The 2022 Jewish Film Festival is back in person this year! After 2 years of a virtual festival due to the Covid pandemic, the SJFF will present a hybrid festival in 2022, combining in-person and virtual screenings for four films in July.

This year’s theme is The Jewish Experience: a multiplicity of cultures, languages, countries, traditions and colors. Patterns of immigration have taken Jews all over the world, melding and merging, creating hybrid cultures and complex identities. 

Tickets are available to purchase online through the festival’s marketing partner Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center.

(https://www.sprucepeakarts.org/stowe-jewish-film-festival-2022/).

Film Details:

July 13, 7:00 Yerusalem at Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center

The Incredible Story of Ethiopian Jewry traces the dramatic journey of this people who struggled to find their way back to the heart of the Jewish people after centuries of isolation. trailer

July 21, 7:00 Unraveling at the Big Picture, Waitsfield

“Did Pancho Villa really try to kill my grandfather?” While attempting to unravel a family mystery, the filmmaker reveals a dynamic story of borderland relations between a Texas Jewish merchant family and their Mexican neighbors at the beginning of the 20th century. trailer (Note dinner can be ordered and delivered to your seat.)

July 27, 7:00 The Missing Tale at Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center

A sensitive and intimate portrait of the few remaining members of the ancient Jewish community of Cochin, India (trailer not available)

July 30,6:30 Mamoniks Ahora! at Zen Barn, Waterbury Center 

The film Mamboniks is a wonderfully entertaining story about the irresistible appeal of music and dance. Crossing geographic and cultural boundaries, the Mambo became a sensational trend in the 50s among Jews in New York, Miami and the Catskills. This film will be presented virtually as an inspiration and introduction to the festival closing event at Zen Barn. trailer

The festival wraps up at Zen Barn with an evening full of food, film, dancing and speakers including the filmmaker, Les Gilespie, and the NYC based ethnomusicologist band leader Ben Lapidus. GET OUT YOUR DANCING SHOES as we will be following the lead of Samba and Mambo dance instructor, Beatrice Oritiz, and accompanied by a multi-piece live band, Benjamin Lapidus Quinteto Cumbamcha.

For more information contact Marni Leikin (marni.leikin@gmail.com)