Five-Day Jewish Film Festival Opens Sunday at UCI
The Orange County Jewish Film Festival, which begins Sunday, features award-winning films and videos presented over five days. The works represent a diversity of Jewish experience, culture, and identities.
Filmmakers and others will be present at screenings and each event will be preceded or followed by a reception and refreshments.
The festival opens Sunday with a 4 p.m. screening of “Simon Magus,” which promoters describe as a 19th century “tale of love and longing, of intolerance and taboo and triumph in the face of tragedy.” Director Ben Hopkins will be on hand to discuss the film and answer questions.
The works--which include documentaries and one Israeli late-night television drama--will also be shown Wednesday (“Nobody’s Business” and Academy Award winner “The Personals: Improvisations on Romance in the Golden Years”); May 2 (“The Maelstrom: A Family Chronicle”), May 6 (“When I was 14: A Survivor Remembers” and “King of the Jews”), and May 9 (“Florentine”).
The screenings are in UCI’s Humanities Instructional Building, Room 100. Tickets for individual screenings are $8; $6 for UCI faculty; $4 for students. A festival pass costs $25. (949) 824-7418.
Special Events
Congregants of Temple Beth El will undertake a wide range of charity acts Sunday throughout Orange County for Mitzvah Day.
In advance of the day, children will prepare kits to be delivered to various organizations such as Children’s Hospital of Orange County, St. Joseph Hospital’s preemie ward, Saddleback Outreach and CSP Youth Shelter.
On Sunday, older children will clean up beaches and parks, teens will help clean up the CSP Youth Shelter, and the Junior Choir will perform at Heritage Point. Adults will create quilts for the homeless, chaperon the youth and give blood in the annual blood drive sponsored by the Red Cross.
This second annual event is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Temple Beth El’s new location at 2A Liberty in Aliso Viejo. Tours of the synagogue will be offered. (949) 362-3999.
Several thousand people are expected at the Orange County Jewish Festival at UC Irvine on April 29. The day begins with a 5K Jewish National Fund Walk for Israel at 10 a.m. Other activities during the daylong event include music, dancing and a variety of Jewish food. Local synagogues and Jewish schools will provide additional entertainment, and booths through the festival will reflect the theme: “Celebrating Unity Through Our Heritage.” Festival tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and children. The 5K walk costs $20 for adults and $12.50 for children and includes festival admission. (714) 755-0340.
Concordia University Irvine culminates a yearlong celebration of its 25th anniversary with a performance tonight of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. The musical will be perform at 8 p.m. at the university’s outdoor Nelson Amphitheatre. Tickets are $12; $10 for students and seniors. Additional performances will be Friday and April 28. The university is at 1530 Concordia West (949) 854-8002. https://www.cui.edu.
Hadassah Lieberman, wife of Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), will speak on the importance of community involvement at 7 p.m. Sunday at Temple Bat Yahm in Newport Beach. Lieberman also will share her experience as an activist for Jewish causes. Her most recent venture was with the National Research Council, linking American businesses to math and science education reform. Tickets are $100 for preferred seats, $50 reserved, $36 general, $18 for seniors and free for full-time students. The temple is at 1011 Camelback St. (949) 644-1999.
The final concerts in the St. Paul Lutheran Church concert series are scheduled Sunday and May 6. Sunday’s program will feature a piano quartet playing Mendelssohn, Telemann, Bernstein, Gershwin and “a few surprises.” On May 6, soprano Cheryl Crandall will present “Seasons of Life: A One-Woman Cabaret,” a performance of popular poetry and songs. Suggested contribution for either concert is $10. Both performances start at 3:30 p.m. The church is at 111 W. Las Palmas Drive in Fullerton. (714) 879-8290.
Education
The seminar “Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock” will be offered from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Center for Spiritual Development in Orange. Jeanne Fallon will teach the spiritual practice of hospitality through prayer, reflection and conversation. Cost is $20. The center is a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange. The center is at 434 S. Batavia St. (714) 744-3175, Ext. 4400.
Ever wonder what the Torah really has to say about life, ethics, and values? Are the stories of old still relevant? Rabbi David Eliezrie will teach a 10-session Saturday morning class designed to help answer those questions. No background required. The classes, which begin April 28, take place from 9 to 10 a.m. at the North County Chabad, 19045 Yorba Linda Blvd. in Yorba Linda. (714) 693-0770.
Rabbi Bernie King will lead a three-part class on “The Spiritual Tales of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav” from 4:15 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays at Congregation Shir Ha-Ma’alot of Irvine. Rabbi Nachman, an early 19th century Hasidic leader, often taught about the life of the wise, but simple person. Rabbi King will weave these tales into a relevant look at reclaiming the spiritual joy of living a simple and unsophisticated life in contemporary society. The free class begins at 4:15 p.m. Wednesday and continues May 2 and 9. Phone registration is requested (949) 857-2226. The synagogue is at 3652 Michelson Drive.
*
Religious event notices of countywide interest may be sent to Gena Pasillas at The Times’ Orange County edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa 92626. They also may be faxed to (714) 966-7711 or sent by e-mail to gena.pasillas@latimes.com