Published: 4/1/2019 6:07:26 PM
The annual Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival will screen two films in the county this week.
Based in Springfield, the two-week festival, which began March 28, is scheduled to screen 21 films in three counties. The festival ends April 8.
Two feature films are planned in Greenfield and Shelburne Falls this week. The comedy “And Then She Arrived,” will screen Wednesday, 7 p.m. at Greenfield Garden Cinema. Set in Israel, the film follows Dan Freilich, a young lawyer who has a chance encounter with a free-spirited waitress.
The drama, “Left Luggage,” is scheduled April 6, 7:30 p.m. at Shelburne Falls’ Memorial Hall, with live music at 7 p.m. The film tells the story of a 20-year-old woman named Chaya, the daughter of Holocaust survivors who is forced to reconsider her Jewish faith after she takes a job as a nanny for a Hasidic family.
The festival began in 2004 at the Springfield Jewish Community Center. Since then it has expanded across western Massachusetts, with screenings this year in nine towns and 16 different venues.
Deb Kilroy, the festival’s director, says that this year’s films, while looking to entertain, aim also to provide “a truly global perspective on the Jewish experience.” Films this year come from as far as Ethiopia, France, Poland, and the UK, with themes ranging from family to cooking to war.
Tickets are $10 for general admission and $9 for students and senior citizens. To buy tickets or to learn more about the festival, call 413-739-4715 or visit pvjff.org.