Date: October 9, 2008
Contact: Carol Connelly, Director, Media & Communication Services, ext. 5267, cconnelly@pnc.edu

PNC, Partners Presents Jewish Film Festival

Westville – Purdue University North Central Odyssey 2008 – 09 Arts and Cultural Events Series, with the Michigan City Public Library and the Irving Levin Jewish Cultural Fund of Sinai Temple, will present a Jewish Film Festival on Sunday, Nov. 2 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Michigan City Public Library. The film festival is free and open to the public.

The films feature differing topics that look at various aspects of life from three very different perspectives and subjects. None of the films are rated, but some have mild adult themes.

“A Good Uplift” is a 13-minute film made in 2003 that takes a peek into a Lower East Side lingerie shop. The owner, Magda Bergstein, is well known for her knack of helping women find the perfect undergarments for their shape and size. Reviewers have called the film, “enchanting and hilarious.”

“The Band's Visit” won more than 35 awards, including awards at the Cannes Film Festival, the Israeli Film Academy Awards, the European Film Awards and the Munich and Warsaw Film Festivals. This 87-minute movie follows an aging Egyptian police band as it travels to a performance at the Arab Cultural Center in Israel . Band members accidentally take the wrong bus and end up in a desolate Israeli village. Spending the night there, the band members and the villagers find that despite coming from distinctly different cultures, they share the universal bond of music, love and life. This film includes beautiful scenes of the desert landscape.

“The Tribe” presents an unorthodox history of the Jewish people and the Barbie doll in about 15 minutes. This film was featured at the 2006 Sundance Festival. It takes viewers on a fast-paced, humorous and thought-provoking ride through Jewish history and culture. Narrated by Peter Coyote “The Tribe” makes connections between the Barbie doll – her creator Ruth Handler was Jewish - and Jewish culture and identity and poses the question "What does really it mean to be a member of a tribe?"

Purdue University North Central Odyssey Arts and Cultural Events Series features events throughout the year. A schedule of events can be found at www.pnc.edu . For more information about this film, or any event in the Odyssey series, contact Judy Jacobi, assistant vice chancellor of Marketing and Community Relations at 219-785-5200 ext. 5593. Persons with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Jacobi.

 

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