When one hears about a Jewish film festival –presenting film and media exploring the complexities of Jewish life around the world – one tends to think of cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles or New York. But Ajijic?
Putting on an annual Jewish film festival in Ajijic may seem like an anomaly, but ten years ago a group of lakeside Jewish film buffs thought differently. Once they had the idea, they formed a committee and successfully launched the area’s first such festival.
Now in its tenth year, the eight-week Ajijic Jewish Film Festival – running through February 24 at CineMagic at Plaza Bugambilias in Ajijic (formally Cinemas Del Lago) – keeps on attracting attendees who show up every week, giving validation to this Sunday afternoon event in January and February.
“Residents and snowbirds alike look forward to this film festival, the same way they look forward to the Northern Lights Festival,” says festival director Michael Zimmerman. “We have a reputation for showing great films. Therefore, people mark their calendars as soon as the flyers are out – and a good percentage of them aren’t even Jewish.”
Zimmerman has been a lakeside resident since 2016, and is a good fit as this year’s festival director – a role that requires wearing many hats. He says he saw over 100 films at the popular Jewish film festival in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he lived for 35 years.
According to Lakeside resident Joe Gottesman, who has been involved with the festival for the last four years, the festival turnout has definitely increased over the past four years. “I remember times when we’ve had to bring in extra chairs to deal with the overflow, due to the theater’s limited seating.”
Adds Zimmerman, “Our intention is to make this festival entertaining by including a mix of films – from traditional to more recent films, and from comedies to historical films. And what would a Jewish film festival be without comedies? We make sure to usually include a Woody Allen film – this year that film is ‘Crimes and Misdemeanors.’”
One of the original committee members is Blema Steinman, a lakeside snowbird and longtime attendee of Toronto’s yearly Jewish Film Festival.
Says Steinman, “As an avid film-goer and fan of Toronto’s film festival for many years, I was accustomed to this form of entertainment, so once we heard a committee was forming in Ajijic, my husband, Bill Lifchus, and I were right there to help out.
“During the festival’s first year, we showed a series of films at the Lake Chapala Jewish Congregation, lakeside’s only synagogue, in Riberas del Pilar. The following year, we rented space at Cinemas del Lago for a four-week run, and the film festival has been there ever since.”
The first film of this season was the fairly new release, “1945,” which stars an all-Hungarian cast, shot in black and white.
Says Zimmerman, “Marshall Krantz, who runs the Thursday afternoon film series at the Lake Chapala Society, highly recommended this film, which received a great response. Often our film choices are based on referrals, either from Marshall or other members of the community who have seen them, either at a Jewish film festival or elsewhere.”
Besides serving as pure entertainment, the Jewish Film Festival also raises needed funds. Forty percent of the money raised from ticket and ad s
ales benefits local charities; the rest goes to the cost of producing the festival.
Says Zimmerman, “We’re grateful for the support we’ve received this year from the local business community. These businesses purchase short ads, which we project onto the screen prior to each film.”
Getting the Jewish Film Festival off the ground is a community effort, also involving volunteers who hand out flyers, put up posters and take tickets at the theater.
“I’ve been deeply touched by the many volunteers,” says Zimmerman, “and also by the fabulous films we’ve shown, such as ‘The Get,’ an Israeli film about the challenges a woman faces with getting a divorce in Israel’s Orthodox Community.”
As for what’s in store for the Jewish Film Festival, committee members are throwing around ideas, such as hosting twice-a-year films with post-film discussions, complete with appetizers and drinks.
Adds Zimmerman, “We’re taking about hosting ongoing movie events at Lake Chapala Jewish Congregation, which is a place we want more people to know about, and a mere five-minute drive east of Plaza Bugambilias. It’s at lakeside’s only synagogue that some of us are meeting and discussing how to make the Jewish Film Festival an even better experience for those who want to gather to watch Jewish films.”
For information: LakeChapalaJewishCongregation.com/Jewish-Film-Festival-2019.