The largest Jewish film festival in the world is back for another incredible year! The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) showcases vital and thought-provoking Jewish stories from across the globe, and Federation is thrilled to be sponsoring some of this year’s biggest events.
For the 2023 Festival, for the first time ever, AJFF will have a dedicated satellite venue in the northern suburbs of Atlanta! Federation’s Making Jewish Places (MJP) is sponsoring this new venue: The Georgia Theatre Company Merchants Walk in East Cobb.
MJP is a Federation initiative to empower local neighborhoods to create sustainable Jewish programming. Not only does MJP provide financial resources to organizations and individuals, but also mentorship, strategic insight, and assistance in developing programming.
Carla Birnbaum, Federation’s Relational Engagement Manager, says, “In the past, the AJFF has held pop-ups outside the perimeter for an individual showing or two each year. Making Jewish Places is thrilled to sponsor this new venue, which will make it easier for our neighbors in the northern suburbs to attend the festival.”
The Merchants Walk location will host 12 showings across four days of the festival: Thursday, February 9 to Sunday, Feb 12. These showings will feature talkbacks, Q&A sessions, and visits from some of the incredible creatives who made these movies happen. Some of the films that will be screened in East Cobb include Perfect Strangers, Remember This, and Exodus 91.
In fact, Jewish Federation is sponsoring all three of the festival’s showings of Exodus 91. This docunarrative blends documentary and narrative techniques to tell the harrowing, untold story of Operation Solomon, a mission to rescue 15,000 Ethiopian Jews during the country’s brutal civil war. Audiences see the story unfold through the eyes of the lead negotiator of the May, 1991 airlift that brought the refugees to Israel.
Federation will celebrate the beginning of the Festival on Wednesday, Feb 8, with the 7:20 showing of Exodus 91 at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema. Director Micah Smith and actor Shai Ferdo will be in attendance and will hold a Q&A session after the showing. Federation and NextGen will be gathering at 6:45 at the theatre; come early to grab your concessions and mix and mingle. A representative from Federation will introduce the film.
Heather Blake, Federation’s Domestic Allocations Manager, says, “Exodus 91 is a perfect way to recognize Israel’s 75th birthday, and the country’s importance to worldwide Jewry. The themes of the movie are near and dear to Federation’s mission to care for, connect, and strengthen our Jewish community throughout greater Atlanta, Israel and the world. Jewish people all over the world have different experiences, but we are all one people, and this movie celebrates the idea of kol yisrael areivim zeh bazeh (all Jews are responsible for one another).”
Federation encourages people to come see this important film at any of the Festival’s three showings:
- Landmark Midtown, Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7:20 pm
- City Springs, Thursday, Feb. 9 at 3:10 pm
- GTC Merchants Walk, Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7:00 pm
Ticket sales open to the public on Friday, January 27, but you can get your ticket for Exodus 91 on Wednesday, February 8 right now. Click this link and enter the code JFGA23 or call 678-701-6104. This special code not only gets you early access to ticket sales but will put you in Federation’s priority seating block for the showing.
Check out the trailer for Exodus 91 on the AJFF website.
