal. CHRISTOPHER SMITH
Planning to spend Thanksgiving in Boston? You’re in one of the best cities in the country to do it, according to a new report from WalletHub.
The study ranked the 100 best U.S. cities for Thanksgiving based on factors like volunteer rates, weather, safety, and Thanksgiving celebrations and traditions. Boston came in 18th overall — and was the only New England city to make the list.
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Boston’s vibrant restaurant scene helped secure its spot in the top 20. The city ranked No. 1 in the country for the number of restaurants with Yelp ratings of at least 4.5 stars or higher, giving those spending the holiday in the city plenty of dining options for a Thanksgiving meal or weekend outing.
Boston also scored well for “Giving Thanks,” a measure which included volunteer hours per capita, charities per capita, and income donated to charities.
Struggling military families ask Globe Santa for help
Cities in Texas and California cities dominated the top of WalletHub’s list, with San Antonio, Texas taking first place overall.
“The best cities for celebrating Thanksgiving all have an abundance of high-quality restaurants and places to buy festive decorations, and their residents get very excited for the holiday based on their Google search history. Other features make individual cities stand out; for example, San Antonio has great weather, Atlanta has a fantastic track record for on-time flights and Virginia Beach has surprisingly affordable accommodations,” said WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo.
The report also shared that the average American spends $235 over the five-day Thanksgiving period — and 71% aim to avoid talking politics at the dinner table.
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