As one of the first major cultural events of the year, the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival went on as planned last January, a pre-pandemic celebration of Jewish filmmakers, actors and cinema at large.
Organizers were hopeful in early planning for 2021 that COVID-19 might be long gone by the time next January rolled around. Then came the summer spikes following Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.
They didn’t need to wait for the winter surge to realize the festival’s 30th anniversary would have to be held online, said Khylie Gardner, communications director for the Tucson Jewish Community Center.
“A lot of the people who come to our film festival tend to be older, retired,” Gardner said. The festival will be screening films using its website as a portal through the month of January.
She added, “Even if the pandemic had magically ended in November, we felt that group of people probably weren’t going to leave their houses until 2021. We wanted to make it as accessible as possible for people who have been coming for years.”
Rather than the traditional 12-15 films with a handful of shorts, this year’s festival will consist of eight films and two shorts, that will be released, one every three to four days.
The first film, “Picture of His Life,” about wildlife photographer Amos Nachoum, will kick things off on Jan. 3.
Films, ranging from dramas to documentaries to comedies, will be available for purchase for 48 hours from the time of their posting. Viewers have 48 hours from the time they purchase the film to watch it.
Several of the films will have follow-up virtual events featuring online discussions with the movies’ actors, producers and directors.
That includes an interview in coordination with The Loft Cinema with actors Billy Crystal and Ben Schwartz on Jan. 10. Crystal plays a free-spirited dermatologist opposite Schwartz in the film “Standing Up, Falling Down,” screening as part of the fest, Jan. 6.
“We have a really cool lineup,” Gardner said. “The caliber of people that we’ve been able to bring into these programs because everyone is at home, is really cool.”
Individual movie passes are $12. A pass to see all films in January is $80. You can add four more films to the full festival pass that organizers will be showing quarterly through November for $96.
For a full schedule of events, visit tucsonfilm.eventive.org/welcome
