August 3, 2024 • 10 mins
Cinema fans have made their way to the Berkshires for nearly 40 years to take part in the Berkshire Jewish Film Festival, watching thought-provoking movies that highlight Jewish culture, history, and contemporary issues. The event is even more poignant this year amid the hostage crisis in the Middle East and a resurgence of anti-Semitism around the country, including here in New England. Artistic Director Beth Kruvant has details about this year's lineup and panelists, and talks with Nichole about the importance of such an event for the local Jewish community.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England
Weekend where each and every week we come together we
talk about all the topics important to you and the
place where you live. It is great to be back
with you again this week. I'm Nicole Davis. Each and
every year, for almost four decades now, fans of the
big screen have made their way to the Berkshears to
take part in the Berkshire Jewish Film Festival. They come
(00:28):
together to watch thought provoking movies highlighting Jewish history and culture,
and then talk about it in panels. This is an
event that over the past couple of years has become
even more poignant, not just because of rising levels of
anti Semitism around the country, but also because of the
ongoing hostage crisis in the Middle East. Beth Cruvant is
the artistic director of the festival. She's here to talk
all about it. Beth. It's really good to have you here.
(00:50):
And thirty eight years is definitely a long time for
a festival. It is clearly very popular. Give us a
bit of history if you could to start.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Okay, Well, it's guarded and it has maintained as a
fundraiser for the synagogue in Pittsfield Kinesset Israel for Jewish
education for children and adults in the Berkshires. It's started
small before film festivals took a huge leap into this world,
(01:23):
and so I would say that it is a small
festival that's gotten really big. It is run totally by
volunteers for the festival. There is no one who is
paid to help run the festival, so we have almost
(01:45):
forty volunteers running around trying to help everybody who comes.
We have volunteers of all different storts to help decide
the films and to run the festival in a business
like manner, Okay, And it's amazing. It's just amazing how
(02:07):
we all have come together to create a world class
Jewish film festival.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Yeah, you've got a lot of offerings too. I was
looking at all the different movies you're offering over a
span of more than a month. I mean, how do
you go about choosing which films are going to be
offered for the festival each and every year?
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Okay? Well, personally, I am a filmmaker, so I do
have personal knowledge of a lot of festivals all over
the country, actually all over the world, so I know
where to look for Jewish film festivals, and I decide
on the most recent, most interesting and exciting and different,
(02:54):
you know. So, for instance, we have one that is
very light and entertaining on the Catskills, which is you know,
takes place in the era that the Borchefeldt was popular.
And then on the flip side, we have one on
(03:17):
the Supernova Festival that was in October seventh where three
hundred and seventy five Israeli festival goers were massacred. So
we have, you know, a wide variety of genres and themes,
thought provoking documentaries to heartwarming dramas, and we also feature
(03:41):
panel discussions that will help bring out the internal quality
of the film and health the audience connect in a
greater way to each film.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Yeah, I was going to talk about that. You've got
a solid list of speakers here. Tell us about who
has been presenting this year and who else you still
have coming up.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Well, we had Jeff Robbins, who was a First Amendment
rights lawyer and Clinton's pick for the Human Rights Counsel
to the United Nations in Geneva and a writer for
the Boston Herald. He spoke and he galvanized the audience
(04:29):
to take action in this world, in this current environment,
being a Jewish community, so not to sit back and complain,
but to do something, and that was amazing. We have
personal story of a actually member of the congregation, Jeff Cook,
(04:53):
who grew up in the cats Bills, coming to speak
on his experience in Montestello going from hotel to hotel
because his family was in the dairy business supplying the hotel.
We have the director for Unbroken. Unbroken is a documentary
(05:14):
about a family of seven children who are hidden during
the Holocaust, and it won the Best Audience Award for Bits,
So if people missed it at Beth, they can come
to the Berkshire Jewish Film Festival and see it. And
we will have the director speaking on Zoom right after
(05:36):
the documentary. We also have a finger coming who's growing
who went with his grandfather to Auschwitz. His grandfather survived
Outwitz by singing for Nazis and he took his grandfather
back to Auschwitz and they sang together. And the grandson
sings and plays music, and he's coming with his entourar
(06:00):
to sing for us. So we go beyond directors and
beyond producers to to you know, just corral the audience
to connect with the films in all different ways.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Yeah, and this is really about the community. You mentioned.
It's a fundraiser for Knness at Israel. Tell us about
what it's like to be a part of that community
and see everybody come together to show you support, especially
in a time of a lot of unrest.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
This festival is more than a film festival. It's a
forum for the Jewish community in the Berkshires. It's not
only the community of the synagogue, but it's all those
who come to visit. A lots come to the festival
and they feel that they can just let it hang loose,
(06:51):
be relaxed, be comfortable, and this is sorely needed nowadays.
So I have thought thank you for the first time
from people for putting the festival together. And I realized
that we are providing a venue for the Jewish community
(07:14):
to come together in a relaxed way, feel comfortable and discuss,
you know, eat, we have dinner in between films, we
have a kosher food truck and just schmooze. And that
has been a godsend for everybody.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
I believe it. And how have how has the attendance
been this year? I'm assuming that because of everything happening
and because of the desire for more community, these movies
are being pretty well attended at this point.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Yeah, we well, we average around three hundred and fifty
people and we've continued to maintain that average. So a
little less, a little more, and we're looking forward to
the audience for the rest of the festival, which lasts
(08:09):
until the middle of August.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Okay, So let's talk about how people can get tickets.
I see here that you can get a season pass
or you can buy individual films, so tell us about that.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Okay. So you can now buy tickets to the four
o'clock movie at three o'clock, and you can buy tickets
for the eight o'clock movie at three o'clock and at
seven o'clock. We have movies at every Monday until the
(08:42):
middle of August, at four o'clock and eight o'clock.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
And the tickets are fifteen dollars at the door, cash checks.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Okay. And where is the festival taking place. It's in Lenox.
Where exactly should people go to see these movies.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
It's at the Lenox Middle and High School on East
Street at the Duffhin Theater. You'll see it there's a
police car with lights right at the entrance as you
pull in.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
All right, beautiful, and I do see that if you
happen to have Wick or EBT connector care, you get
a discount as well. So that's going to help bring
some people in who maybe wouldn't have access otherwise to
get into these movies.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Definitely, definitely we try to get as many people access
as possible.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
How can people find out a bit more about the
movies that are being shown, about the festival and about
the speakers.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Okay, well, they can can see our website www dot
Berkshire Jewish Film Festival dot org. Fixed mondays eleven films
July eighth through August twelfth.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
All right, great, well, Beth. I appreciate your time and
I hope the rest of the festival goes swimmingly and
have a great summer. Thank you so much for all
you do.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Thank you for having me greatly appreciate it, and have
a great summer.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
And of course have a safe and healthy weekend. Please
join us again next week for another edition of the show.
I'm Nicole Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio.
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England
Weekend where each and every week we come together we
talk about all the topics important to you and the
place where you live. It is great to be back
with you again this week. I'm Nicole Davis. Each and
every year, for almost four decades now, fans of the
big screen have made their way to the Berkshears to
take part in the Berkshire Jewish Film Festival. They come
(00:28):
together to watch thought provoking movies highlighting Jewish history and culture,
and then talk about it in panels. This is an
event that over the past couple of years has become
even more poignant, not just because of rising levels of
anti Semitism around the country, but also because of the
ongoing hostage crisis in the Middle East. Beth Cruvant is
the artistic director of the festival. She's here to talk
all about it. Beth. It's really good to have you here.
(00:50):
And thirty eight years is definitely a long time for
a festival. It is clearly very popular. Give us a
bit of history if you could to start.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Okay, Well, it's guarded and it has maintained as a
fundraiser for the synagogue in Pittsfield Kinesset Israel for Jewish
education for children and adults in the Berkshires. It's started
small before film festivals took a huge leap into this world,
(01:23):
and so I would say that it is a small
festival that's gotten really big. It is run totally by
volunteers for the festival. There is no one who is
paid to help run the festival, so we have almost
(01:45):
forty volunteers running around trying to help everybody who comes.
We have volunteers of all different storts to help decide
the films and to run the festival in a business
like manner, Okay, And it's amazing. It's just amazing how
(02:07):
we all have come together to create a world class
Jewish film festival.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Yeah, you've got a lot of offerings too. I was
looking at all the different movies you're offering over a
span of more than a month. I mean, how do
you go about choosing which films are going to be
offered for the festival each and every year?
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Okay? Well, personally, I am a filmmaker, so I do
have personal knowledge of a lot of festivals all over
the country, actually all over the world, so I know
where to look for Jewish film festivals, and I decide
on the most recent, most interesting and exciting and different,
(02:54):
you know. So, for instance, we have one that is
very light and entertaining on the Catskills, which is you know,
takes place in the era that the Borchefeldt was popular.
And then on the flip side, we have one on
(03:17):
the Supernova Festival that was in October seventh where three
hundred and seventy five Israeli festival goers were massacred. So
we have, you know, a wide variety of genres and themes,
thought provoking documentaries to heartwarming dramas, and we also feature
(03:41):
panel discussions that will help bring out the internal quality
of the film and health the audience connect in a
greater way to each film.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Yeah, I was going to talk about that. You've got
a solid list of speakers here. Tell us about who
has been presenting this year and who else you still
have coming up.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Well, we had Jeff Robbins, who was a First Amendment
rights lawyer and Clinton's pick for the Human Rights Counsel
to the United Nations in Geneva and a writer for
the Boston Herald. He spoke and he galvanized the audience
(04:29):
to take action in this world, in this current environment,
being a Jewish community, so not to sit back and complain,
but to do something, and that was amazing. We have
personal story of a actually member of the congregation, Jeff Cook,
(04:53):
who grew up in the cats Bills, coming to speak
on his experience in Montestello going from hotel to hotel
because his family was in the dairy business supplying the hotel.
We have the director for Unbroken. Unbroken is a documentary
(05:14):
about a family of seven children who are hidden during
the Holocaust, and it won the Best Audience Award for Bits,
So if people missed it at Beth, they can come
to the Berkshire Jewish Film Festival and see it. And
we will have the director speaking on Zoom right after
(05:36):
the documentary. We also have a finger coming who's growing
who went with his grandfather to Auschwitz. His grandfather survived
Outwitz by singing for Nazis and he took his grandfather
back to Auschwitz and they sang together. And the grandson
sings and plays music, and he's coming with his entourar
(06:00):
to sing for us. So we go beyond directors and
beyond producers to to you know, just corral the audience
to connect with the films in all different ways.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Yeah, and this is really about the community. You mentioned.
It's a fundraiser for Knness at Israel. Tell us about
what it's like to be a part of that community
and see everybody come together to show you support, especially
in a time of a lot of unrest.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
This festival is more than a film festival. It's a
forum for the Jewish community in the Berkshires. It's not
only the community of the synagogue, but it's all those
who come to visit. A lots come to the festival
and they feel that they can just let it hang loose,
(06:51):
be relaxed, be comfortable, and this is sorely needed nowadays.
So I have thought thank you for the first time
from people for putting the festival together. And I realized
that we are providing a venue for the Jewish community
(07:14):
to come together in a relaxed way, feel comfortable and discuss,
you know, eat, we have dinner in between films, we
have a kosher food truck and just schmooze. And that
has been a godsend for everybody.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
I believe it. And how have how has the attendance
been this year? I'm assuming that because of everything happening
and because of the desire for more community, these movies
are being pretty well attended at this point.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Yeah, we well, we average around three hundred and fifty
people and we've continued to maintain that average. So a
little less, a little more, and we're looking forward to
the audience for the rest of the festival, which lasts
(08:09):
until the middle of August.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Okay, So let's talk about how people can get tickets.
I see here that you can get a season pass
or you can buy individual films, so tell us about that.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Okay. So you can now buy tickets to the four
o'clock movie at three o'clock, and you can buy tickets
for the eight o'clock movie at three o'clock and at
seven o'clock. We have movies at every Monday until the
(08:42):
middle of August, at four o'clock and eight o'clock.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
And the tickets are fifteen dollars at the door, cash checks.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Okay. And where is the festival taking place. It's in Lenox.
Where exactly should people go to see these movies.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
It's at the Lenox Middle and High School on East
Street at the Duffhin Theater. You'll see it there's a
police car with lights right at the entrance as you
pull in.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
All right, beautiful, and I do see that if you
happen to have Wick or EBT connector care, you get
a discount as well. So that's going to help bring
some people in who maybe wouldn't have access otherwise to
get into these movies.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Definitely, definitely we try to get as many people access
as possible.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
How can people find out a bit more about the
movies that are being shown, about the festival and about
the speakers.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Okay, well, they can can see our website www dot
Berkshire Jewish Film Festival dot org. Fixed mondays eleven films
July eighth through August twelfth.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
All right, great, well, Beth. I appreciate your time and
I hope the rest of the festival goes swimmingly and
have a great summer. Thank you so much for all
you do.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Thank you for having me greatly appreciate it, and have
a great summer.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
And of course have a safe and healthy weekend. Please
join us again next week for another edition of the show.
I'm Nicole Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio.
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