Short films expanded to two-day festival

After many years as a successful single-day event during the annual San Diego International Jewish Film Festival, short films were spun off into a festival of their own.

This year the Joyce Forum 2019 Jewish Short Film Festival will take place over two days and will feature 32 short films from across the globe.

The Joyce Forum was named for Joyce Axelrod, the co-founder of the San Diego International Jewish Film Festival (first held in 1990) and founder and past chair of the Joyce Forum. Although no longer the chair, she remains an active participant in this year’s festival. This year’s chair is Francine Ginsburg.

With more than 130 submissions from 21 different countries, the Joyce Forum Short Film Festival’s expansion to two days was a natural transition. The two-day festival will include Q&A sessions and discussions with renowned filmmakers and other special guests.

This year’s short films cover nearly every cinematic genre: documentary, drama, comedy, animation and more. The films run from five to 30 minutes in length.

The films are organized into five separate programs, each featuring five to seven films. All films will be shown at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center in La Jolla.

The festival opens Saturday evening, Sept. 21, with six short films in Program 1. There will be four additional programs throughout the day on Sunday, Sept. 22.

Of local interest, three young San Diego filmmakers were awarded scholarships funded by the Murray Galinson San Diego Israel Initiative (MGSDII) to attend the Jerusalem Film Workshop, a five-week summer program which was founded in 2014 to bring together talented, emerging filmmakers from around the world.

The three local university students are: Andrew Norbeck and Colby Smith from San Diego State University and Brett Goldstein from California State University San Marcos.

Their films will be shown Sunday, Sept. 22 during Program 3, the 1:30 p.m. showing.

The Joyce Forum 2019 Jewish Short Film Festival poster

(Courtesy)

The films take viewers on a walk with local characters from Ein Kerem, arguably one of the most magical neighborhoods in Jerusalem.

All three will lead a panel following the screening of their films, to talk about their films and experiences.

After a highly competitive process that saw hundreds of applicants, the three local filmmakers became part of a group of 24 recognized young filmmakers from five continents who participated in the 2019 workshop experience. Countries represented included America, Israel, Brazil, China, South Africa, Australia, Uzbekistan, Poland and Canada.

The MGSDII (www.mgsdii.org), located in Encinitas, focuses on academically rigorous Israel-related content and knowledgeable discourse and interaction, to promote engagement and collaboration, particularly on local college campuses.

For tickets and more information on the Sept. 21-22 Joyce Forum Short Film Festival, see: www.sdcjc.org/sdijff/joyce_forum.aspx