By Mabel Pais

”SHALOM BOLLYWOOD” opens the 24th edition of the New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival (NYSJFF). The Festival returns April 3-7, 2022 at the Moise Safra Center located at 130 East 82nd Street, New York City. The NYSJFF (nysephardifilmfestival.org) returns this year, celebrating its 24th anniversary, with movie premières, award ceremonies, filmmaker Q&As, a fashion show with Elie Tahari, and live music! This special edition is presented in partnership with the prestigious Moise Safra Center, located at 130 E 82nd St, from 3-7 April 2022.

Join the Festival for films about Greater Sephardic experiences in India, Morocco, Greece, Israel, Spain, Germany, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Brooklyn!

ASF Pomegranate Award Winners in attendance:

André Aciman (Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature)

The Marvelous Ms. Maazel’s Caroline Aaron (Lifetime Achievement for Acting)

Lainie Kazan (Lifetime Achievement Award for Acting)

The Blacklist’s Amir Arison (Achievement Award for Acting)

Neta Elkayam (Achievement Award for Music)

Violetta Salama (Ronit Elkabetz, A”H Rising Star)

The NYSJFF

The American Sephardi Federation’s NYSJ Film Fest showcases contemporary voices steeped in Greater Sephardic communities’ history, traditions, and rich mosaic culture. The Pomegranate Awards Ceremony on Opening Night celebrates Sephardi excellence in the arts. Past recipients include Senior Counselor to the King of Morocco André Azoulay, French-Algerian recording legend Enrico Macias, filmmakers Lisa Azuelos and Elie Chouraqui, and Film producer Said Ben Said, fashion designer Elie Tahari, legendary actor Sasson Gabay, among others.

The Pomegranate Award, sculpted by Iraqi artist Oded Halahmy, will be awarded to essential contributors to the society with extraordinary achievements with Actors Lainie Kazan (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Amir Arison (The Blacklist), Caroline Aaron (Mrs. Maisel), André Aciman, Violetta Salama (Rising Star).

Artistic director Sara Nodjoumi and Producer David Serero return to this exciting edition.

“The Moise Safra Center is thrilled to be co-hosting the New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival with the ASF this year. We are opening our doors for everyone to come and enjoy a week of curated movie selections to learn about Sephardic culture through film. Hope to see you here!”– David Miller, Executive Director – Moise Safra Center

NYSJFF FILM LINEUP:

Sunday, April 3rd: Opening Day –

Sepharad Series: Salonika, Sephardic Shoah Survivors

3pm – “OTTOMAN SALONICA” and “POVERATA SALONIKA”

DIR: DR. JOE HALIO l USA l 2001 l SHORT DOC l 60m

Two 30-minute documentaries on the Jewish history of Salonika (Thessaloniki), Greece. Features rare footage of Sephardic Shoah survivors.

Q&A with Director Joe Halio

OPENING NIGHT / From Baghdad to Bollywood

6pm – “SHALOM BOLLYWOOD”

DIR: DANNY BEN-MOSHE l Australia l 2018 l Feat Doc l NY Premiere l 1h 25m

A celebration of the all-singing, all-dancing history of the world’s largest film industry, “Shalom Bollywood” reveals the unlikely story of the Baghdadi and Bene Manashe Jews, especially Jewish women, who became stars and movie moguls in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s.

AWARDS CEREMONY

Award Ceremony with Pomegranate Awards for André Aciman (Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature), Caroline Aaron (Lifetime Achievement for Acting), Amir Arison (Achievement Award for Acting), Violetta Salama (Ronit Elkabetz, A”H, Rising Star), followed by a party.

Monday, April 4th:

Sepharad Series: Melilla Memories

3pm – “Alegría”

DIR: VIOLETA SALAMA l Spain l 2021 l Spanish & Chelja w/Eng Subs l FEAT NARR l NY Premiere l 1h 59m

An eye-catching directorial debut. This festival favorite explores the ever-blending identities and cultures in this Spanish enclave in Northern Morocco.

Q&A with Director Violeta Salama

Persian-Israeli-American Fashion Night with Elie Tahari

7pm – “THE UNITED STATES OF FASHION DESIGNER ELIE TAHARI”

DIR: David Serero l USA l 2022 l Doc l NY Premiere l 1h 10m

Elie Tahari is the definition of courage, determination, and…chutzpah! After fleeing Iran, his parents moved to Israel where he lived in a refugee camp before moving to New York without speaking a word of English. This long-awaited documentary has been screened at film festivals across the globe garnering multiple awards.

Q&A with Director David Serero & Elie Tahari. Followed by Fashion Show & After Party

Tuesday, April 5th

Sepharad Series: Crypto-Jews

5pm – “XUETA ISLAND”

DIRS: DANI ROTSTEIN, FELIPE WOLOKITA & OFER LASZEWICKI l Spain l 2021 l Doc Feat l 1h 3m

“Xueta Island” explores the fascinating legacy of the Xuetas: a unique group of families on the Balearic Island of Majorca who are believed to be descendants of the island’s Inquisition-era Jewish population. A riveting quest to unearth and document Majorca’s rich and tragic Jewish history and an inspirational glimpse into attempts to revive Jewish life on the island.

Antisemitism in Focus

7pm  – “WET DOGS”

 DIR: DAMIR LUKACEVIC l Germany l 2021 l German, Farsi & Arabic w/Eng subs l Feat Narr l NY Premiere l 1h 43m

Based on the provocative true story of Aryeh Sharuz Shalicar was born in Germany to Persian Jewish parents stranded after the 1979’s Revolution, joined an Islamist gang, and later rose to the rank of Major and ran the IDF’s European Desk. “Wet Dogs” explores rising antisemitism and raises questions of cultural diversity, religious identity, and how they intersect with friendship, especially during the phase of rawness and exploration that are one’s teenage years.

Followed by a panel discussion

Wednesday, April 6th

From Egypt to Israel

3pm – “THREE MOTHERS”

DIR: DINA ZVI-RIKLIS l Israel l 2006 l Hebrew & Arabic w/Eng subs l

Feat Narr l 1h 46m

Nominated for nine Israeli Academy Awards, “Three Mothers” is the multigenerational saga of beautiful triplets: Flora, Yasmin, and Rose Hakim were born in 1942 in Alexandria, Egypt. Director Dina Zvi-Riklis’ (Ma’abarot, 2020 NYSJFF) tale follows the family to Israel and, over the course of 60 years, reveals the Hakim sisters coming to terms with long-buried secrets and passions.

Brooklyn Tango Night

7pm – “TANGO SHALOM”

DIR: GABRIEL BOLOGNA l USA l 2021 l Eng l Feat Narr l NY Premiere l

1h 55m

A Tango dancer and a Rabbi develop a plan to enter a dance competition without sacrificing his orthodox beliefs. Family, tolerance, and community are tested one dazzling dance step at a time. Filmed on location in Crown Heights, New York City, with a star-studded cast.

In partnership with ASF Young Professionals.

Post-Screening Q&A with the whole cast.

Pomegranate Award for Lifetime Achievement to Lainie Kazan.

DJ with Tango Dancers

Thursday, April 7th

Sepharad Series: The Ladino Legacy

3pm – “IN SEARCH OF LADINO”

DIR: DAVID PERLOV l UK, Israel, France l 1981 l Hebrew & Ladino w/Eng subs l Feat Doc l 49m

This unique cinematic film about language, memory, and identity follows Ladino speakers—their culture, their memories, and their hopes for the future of their mother tongue. In Search of Ladino is one of the first films to show Ladino-speaking Holocaust survivors in Israel and to document their testimonies and songs.

From Jerusalem to Tangier & Tinghir: Moroccan CLOSING NIGHT

7pm – “IN YOUR EYES, I SEE MY COUNTRY”

DIR: KAMAL HACHKAR l Morocco l 2019 l Arabic & Hebrew w/Eng subs l

Feat Doc l NY Premiere l 1h 15m

Neta Elkayam and Amit Haï Cohen live in Jerusalem, creating music that revisits their common Jewish-Moroccan heritage. “In Your Eyes, I See My Country” follows them as they journey for the first time to Morocco. In life, as on stage, they grapple with this dual identity and attempt to heal the wounds of exile carried by their parents. This intimate and musically rich documentary by NYSFF Rising Star Pomegranate Award Recipient, Kamal Hachkar (2015), aspires to build bridges between cultures.

Pomegranate Award to singer Neta Elkayam, followed by Moroccan Closing Night Party

TICKETS AND MORE INFORMATION

For Tickets and more Information on the Festival, visit nysephardifilmfestival.org or call 1.800.838.3006

THE AMERICAN SEPHARDI FEDERATION:

To learn more, visit americansephardi.org

THE MOISE SAFRA CENTER:

To learn more, visit moisesafracenter.org

(Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Spirituality, Cuisine and Health & Wellness)