It’s All About the Bris

After stops in New York City and Los Angeles, the 23rd Israel Film Festival has arrived in Miami. More than a dozen fascinating films are showing at the Sunrise Intracoastal 8 at 3701 NE 163rd St. in Miami. The festival coincides with the 60th anniversary of Israel’s tumultuous founding.

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More About

• Tel Aviv
• Schlomo Carlebach
• Frisco
• Golda Meir

The Quest for the Missing Piecefollows a gay man in Tel Aviv as he comes to grips with his identity — and his bris. (Hence, the missing piece.) Jews are not known for proselytizing, but You Never Know is a documentary about a prolific Jewish musician, Schlomo Carlebach, who was sent to Frisco in the ’60s. His task: to convert hippies with song. The reverse happened — the Orthodox establishment cast him out when he fell in with flower power.

There are other gems. The Galilee Eskimos is about a bankrupt kibbutz: the residents have fled, leaving behind only the old people in the rest home. Ben-Gurion Remembers is an up-close look at Israel and includes interviews with Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, and other Zionist heroes. It Kinda Scares Me is another homage to Israel’s 60th, but it has a gay flavor and stars a whole load of hot Mediterranean men. The films run from December 9 through 18. Tickets cost $11 or less. For complete listing and times, visit mi.israelfilmfestival.com, or call 877-966-5566.
Dec. 12-18, 2008