Jewish Film Festival: Quality and Quantity

Attention, holiday moviegoers: We have a request. Puh- leeze don't go to the cineplex this weekend.

Sorry, does that sound like sacrilege? Well, hang on, there's a method to our madness; we've read the reviews, and there's really nothing new out this weekend that should have you fighting the shopping-frenzied crazies for a parking spot at the mall.

Plus, we have a better idea.

The Washington Jewish Film Festival started Thursday and continues through Dec. 9 with 44 movies hand-chosen for their quality -- rather than, say, marketability or product-promotion proclivity.

Heart-tugging features, provocative documentaries and quirky animated shorts all show up in this sweeping lineup of what, in its 18th year, has become one of the biggest Jewish film fests in the world.

Each flick "relates to understanding Judaism in some way," explains spokeswoman Jennifer L. Katz, but since they touch on the human condition, their appeal extends beyond members of the tribe. Plus, here's a chance for film buffs to see early screenings of movies expected to be nominated for foreign-language Oscars and other awards.

"It's always nice to know that we're showing films that people would not otherwise see," Katz says. "But on the other hand, it's also nice to know that we're giving people a sneak preview of what's going to be commercially released."

Some highlights:

¿ "Praying With Lior." T his documentary follows the development of Lior Liebling, a boy with Down syndrome whose astounding relationship with God and prayer won him the moniker "the little rabbi." Lior's rabbi mother died when he was 6 but clearly had a profound impact on her son. Filmmaker Ilana Trachtman and the Liebling family, including Lior, will be at a discussion after the Saturday show. Screening Saturda y at 6 at the Washington Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th St. NW. Also playing Tuesday at 1 at the center.

¿ "Someone to Run With." Based on the novel of the same name by David Grossman, this Israeli feature film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Miami International Film Festival. Set in Jerusalem, the story tracks a teenage boy looking for the owner of a lost dog. Meanwhile, the owner is a teenage girl looking for her lost older brother. Of course, what they're really looking for is themselves. Screening Dec. 8 at 10:15 p.m. at the Washington Jewish Community Center. Also playing Dec. 9 at 4:45 at the Avalon, 5612 Connecticut Ave. NW.

¿ "Jewish Luck." This silent film, made in Russia in 1925, is being given an eccentric update in the form of a live, original score performed by One Ring Zero, a Brooklyn-based band that incorporates offbeat instruments, including the glockenspiel and claviola. Screening Wednesday at 7 at AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring.

¿ "Jellyfish." This closing-night feature, which won the Camera d'Or Prize at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, zooms in on the lives of three women at a wedding in Tel Aviv. Variety praised the film as "highly cinematic, with a mood of existential loneliness leavened by magical whimsy." Screening Dec. 9 at 7:30 at the Washington Jewish Community Center.

Tickets are available at the door, but the best way to make sure you get a seat is to buy online at http://www.wjff.org.

Most of the movies feature post-screening discussions or receptions with the filmmakers, so it's a more engaging, social pursuit than you'd find at the mall. And certainly more surprising.

"The films are really just the starting point for the conversations that will happen," says Joshua Ford, the festival's director. "And we're selling people things they don't necessarily know they want, so the moments of discovery are all the more shocking when they happen."

WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL Though Dec. 9. For a schedule, locations and tickets, call 800-494-8497 or visithttp://www.wjff.org.