(West Palm Beach, FL – December 16, 2022) “Experience the Magic of Cinema” is the slogan of a major new cultural event: The Donald M. Ephraim Palm Beach Film Festival© Presented by MorseLife. Offering dozens of unique features, documentaries, and short films from 20 different countries, the inaugural festival will have a truly international focus, celebrating cinematic excellence and reflecting a commitment to global diversity.
Seven of the 37 feature films in the festival, which runs from January 26 through February 16, are either from Israel or will have a definite appeal to Jewish audiences, including:
Palm Beach County Premiere
CINEMA SABAYA
(Feature – Israel—2022)
A group of Arab and Jewish women attends a workshop run by Rona, a young filmmaker from Tel Aviv, to learn to document their lives on video. As each woman shares her raw footage with the others, they are all forced to challenge their preconceived views and beliefs, coming together as mothers, wives, and women. Based on the real-life experiences of the film’s director, with a remarkable cast consisting of professional and non-professional actors alike, Cinema Sabaya is a testament to the power of film and its unique capacity to spark mutual recognition and connection across cultures. (Jerusalem Film Festival Winner Best Israeli Debut & Audience Award, AFI Fest, Warsaw International Film Festival, UK Jewish Film Festival, nominated for 8 Ophir awards (Israeli Academy) including Best Film(winner), Best Director (winner), Best), Best Supporting Actress(winner), Israel’s official Oscar entry for Best International Feature Film)
+ February 7, 4:00 pm – CMX at the Gardens
+ February 13, 7:00 pm – CMX Wellington
+ February 13, 4:00 pm – Paragon Theatres in Delray Beach
Palm Beach County Premiere
FAREWELL, MR. HAFFMANN
(Feature—France, Belgium—2021)
In occupied Paris in 1941, all Jewish community members were instructed to identify themselves to authorities. Fearing the worst, jeweler Joseph Haffmann arranges for his family to flee and offers his employee François Mercier the chance to take over his store until the conflict subsides. But his attempts to escape are thwarted, and Haffmann is forced to seek his assistant’s protection. The agreement turns into a Faustian bargain that will forever change the fate of all. (Audience Award Aspen Film Festival, Best Narrative Audience Award San Francisco Jewish Film Festival)
+ February 5, 3:45 pm – Regal Royal Palm
+ February 6, 7:00 pm – CMX at the Gardens
+ February 15, 7:00 pm – CMX Wellington
Palm Beach County Premiere
HAUTE COUTURE
(Feature—France—2021)
Esther is at the end of her career as Head Seamstress at Dior in the famous Avenue Montaigne workshop. When her handbag is stolen in the metro by 20-year-old Jade, Esther decides to help her rather than call the police. In the frenetic world of Haute Couture, Esther will give Jade a way to reach beyond herself and harness her creativity and talent. (Mill Valley Film Festival, Palm Spring International Film Festival)
+ February 2, 7:00 pm – CMX at the Gardens
+ February 7, 7:00 pm – Regal Royal Palm
+ February 14, 7:00 pm – CMX Wellington
Palm Beach County Premiere
iMORDECAI
(Feature—USA—2022)
Based on a true story, this heart-warming and uplifting comedy stars Oscar-nominated and two-time Emmy-winning actor, Judd Hirsch as Mordecai Samel. He and his wife, played by Academy Award-nominated actress Carol Kane, are both survivors from Poland, now living in Miami. When Mordecai’s ancient flip phone breaks, he takes iPhone lessons from a young employee of Ultratech, who opens him up to all kinds of novel experiences and adventures, making him feel like a kid again. The film co-stars Sean Astin, Azia Dibea Hale, and Stephanie J. Block. (Audience Award Miami Jewish Film Festival)
+ February 9, 7:00 pm – Paragon Theaters in Delray Beach
+ February 13, 6:00 pm – IPIC Delray
Palm Beach County Premiere
KARAOKE
(Feature—Israel—2022)
An offbeat, comedic journey that follows Tova and Meir married 46 years, whose routine lives get a jolt of excitement from Itzik, their upstairs neighbor, who invites them to his penthouse for karaoke nights. The couple falls hard for Itzik’s energetic lifestyle. This unique comedy-drama stars Sasson Gabay (The Band’s Visit), Lior Ashkenazy(Footnote, Late Marriage), and Rita Shukrun. (Tribeca Film Festival, Winner of the Audience Award & Best First Film; Jerusalem International Film Festival, nominated for 14 Ophir awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and winning both Best Actor and Best Actress)
+ February 5, 4:30 pm – CMX at the Gardens
+ February 6, 7:00 pm – Regal Royal Palm Beach
+ February 11, 7:00 pm – Paragon Theaters in Delray Beach
Palm Beach County Premiere
THE FORGER
(Feature—Germany, Luxembourg—2022)
Berlin,1942. 21-year-old Cioma Schönhaus, a Jewish man, won’t let anyone take away his zest for life, especially not the Nazis. Since the best hiding spots are in plain sight, Cioma decides to go out into the light to escape deportation. Throughout the day, he forges IDs with just a brush, some ink, and a steady hand – and saves the lives of many. Based on the true story of Cioma Schönhaus. (Berlin International Film Festival, Haifa Film Festival, Vancouver Film Festival)
+ February 8, 1:00 pm – CMX at the Gardens
+ February 8, 3:30 pm – Regal Royal Palm
+ February 13, 1:00 pm – CMX Wellington
Florida Premiere
THE WILD ONE
(Documentary—France—2022)
The documentary traces the life journey of an enigmatic artist, Jack Garfein, his family’s fleeing the Nazis, surviving in Auschwitz, his 1946 arrival at 16 in New York and coming under the wing of Lee Strasberg, Hollywood, and his marriage to actress Carroll Baker. It examines how his experience in the concentration camps shaped his vision of acting as a survival mechanism. Narrated by Willem Defoe, the film explores the importance of his legacy as an artist who confronted censorship and reveals how art can draw on personal memory to enlighten our present better. (Winner Best Cinematography in a Documentary Film Tribeca Film Festival Winner Jury Prize Best Documentary Festival 2 Vincennes)
+ February 6, 1:30 pm – CMX at the Gardens
+ February 6, 1:30 pm – Regal Royal Palm Beach
+ February 15, 1:30 pm – Paragon Theaters in Delray Beach
“In addition to American, British, French, and Israeli movies, the upcoming festival will showcase a global array of audience-wowing and mind-expanding films from Canada, Austria, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kurdistan, New Zealand, Bolivia, Uruguay, Mexico, and more,” says Festival Founder Donald M. Ephraim. “The films were specifically selected to foster dialogue and interaction among attendees and supporters.”
For a full list of participating theaters and scheduled movies at the upcoming The Donald M. Ephraim Palm Beach Film Festival, request a DMEPBFF brochure, or to become a member of the Festival Film Society, please call 561.867.3109 or visit www.DMEPBFF.org.
