Gainesville’s first Jewish Film Festival starts today and is designed to entertain and educate the Gainesville community on Jewish culture.
The festival kicks off tonight with a screening of “The Yankles,” a movie about a washed-up, ex-professional baseball player who gets a second chance at life and love by managing a Jewish orthodox yeshiva baseball team.
Presented by the UF Hillel, the Gainesville Jewish Film Festival presents a dynamic and exciting perception of Judaism and the global Jewish community, according to organizers.
Amanda Solomon, the arts director for UF Hillel’s student leadership board and the main coordinator behind the event, said she hopes the film festival will highlight Jewish culture worldwide as well as erase negative stereotypes people tend to cling to.
Each night has a specific theme based on the importance to Jewish history and Jewish identity as a whole. For six nights, broad themes, such as “social action” and “Jews in sports,” were chosen to ensure everyone can connect to the films in some way, Solomon said.
In addition to the film, there will be a speaker featured after each screening.
All screenings are free and open to the public and will take place at the Hippodrome Theatre from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The festival runs through March 29.
Jeannie Bobroff, a member of Gainesville’s Jewish community, said the film festival will inspire many local Jewish residents to get involved in the community.
“A large-scale event like this film festival is just what the community needs to be proud of where they’re from,” Bobroff said.
