Dear Friends,

I'm delighted to share with you the dates for our 2018 Festival, which will take place Saturday, March 10 through Sunday, March 18.  As in past years, we will open on Saturday evening with a reception and film. Unlike past years, we have added one more day as the Festival will extend into Sunday. We feel that this will allow us to schedule additional matinee showings as well as possibly adding a second showing for our more popular films. These were two suggestions we received from our post Festival survey and we're pleased to be able to make this change for our audience. 

MJFF Officers and ED
In other MJFF news we have two changes to announce about the Maine Jewish Film Festival officers.   After years of invaluable leadership, Robin Rubinstein will step down from the Presidency. Happily Robin will remain on our Board as will Jamie Isaacson, who will step down from the Vice President position. We would like to thank both Robin and Jamie not just for their leadership but for the creativity, good humor and tireless work ethic they brought to the Festival.

David Scholder, who enters his third year with the MJFF Board will become as President and Melinda Molin, who has chaired the Screening Committee for 2 years, will assume the Vice President position.  We welcome David and Melinda to their new roles -- see more about David below.

Thank you for supporting the Maine Jewish Film Festival. Please check out our program with the Portland Public Library (see article below) and stay tuned for information about some exciting fall programs.


David Scholder
A Note about David Scholder, MJFF Incoming President:

We're excited to announce that the Board has elected David Scholder to be the Festival's next President. Since joining the Board two years ago, David has focused on enhancing the Festival's marketing efforts. He has significantly expanded the Festival's social media footprint and refreshed the website. He has been an active member of the Board since 2016, serving on the Marketing and Screening Committees.

"I look forward to working collaboratively with the staff and the Board as we launch into our third decade and seek new and exciting ways to expand our presence on Maine's cultural landscape, cultivate new audiences and bring engaging content to communities across the State."

David is a graduate of Bard College and lives with his wife Tara and two cats in Kennebunkport. When he isn't watching films or working with the Board, you'll likely find him hiking in the mountains or on the slopes.
Joe's Violin.
Free Film Program on July 13

The Portland Public Library and MJFF will co-present the films  Shalom Italia and
Joe's Violin   on July 13 at 6:30 PM in the Rines Auditorium. 
Shalom Italia i s the story of 3 Italian Jewish brothers who set off on a journey through Tuscany in search of a cave where they hid as children to escape the Nazis.  
Joe's Violin (shown in the 2017 MJFF) documents the bond between a Holocaust survivor who donates his violin and the school girl who is given the violin to play.  The films will be followed by a discussion led by MJFF Executive Director Barbara Merson.  For more information  click here. . 
click picture for trailer
MJFF RECOMMENDS:

One of the audience favorites at the 2016  Festival was the comedy, Frank Vs. God about a lawyer who decides to sue God. Frank Vs God is now available on many platforms including itunes, Amazon and Direct TV.Place article  

If you haven't seen this film yet, this is an opportunity - invite some friends over for your own mini festival.

Congratulations to Lisa Munderback and Robert Filgate who entered our Survey Drawing and each won an All Festival Pass for the 2018 Festival. Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill our survey.


Jewish Philanthropy recently published an article by Barbara Merson on 20 years of the Maine Jewish Film Festival.
 Maine Jewish Film Festival  207-523-3422  www.mjff.org
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