Baton Rouge hosted its first Jewish Film Festival this weekend. The festival featured five films with screenings at Manship Theatre in the Shaw Center for the Arts. Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival Chairperson Harvey Hoffman said it was time for Baton Rouge to host the festival. "There are Jewish Film Festivals in many cities in the South like Jackson, Shreveport, Montgomery and Mobile," he said. "I thought it was time for Baton Rouge to get one." Ari Krupkin, vice president of the University's Jewish student organization Hillel, said it is important to represent a smaller community in a city like Baton Rouge. "It is important because we live in the Deep South," he said. "Unlike New York City and Chicago and L.A., the Jewish population in medium-sized cities is smaller." Hoffman said the festival is also a good opportunity to showcase good films people may not have seen. "Baton Rouge really doesn't have a venue that shows films that are out of the mainstream," Hoffman said. "This is an opportunity to see these films on a big screen." Rabbi Martha Bergandine, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Baton Rouge, helped select the films to show at the festival. "It was hard to choose," she said. "The festival offers a really nice array of Jewish films. For those interested in film, it is a great chance to see some great films." Bergandine said the festival does not feature strictly Jewish themes. "The films represent a few of the many aspects of the Jewish community," she said. "The films have Jewish people in them but go into a far more universal scope." Hoffman agreed with Bergandine and said the festival was not created for strictly the Jewish community. "If we had to depend just on people of Jewish faith to put this on, it wouldn't happen," Hoffman said. "This festival is not designed for the Jewish community. The films aren't necessarily religious, but they are about people." Bergandine said it is important to have the festival as way to educate Baton Rouge on a culture they may not know about. "It's important in terms of education and outreach to the community," she said. "People can learn more about a community they don't know about. It also brings some culture to Baton Rouge and is a chance to see some great films." Krupkin said there is a lack of knowledge of the Jewish community, and this film festival will help to heighten that in Baton Rouge, and it is important for minority communities to heighten awareness of their identities. "I think the Jewish community as well as the Muslim, African-American and other communities need things like [this festival] to increase awareness of what we are as a group and who we are as a people," he said. Krupkin said he thinks the turnout at the festival will increase as the festival continues next year. "I thought the turnout student-wise was fair," he said. "I think as the festival increases in size over the next few years it will be great." Krupkin said Hillel participated in the festival. "Hillel sponsored a dinner before the event for students and other patrons," Krupkin said. Krupkin said Hillel would like to have a small Jewish film festival on campus. "We got the opportunity to work with the steering committee for the festival," he said. "It is something we would like to do and are trying to do."
----- Contact Kelly Caulk at kcaulk@lsureveille.com
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