Jewish film festival features modern and historical stories

Movies from five countries that look at historical, tragic, romantic and inspiring aspects of Jewish life will be shown next weekend during the annual Kirk Cashmere Jewish Film Festival.

Film screening The Jewish campus ministry at the University of Hawaii will sponsor a Feb. 19 showing of "Ever Again," a documentary movie that examines the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe and its link to Islamic extremists and neo-Nazi groups. The 7 p.m. show in Hemenway Hall will be preceded by an introduction by Rabbi Aron Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, which produced the film. The filming will be followed by a discussion session about European history and Islamic philosophy led by UH scholars. It is sponsored by Shaloha Hillel Hawaii and the UH Professors Fund. A 6 p.m. buffet dinner will precede the movie. Tickets at $7 may be purchased at the door.

The movies will be shown at the University of Hawaii Spalding Auditorium. Tickets are $7 at the door. A $30 five-film Flash Pass is available in advance at Temple Emanu-El, 2550 Pali Highway.

The opening at 7 p.m. next Saturday will honor the late civil rights attorney for whom the series is named. A reception will follow the show.

Rabbi Aron Hier, campus outreach director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, will speak before the Feb. 18 showing of a film on the life and legacy of Nazi-hunter Wiesenthal. Local filmmaker Marlene Booth will introduce her film "Raananah."

The film schedule follows.

Next Saturday, 7:30 p.m. "As Seen Through These Eyes" focuses on artists who chronicled the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps in World War II.

Feb. 17, 2 p.m. The German film "Sophie Scholl: The Final Days" tells of a woman in the underground resistance movement against the Third Reich.

Feb. 17, 4:30 p.m. "Raananah: A World of Our Own" is a short film about the members of a summer refuge community and how they aged together. It will be followed by "California Schmeer," a comic and historical look at the bagel.

Feb. 17, 7 p.m. "Out of Sight," made in Israel, tells of one girl's struggle to understand why her childhood friend committed suicide.

Feb. 18, 2 p.m. A French film, "Bad Faith," tells the story of a romance between a Muslim man and a Jewish woman and how it spins when families and religion get involved.

Feb. 18, 4:30 p.m. "I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal" documents the impact of the famed Nazi-hunter and humanitarian.

Feb. 18, 7 p.m. "The First Basket" traces the roots of the National Basketball Association to community center leagues in inner-city neighborhoods at the beginning of the 20th century.