The 25th Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, presented by Alma & Howard Laderberg* and Patricia & Avraham Ashkenazi, began with a free, pre-festival event at TCC Roper Performing Arts Center featuring the movie, Marshall.
Presented in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and in partnership with Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Hands United Building Bridges (HUBB), an interfaith dialogue group focused on race and faith in Tidewater, the American biographical legal drama film was viewed by nearly 600 people.
Based on an early trial in the career of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, Marshall follows the young lawyer to conservative Connecticut to defend a black chauffeur charged with sexual assault and attempted murder of his white socialite employer. Muzzled by a segregationist court, Marshall partners with a courageous young Jewish lawyer, Samuel Friedman. Together they mount the defense in an environment of racism and anti-Semitism. The high profile case and the partnership with Friedman served as a template for Marshall’s creation of the NAACP legal defense fund.
A panel discussion with Pastor David McBride of New Life Church, Rabbi Jeffrey Arnowitz of Congregation Beth El, and Jonathan Zur, president and CEO of Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, moderated by Joel Rubin, followed the film.
“It was meaningful to see such a wonderful gathering as part of the community’s observance of MLK Day,” says Jonathan Zur. “The film’s message is timely and relevant today for all of us committed to the important work of bridging divides and advancing justice.”
The film festival continued throughout the month of January and featured documentaries and full feature dramas created by award-winning Jewish writers and filmmakers, shown at multiple locales around Tidewater, and included special guest speakers to accompany some films.
To learn more about the CRC and other upcoming initiatives, contact Wendy Weissman, assistant CRC director, at WWeissman@ujft.org or 965-6107.
* of blessed memory
– Wendy Weissman