Preview the selections at the Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival

Siona Benjamin is a renowned artist from India. Avishai Mekonen is an intrepid filmmaker from Ethiopia. As Jews, they are both inspired by the contrasts of their Jewish heritage and the cultures they grew up in.

Both are the subjects of the two opening night films of this month’s Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival. Co-chairman Ara Rubyan says while they were scheduling films for this year’s event, they not-so-seriously themed the opening night selections “Jews Where You Don’t Think There are Jews.”

“We paired those two together because of how they highlighted those unexpected facets of Jewish culture around the world,” Rubyan says.

The short documentary Blue Like Me showcases Benjamin’s gorgeously hued artwork and the story of her Bombay upbringing, where Hindus and Muslims were the majority. She found a way to tie those influences together, along with her Jewish roots and Catholic school education, to create artworks that seek to illustrate the similarities she noticed.

Mekonen’s documentary 400 Miles to Freedom tells the story of the 2,500-year-old Jewish community in Ethiopia where he grew up, and their escape from a dictatorship in the 1980s when he was just 10 years old. In the film, he also seeks out a number of examples of racial diversity in Judaism, such as a black rabbi in Chicago.

Other films during the four nights of the festival include a drama about a Holocaust survivor looking for love and companionship in his final days, a documentary about musicians in a war-torn city and a closing day selection of short films.

“We like to say these are movies that matter,” Rubyan says, adding he’s been pleasantly surprised by the reception of the festival, now in its second decade in Baton Rouge. “The majority of our audience is not Jewish, but they still can make a connection to [the movies]. These are thought-provoking, beautiful, funny, emotional films. And on one level, we’re showing films that you’re not going to see in other venues.”

About the festival:

The Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival is Jan. 11-15 at the Manship Theatre. brjff.com

JAN. 11: Beginning at 7 p.m., the opening night will feature the short documentary

JAN.11: Blue Like Me followed by the documentary feature 400 Miles to Freedom.

JAN. 12: The drama Fever At Dawn at 7 p.m.

JAN. 14: The documentary Rock in the Red Zone at 7:30 p.m.

JAN. 15: A 90-minute collection of short films starting at 3 p.m. closes out the festival.

This article was originally published in the January 2017 issue of 225 Magazine.