Soul-searching cinema

The Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival returns to the Manship Theatre in its third year with a strong lineup of award-winning independent and foreign films local audiences cannot see anywhere else on the big screen. Led by an Oscar-winning historical drama, The Counterfeiters, this thought-provoking blend of recent comedies, dramas and documentaries addresses issues of race, religion, community, hardship, joy and the resounding strength of the human spirit in unique and exciting ways.

“Having gone through two festivals now, we’ve been trying to respond to what people write on their comment cards,” says organizer Harvey Hoffman. “A comedy night is one of the things they’ve asked for, so we have that this year with three very cute little shorts. I couldn’t be pleased more with it.”

The festival runs Jan. 21-25. Reserved seats are $8.50 through the Manship Theatre Box Office by calling 344-0334 or visiting manshiptheatre.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the door. brjff.com

Circumcise Mewith Advice and Dissent and The Orthodox Way

Wed., Jan. 21, at 7 p.m. • Manship Theatre

This year’s festival kicks off with the comedies. Chris Campbell was born the son of a former nun and a Catholic school teacher, but converted to Judaism not once, but three times: Reform, Conservative, then Orthodox. He’s now known as Yisreal, Campbell’s conversion is more than a spiritual journey; it is also a punchline. The Hasidic Jew performs as a stand-up comedian and stars in Circumcise Me, a pointed and hilarious look at his life and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The 43-minute documentary will be screened with two short romantic comedies, Advice and Dissent and The Orthodox Way.

Nicholas Winton: The Power of Good

Special school presentations on Thurs., Jan. 22, at 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. • BREC Theatre

From the Czech Republic comes this documentary about a 28-year-old, Nicholas Winton, who devised a rescue operation to save the refugee children of Prague from Hitler’s wrath after visiting the city in 1938. Nicholas Winton: The Power of Good garnered multiple honors upon its release in 2002. Magi Furst, a Jewish woman rescued as a child on Kindertrain during World War II, will be at this screening to meet students and discuss her experience.

The Counterfeiters

Thurs., Jan. 22, at 7 p.m. • Manship Theatre

The 2008 Academy Award Winner for Best Foreign Language Film, The Counterfeiters is based on the true story of Salomon Sorowitsch, a man arrested in Germany in 1944 and forced to forge currency the Nazis planned to use to cripple the economies of England and the United States. As Sorowitsch and his incarcerated team of counterfeiters are treated better than other Jews at the concentration camp, they face a moral dilemma: either help their captors win the war or take a stand and face certain death.

Unsettled

Sat., Jan 24, at 7:30 p.m. • Manship Theatre

Now this is the real world. Former MTV News man Adam Hootnick follows six twentysomethings of the Gaza Strip and explores how their lives change when Jews are ordered to leave the region in 2005. One is an activist whose sister was killed in a terrorist bombing, one is a surfer, and others are soldiers conflicted about evicting Jewish friends from their homes and neighborhoods. Hasidic hip-hop star Matisyahu provides the soundtrack to this riveting story of youth in tumult.

Arranged

Sun., Jan. 25, at 2 p.m. • Manship Theatre

With all the differences between traditional Islam and Judaism, the faiths do share some similarities, including the occasional arranged marriage. This 2007 drama set at a Brooklyn school features two unlikely friends, an Orthodox Jewish teacher and a Muslim teacher, both of whom are going through marriages orchestrated by their parents. As they navigate their faiths in a secular world and face their parents’ criticism of their friendship, the two first-year teachers learn to respect each other and their similar struggles.

So Long Are You Young

with Got Next

Sun., Jan. 25, at 7 p.m. • Manship Theatre

Literary sensations are rarely celebrated on film, but Samuel Ullman’s poem “Youth” is a worthy exception. The little-known work was “discovered” by Gen. Douglas McArthur, who used its message of hope to lift the spirits of a demoralized post-war Japan and eventually influenced politicians and business innovators the world over, including the founder of Panasonic and Bobby Kennedy. So Long Are You Young details the poem’s creation and its journey to prominence. The 10-minute Harlem hoops drama Got Next precedes.