The 2024 Youngstown Area Jewish Film Festival kicks off Sunday, Sept. 8 with the animated film “Kronk’s New Groove.”
Films will be shown at the Jewish Community Center of Youngstown, 505 Gypsy Lane, Youngstown, unless noted. Visit jccyoungstown.org… to purchase tickets.
The film festival takes participants on a cinematic, cultural journey that depicts a broad spectrum of Jewish life. The films come from all over the world, providing audiences with a glimpse into the Jewish experience.
Sponsors include the Thomases Family Endowment of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation, Youngstown State University’s Center for Judaic and Holocaust Studies and Congregation Ohev Beth Sholom Sisterhood.
Films include:
Kronk’s New Groove. JCC Multi-Purpose Room. Family/comedy/animated. (G). 1 hour, 15 minutes. After his wild adventures with Pacha and Emperor Kuzco, Kronk has started a new life as the head chef in his very own diner. But he’s soon cooking up trouble with the sly enchantress Yzma, trying to make himself look like a success in time for Papi’s arrival. After a bunch of blunders and a massive cheese explosion in the restaurant, Kronk finds himself covered in a heap of trouble. It’s only with the help of friends both old and new that Kronk learns to be true to his groove. The film screening includes a challah making activity at 12:15 p.m. 1 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 8.
Live at Mister Kelly’s. JCC Multi-Purpose Room. (2021) Documentary. (Unrated). 1 hour, 23 minutes. Mister Kelly’s launched the careers of superstars like Barbra Streisand, Richard Pryor, Bette Midler and Steve Martin. The iconic Chicago nightclub smashed color and gender barriers and transformed entertainment in postwar America. The screening includes a virtual question-and-answer session with executive producer David Marienthalt. 3 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 8.
Supernova: The Music Festival Massacre. JCC Multi-Purpose Room. (2024) Documentary. (Unrated). 52 minutes. “Supernova: The Music Festival Massacre” pieces together dramatic eyewitness accounts from survivors and first responders with real-time footage collated from multiple sources. The film provides a harrowing and detailed rundown of the massacre carried out by Hamas that took place at the Nova music festival on the morning of October 7. Contains mature content. Includes a speaker presentation. 7 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 10.
Four Winters. JCC Multi-Purpose Room. (2022) Documentary. (Unrated). 1 hour, 39 minutes. “All I owned was my camera, a leopard coat, and a grenade in case of capture . . . the pillow was the rifle, the walls were the trees and the sky was the roof,” says partisan Faye Schulman. Over 25,000 Jewish partisans fought back against the Nazis and their collaborators from deep within the forests of World War II’s Eastern Europe, Ukraine and Belarus. Against extraordinary odds, they escaped Nazi slaughter, transforming from young innocents to courageous resistance fighters. Shattering the myth of Jewish passivity, these last surviving partisans tell their stories of resistance in “Four Winters,” revealing a stunning narrative of heroism and resilience. 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 12.
Supernova: The Music Festival Massacre. First Presbyterian Church, 201 Wick Ave., Youngstown 44503. (2024) Documentary. (Unrated). 52 minutes. “Supernova: The Music Festival Massacre” pieces together dramatic eyewitness accounts from survivors and first responders with real-time footage collated from multiple sources. The film provides a harrowing and detailed rundown of the massacre carried out by Hamas that took place at the Nova music festival on the morning of October 7. Contains mature content. Includes a speaker presentation. 2 p.m., Sept. 15.
Jerry Lewis: The Man Behind the Clown (with the short film) The Man Who Shot Hollywood. JCC Multi-Purpose Room. (2016) Documentary/comedy. (Unrated). 1 hour, 1 minute. Chronicles the life and work of the iconic and incomparable comic performer and filmmaker. 7 p.m., Monday, Sept. 16.
Freedom Runners and I’m not Filipina. JCC Multi-Purpose Room. Unrated. 1 hour, 40 minutes. Features two film shorts: “Freedom Runners” (2016) and “I’m not Filipina” (2010). In “Freedom Riders,” an Israeli high school teacher establishes a running team for his students, young African refugees and asylum seekers who live in South Tel Aviv. In “I’m Not Filipino,” Krizel, a blind, 6-year old Filipina girl, who was born in Israel, doesn’t want to go to the Philippines. 7 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 18.
Yaniv. JCC Multi-Purpose Room. (2023) Comedy/drama. 1 hour, 21 minutes. A high school teacher in the Bronx loses funding for the school musical and convinces his fellow statistics teacher—secretly a recovering gambling addict—to help him cheat at an underground card game run by the Hasidic Jewish community. The plan goes awry with mounting consequences, but help comes at an unexpected time from the least likely people. Includes a live Yaniv Club presentation with filmmaker Benjamin Ducoff. Sunday, Sept. 22 (Start time to be announced).
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