"One Struggle," which chronicles the historic alliance between Black Americans and American Jews during the Civil Rights Movement, is part of the Miami Jewish Film Festival's "Building Bridges/Breaking Barriers" program during its 27th edition.
As antisemitism and racism have sadly escalated in recent years, the Miami Jewish Film Festival is making efforts to unite different communities with its "Building Bridges/Breaking Barriers" program during its 27th edition running from Jan. 11-25.
The program features films that focus on the connection of the Black and Jewish communities. They cover subjects such as social inequity, racism, bigotry, antisemitism and xenophobia. Complementing these screenings are question and answer sessions with filmmakers, film subjects and expert panels.
Headlining the program is the documentary"Rabbi on the Block," which follows the journey of Rabbi Tamar Manasseh, a Black Jewish woman who is actively combating racism and gun violence. The film is directed by Brad Rothschild, who directed "They Ain't Ready for Me," which also features Manasseh as the subject and screened during the 2021 Miami Jewish Film Festival.
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"Rabbi on the Block" makes its Southeast U.S. premiere during the festival at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 18 at the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center. Rothschild and Manasseh are both expected to attend the screening and participate in a panel discussion as part of a free community event. The discussion will also feature Rabbi Alan Litwak from Temple Sinai of North Dade and Pastor Arthur Jackson III from the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, who are collaborating with the festival on this occasion, along with the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and the Shine A Light initiative.
Rothschild said in an interview that it's an honor to have his film be part of the festival's "Building Bridges/Breaking Barriers" program.
"That's exactly why we made this film, so we could be part of this broader community on how to build bridges between communities," he said. "It's so important right now, especially when we live in this era of polarization and of people not understanding other people's communities and not really interacting with one another. I feel we really need to know one another better, and a film like this and bridge building programs are vital."
"Rabbi on the Block" shows how Manasseh, while pursuing her rabbinical ordination, aims to unite different communities.
"Rabbi on the Block," which is about a Black Jewish woman named Tamar Manasseh, is part of the Miami Jewish Film Festival's "Building Bridges/Breaking Barriers" program during its 27th edition.
Manasseh said in an interview that she hopes people who see the film about her story understand that they have to pay attention to their relationships with other Jews in America.
"We really have to have a conversation about the way Jews see each other in this country and how welcoming we are to Jews that don't necessarily look like us," she continued. "When people see this film, some people are going to have a hard time. It's a tough pill to swallow for some people, but others are going to be enlightened because there are so many things people don't know about Jews that are Black, and this is pretty much a definitive film on that."
Both Manasseh and Rothschild expressed their excitement for participating in session following the upcoming screening.
Manasseh said about the post-film discussion: "That's my favorite part when I actually get to talk to people about the movie about my life. We get to have this back and forth, and it's not mostly talking about myself. We're having a discussion.
Manasseh hopes to be able to discuss what people take away from the film.
"We have to discuss antisemitism, we have to discuss racism and we have to discuss relationship building," she said. "There are a lot of things that we have to discuss right now. There is a lot to talk about with the things we're most afraid of in the world right now."
Rothschild said: "I love doing these Q and A's with Tamar after we screen the film because after people spend 90 minutes falling in love with Tamar, they get to speak with her in-person."
"I hope that we can advance the discussion about how we can better get along and what needs to happen on how we can improve relations between African Americans and Jews, and between Black Jews and white Jews."
Rothschild said screening his film at the Miami Jewish Film Festival is very important to him.
"Anytime my film is shown in any of these festivals, I'm deeply appreciative of that, because I get a platform to say things that need to be said, and people are listening," he said.
The program also includes the SXSW acclaimed documentary "This World Is Not My Own," which makes its Florida premiere at the festival and offers an exploration of Nellie Mae Rowe, the daughter of a former slave who created art in obscurity.
"This World is Not My Own," which is about Nellie Mae Rowe, the daughter of a former slave who created art in obscurity," is part of the Miami Jewish Film Festival's "Building Bridges/Breaking Barriers" program during its 27th edition.
The film, co-directed by Petter Ringbom and Marquise Stillwell, streams in the festival's digital screening room from Friday, Jan. 12 to Wednesday, Jan. 24.
Ringbom said in an interview: "An important storyline in the film is the close friendship between Nellie Mae Rowe, a Black woman, and Judith Alexander, a Jewish woman."
"Despite their differences when it came to race, religion and class, they developed a really strong bond that went beyond their shared love of art," Ringbom said. "As we see ever increasing antisemitism and racism, these kinds of stories are more important than ever, and the Miami Jewish Film Festival is a great platform to get our film in front of audiences."
Ringbom explained what he feels will be surprising and fascinating about Rowe's story.
"We didn’t know that both Nellie and her gallerist, Judith Alexander, had personal connections to the infamous Leo Frank case that was such an important moment in Atlanta’s history," he said."In fact, no one knew about it until we discovered it during our research. This idea that we are often connected in surprising or unknown ways, and that we can impact people even after we’re gone, became a motif in the film."
Ringbom continued: "I think people are drawn to Nellie as a character because of her sense of humor, her originality and her ability to be relentlessly creative no matter what she was dealing with in her life. To put it simply, she’s inspiring."
The program also includes the documentary "One Struggle," which makes its Southeast U.S. premiere at the festival andchronicles the historic alliance betweenBlack Americans and American Jews during the Civil Rights Movement.The film, co-directed byRokhaya Diallo & David Rybojad, is available to streamon the festival's digital screening room from Jan. 12-24.
For more information on the films and tickets, visit miamijewishfilmfestival.org. The 27th Miami Jewish Film Festival runs from Thursday, Jan.11 through Thursday, Jan. 25.
