TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The Arts Council of Tuscaloosa and Temple Emanu-el of Tuscaloosa will present Tuscaloosa’s first Jewish Film Festival Feb. 15-18.

The films will be screened at the Bama Theatre in downtown Tuscaloosa and at the Ferguson Center Theatre on The University of Alabama campus. The festival is presented in partnership with UA’s University Programs, Stillman College and Shelton State Community College.

The festival will also feature speakers from UA, including Dr. Culpepper Clark, dean of the College of Communications and Information Sciences; Dr. Richard Megraw, associate professor of American Studies; Dr. Ike Adams, dean of the School of Social Work; Dr. Nick Stinnett, professor in the College of Human Environmental Sciences, and from Stillman College, Dr. Cordell Wynn, former president.

In addition to the cultural and artistic benefits of the festival, the members of the partnership also hope to encourage understanding of Jewish culture throughout the West Alabama community.

Admission is $5 per event, with the exception of “From Swastika to Jim Crow” at the Ferguson Theatre, which will be free of charge.

Please call 205/758-8083 for more information.

JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL

Saturday, Feb. 15 (Bama Theatre)

• 6 p.m. - Opening Reception
• 7 p.m. - Shalom Y’all
• 8 p.m. - Introductory remarks by Dr. Richard Megraw
• 8:15 p.m. - The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg

Sunday, Feb. 16 (Ferguson Theatre)

• 3 p.m. - From Swastika to Jim Crow
• 7 p.m. - Panel discussion moderated by Dr. Ike Adams and Dr. Cordell Wynn

Monday, Feb. 17 (Bama Theatre)

• 2 p.m. - The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg
• 7 p.m. - Introductory remarks by Dr. Nick Stinnett
• 7:30 p.m. - Late Marriage

Tuesday, Feb. 18 (Bama Theatre)

• 7:30 p.m. - From Swastika to Jim Crow
• 9 p.m. - Closing discussion moderated by Dr. Culpepper Clark

FILM INFORMATION

Shalom Y’all is a documentary feature film about the Jewish experience in the American South as told through the eyes of a native son and the cultural cousins he encounters (2002, 60 minutes).

The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg is a humorous and nostalgic documentary about an extraordinary baseball player who transcended religious prejudice to become an American icon. Detroit Tiger Hammerin’ Hank’s accomplishments during the Golden Age of Baseball rivaled those of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig (1998, 90 minutes).

From the 1930s to the rise of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, From Swastika to Jim Crow is a mesmerizing chronicle of Jim Crow America and a profoundly moving tale of two seemingly different groups -- the formal, heavily-accented European scholars and their young, Southern Black students -- who enriched each other's lives in ways still being felt today (1999, 57 minutes).

Set within the Georgian émigré community of Tel Aviv, Late Marriage is a sexy and biting comedy of manners that investigates what happens when human beings get stuck between the rock of true love and the hard place of family tradition. In Hebrew and Georgian with English subtitles (2002, 102 minutes, Due to sexual content, parental discretion is strongly advised).

What is it really like to live in Jerusalem? The award-winning documentary Promises offers touching and fresh insight into the Middle East conflict when 3 filmmakers travel to this complex and charged city to see what seven children -- Palestinian and Israeli -- think about war, peace and just growing up. In Hebrew and Arabic with English narration and subtitles (2000, 100 minutes).