IT'S OFFICIAL!

After taking a year off, the Santa Barbara Jewish Film Festival will be back as good as ever next spring. Please mark your calendar for the weekend of April 7-10, 2011. Plans are already under way for a sterling selection of Jewish-themed feature films, documentaries and shorts. When Jon and Barbara Greenleaf are in Israel, they will be meeting with several people who either make or distribute fine Israeli films. This should give the festival a leg up on the screening process. Speakers, too, are already being approached to block out the dates of our festival.

Stay tuned for additional information.

SBJFF SHINES AT JEWISH FESTIVAL

Hundreds of people stopped by the SBJFF booth at the Santa Barbara Jewish Film Festival on 4/25, and we made lots of new friends. More than 20 people signed up to volunteer and 150 added their names to our e-mail list for information about the festival. A very successful day!

We held a free raffle for a $50 gift certificate to the Metropolitan Theatres in Santa Barbara which turned out to be a great draw. Barbara Mintzer was the lucky winner! Many thanks to Susan Kohl and Linda Schwartz for both manning the booth and contributing the raffle prize.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara outdid itself in bringing back this wonderful, community event at Oak Park. The Jewish Festival is one of the few remaining events that make Santa Barbara seem like a small town once more.

SBJFF #6 RECEIVES KICK-OFF GRANT

Although the fund-raising campaign for the sixth Santa Barbara Jewish Film Festival won’t officially get under way until fall, Claudia Chotzen and Hap Freund have already stepped up with a wonderful contribution to kick off the effort.

According to Claudia, “We’ve been attending the SBJFF since its inception, and we have always had a great time at this unique event. Seeing the films at the SBJFF has expanded my awareness and my understanding of Jewish culture and issues. The films have been fascinating, thought-provoking, and inspiring. We love it! That’s why it’s our sincere pleasure to help bring back the festival in 2011.”

SBJFF president Barbara Greenleaf was equally effusive. “We are so appreciative of every gift, but a first donation is like a first love—unforgettable!”

ABOUT THE JEWISH FILM FOUNDATION

The Jewish Film Foundation, a nonprofit public benefit corporation, seeks to promote understanding of the Jewish experience through film. It has pursued this mission locally by mounting the highly successful Santa Barbara Jewish Film Festival. It has also done so nationally, by publishing Jewish Film World, the only magazine devoted solely to this field, blogging and maintaining its website, www.Jewishfilmfoundation.org. Finally, it sponsored the Jewish Film Festival Poster Contest, which drew entries and voters from every corner of the United States.

Let us help you attract a wider audience through a unique and popular event, the Jewish Film-Festival-to-Go. For further information, contact:

Barbara Greenleaf, President
Jewish Film Foundation
PO Box 30057
Santa Barbara, CA 93130
(805) 964-5577; bgreenleaf@jewishfilmfoundation.org
www.jewishfilmfoundation.org

The Jewish Film Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit California public benefit corporation formed to promote understanding of Jewish life through film.

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