4 new “mini-fests” to showcase film, art, books and authors, food, music, theater

A new format, featuring four arts and culture mini-fests on long weekends throughout the year, is being introduced to the Tampa Bay area.

The mini-fests will replace the annual Jewish Film Festival and Book and Conversation Festival, which took place primarily over a limited period in the spring and fall. In addition to live auteur events and award-winning films, the mini-fests will expand to include concerts, art exhibits, dining experiences and theater performances – all featuring a Jewish lens.

The JCC and the Tampa Federation are the main sponsor of the new Jewish Arts and Culture Mini-Fests, while the Jewish Federation of the Gulf Coast of Florida remains co-sponsor of the Tampa Jewish Film Festival portion Bay.

The inaugural mini-fest will take place from September 15 to 18. Three other mini-fests will take place from December 15 to 18; February 23-26; and from April 27 to 30.

Three other mini-fests will take place from December 15 to 18; February 23-26; and from April 27 to 30.

Most of the events will be held at the JCC on the Cohn campus and the Bryan Glazer Family JCC, with a few taking place at various other venues in the Tampa Bay area. All events are open to the public.

“We thought it was the perfect time to introduce a great new format to our Tampa Bay community. Art lovers can immerse themselves in four weekends filled with movies, literature, music and more,” said Brandy Gold, Director of JCC Tampa and the Arts and Culture Federation. “There will be a single ticket, as well as all-access pass packages, available for all the arts one wishes to explore.”

All individual movie tickets are $12 and admission to other events varies. To purchase individual or user ticket packages, or for more information, visit www.JewishTampa.com/ACMiniFest

The inaugural program of the Arts & Culture mini-fest is as follows:

Thursday September 15

Red carpet event: Opening Night Party – 6 p.m. at the Bryan Glazer Family JCC.

Individual ticket price is $54 for cocktails, appetizers, music, a jewelry raffle, and Thursday night movie ticket. Walk the red carpet for a festive celebration.

FILM: Goodbye, Sir Haffman – 7:30 p.m. at the JCC Bryan Glazer Family. The film will also screen on Friday, September 16 at AMC Woodlands Cinemas in Oldsmar.

It’s Paris 1942. François Mercier is an ordinary man who only aspires to start a family with the woman he loves, Blanche. He is also the employee of a talented jeweler, Mr. Haffmann. Faced with the imminent German occupation, the two men will have no choice but to conclude an agreement whose consequences will upset the destiny of these three characters. The film is in French with English subtitles.

THEATER: Broadway Leap by Neil Simon – 7 p.m., Théâtre J Stage at the JCC on the Cohn Campus. Individual tickets are $20.

The two-act comedy-drama centers on two brothers – good-natured and lovable Eugene and businessmen like Stanley – as they struggle to break into comedy writing, while their parents’ relationship crumbles. . “Broadway Bound” is the third piece in Simon’s Eugene trilogy after “Brighton Beach Memoirs” and “Biloxi Blues. The play will be professionally staged by Vivid Theater Productions.

“Broadway Bound” will also be played on Saturday evening September 17 and twice on Sunday September 18.

Friday September 16

BOOK/AUTHORS: Author Lunch with Lisa Rod, Women on Fire: A Novel – noon at the Brio Italian Grille at the International Plaza. One must reserve. The price of the individual ticket is $36.

Barr is a well-known author of best-selling and award-winning thrillers (“The Unbreakables” and “Fugitive Colors”). In this novel, an ambitious journalist becomes embroiled in an international art scandal centered on Nazi-looted masterpieces and a confrontation between passion and possession. Actress Sharon Stone is set to produce and star in the film adaptation. Barr will sign his books at the end of the lunch program.

Film: Goodbye, Sir Haffman – 3 p.m. at AMC Woodlands, Oldsmar. (Described previously)

Saturday September 17

THEATER: Broadway Leap by Neil Simon – 8 p.m., Théâtre J Stage at the JCC on the Cohn Campus. Individual tickets are $20. (Described previously)

Sunday September 18

Book/Authors: Coffee & Conversation with local author Deb Carson, Become Flo – 11 a.m. JCC from the Bryan Glazer family. Individual tickets are $10.

Carson’s book is the mostly true story of an Orthodox Jewish boy who runs away from home and joins the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus. The boy is Carson’s uncle. Carson digs into his uncle’s story to reveal buried family secrets. Carson will sign and sell his books at the end of the program.

MUSIC : Musical family concert with Doctor Rock Bandaged – 3 p.m. at the JCC of the Bryan Glazer family. Local musicians, playing classic rock ‘n roll with a family orientation. Crafting stations will be set up and family concessions will be available for purchase. Free.

THEATER: Broadway Leap by Neil Simon – 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., J Stage Theater at the JCC on the Cohn Campus. Individual tickets are $20. (Described previously)

CULINARY ARTS: Sushi Manufacturing To classify with Sake sampling LEDs by Chief Kenny – 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the JCC of the Bryan Glazer family. Individual tickets $36.

Learn how to make sushi from a professional chef while tasting samples of your work and accompanying sake.

FILM: Wrong Nazi, Good Nazi – 6 p.m., showing at both the AMC Woodlands, Oldsmar, and the Bryan Glazer Family JCC.

He is known as the Nazi officer who saves “The Pianist” – Wladyslaw Szpilman – in Roman Polanski’s film, but his German hometown still refuses to recognize him as a hero. Seventy years after the end of the Second World War, a group of inhabitants asks to commemorate the Nazi officer, Wilm Hosenfeld, in the local school and the reactions are stormy.

Meanwhile, Hosenfeld’s grandchildren discover their grandfather’s secret diaries and learn that apart from “The Pianist”, he has saved more than 60 people who owe their lives to him.

September 15-18

ART: Exposure of Local Artist Elisheva Avivi, Throughout the weekend, Avivi’s art will be on display and pieces will be available for purchase at all mini-fest events at the Bryan Glazer Family TCG.

Avivi has blended her love of face painting and body painting for children and the young at heart, with her lively paintings, drawings and two-dimensional works of art. His works feature playful, human themes and a wide range of emotions and colors. Avivi moved from Israel to Tampa three years ago.

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Along with federations, the films are sponsored in part by the Florida Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, Florida Council of Arts and Culture, and National Endowment for the Arts, Hillsborough County with the support of David and Sara Scher.

Book and author events are sponsored by the Gemunder Family Foundation and supported by the Manners Family and the Jewish Book Council.

The musical concert featuring the Doc Rock Band and art exhibit by Elisheva Avivi are presented in partnership with the Tampa PJ Library and the Jewish Fertility Foundation.

For more information on the Arts and Culture Mini-Festivals, contact Brandy Gold at (813) 769-4725 or [email protected].