PORTLAND – The Maine Jewish Film Festival, which has labor as its theme this year, will open Saturday, March 29 and runs through April 6. The opening night film is the Mexican comedy “My Mexican Shivah.”

Nine of the 22 films that will be screened during the nine-day run explore the Jewish experience of labor, highlighting the often-unheralded role of Jewish people within the enduring contest for universal equality and self-determination.

Guests, including film directors, producers, union organizers and scholars will elaborate on this exploration through a series of forums and lectures throughout the festival, said executive director Kari Wagner-Peck.

Screened will be select feature, documentary and short films from the United States, Israel, Mexico, Germany and other parts of the world. Special guests will include Ilil Alexander, director of the film “Keep Not Silent – Ortho Dykes;” Michal Goldman, director of “At Home in Utopia;” Aviva Kempner, director of “Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg;” and Kate Feiffer, director of “Matzo and Mistletoe.”

Films will be screened at The Movies on Exchange, Nickelodeon Cinemas, SPACE Gallery, the Portland Museum of Art and the Maine Historical Society. In addition, two films will be screened at new locations. At 12:30 p.m. Monday, March 31, a free screening of “Clara Lemlich A Strike Leader’s Diary” will be shown at McArthur Public Library, 270 Main St., Biddeford. The film will be shown again, for free, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, at Teamsters Local 340, 144 Thadeus St., South Portland.

Tickets per film are $7 for adults, $5 for students and seniors, and may be purchased at www.mjff.com or by mail at the MJFF box office. An all-festival pass is also available for $85.

For a full festival schedule and information about ordering tickets, visit www.mjff.org.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.