We’re counting down the days to the kickoff of this year’s Asheville Jewish Film Festival! Each year, the UNC-A Center for Jewish Studies, led by Dr. Rick Chess, along with a team of talented film critics screens dozens of the best and most current Jewish-themed films and selects the cream of the crop. Each year you can count on a balanced mix of comedy, drama and documentary films that are sure to provoke, amuse and intrigue. This year is no different. Here is a brief look at this year’s line-up. For more information, and to watch trailers from each of these films, visit the Asheville Jewish Film Festival’s official web site.

Deli Man

Opening Night Film & Reception
May 7th. 6:00pm at Blue Spiral 1 • All Tickets $22
May 8th. 1:00pm All Tickets $8.50

Jewish culture reflects the heart of a vital ethnic history. As that culture continues to shift and adapt alongside mainstream America, delicatessen food – as its name suggests – remains a beloved communal delicacy.In Houston, Texas, third-generation deli man Ziggy Gruber has built arguably the finest delicatessen restaurant in the U.S. His story – augmented by the stories of iconic delis such as Katz’s, 2nd Avenue Deli, Nate ‘n Al, Carnegie, and the Stage – embodies a tradition indelibly linked to its savory, nostalgic foods.

Above and Beyond

May 14th. 7:00pm
May 15th. 1:00pm
All Tickets $8.50

In 1948, just three years after the liberation of Nazi death camps, a group of Jewish American pilots answered a call for help. In secret and at great personal risk, they smuggled planes out of the U.S., trained behind the Iron Curtain in Czechoslovakia and flew for Israel in its War of Independence. As members of Machal – “volunteers from abroad” – this ragtag band of brothers not only turned the tide of the war; they also embarked on personal journeys of discovery and renewed Jewish pride. ABOVE AND BEYOND is their story.

Once in a Lifetime

May 21st. 7:00pm
May 22nd. 1:00pm
All Tickets $8.50

A teacher with 20 years of experience, Anne Gueguen is determined to give the best education she can to her underprivileged inner-city pupils. Overcoming their apathy, however, is proving to be more difficult than expected. Frustrated but undaunted, Anne tests her multicultural classroom with a unique assignment: a national competition on the theme of child victims of the Nazi concentration camps. The project is initially met with extreme resistance, until a face-to-face encounter with a Holocaust survivor changes the class’s attitude dramatically. Despite their long-shot odds of winning, these once-rebellious teens soon begin to see one another – and themselves – in a whole new light. A potent and moving antidote to the devaluation of education in an age of ignorance, ONCE IN A LIFETIME demonstrates the enduring impact of the Holocaust in transforming future generations.

Dough

May 27th. 7:00pm
May 28th. 1:00pm
All Tickets $8.50

Widowed and down on his luck, Nat Dayan is desperate to save his bakery in London’s East End. His customers are dying off, his sons have no interest in keeping afloat the family business, and hostile businessman Sam Cotton has his own greedy plans for the property. In a pinch, Nat reluctantly enlists the help of teenager Ayyash a refugee from Darfur. The Muslim boy assists with the bakery’s daily chores, while selling cannabis on the side to help his struggling mother make ends meet. When Ayyash one day accidently drops his stash into the dough, the challah starts flying off the shelf, and an unlikely friendship forms between the old Jewish baker and his young Muslim apprentice DOUGH is a warmhearted and gently humorous story about overcoming prejudice and finding redemption in unexpected places.

Looking forward to seeing YOU a`t the movies!!