Israeli Cinema Festival That’s Fit for a Queen

“She’s really the queen of Israeli cinema. I mean, she’s been called the Elizabeth Taylor of Israel, but I think few people, especially in Orange County, even know who she is.”

Harriet Botwinick, one of the chief organizers of the sixth annual Orange County Jewish Film Festival, is talking about Gila Almagor. The actress and writer who Botwinick and others believe defines what Israeli movies are all about will receive local exposure this Sunday at the AMC MainPlace Six theater in Santa Ana when the festival, sponsored by University Synagogue in Irvine, begins with a film based on Almagor’s childhood.

“Under the Domin Tree,” directed by Eli Cohen and the winner of the award for best film at the Jerusalem Film Festival last year, depicts what life was like for Almagor during the early ‘50s. Aviya (modeled after Almagor) lives in a kibbutz-like boarding school that houses teenage survivors of the Holocaust while her mother (played by Almagor) is confined to a nearby mental hospital.

The film is the sequel to “The Summer of Aviya,” which told of Almagor’s earliest memories and was shown at the Orange County festival two years ago. Almagor was honored in November by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences when the two-week-long Israel Film Festival was in Los Angeles.

“This is really a way for people to experience [Almagor]; she’s very important, as an actress, writer, producer, director,” Botwinick said. “I really think it’s a shame that more people aren’t familiar with her work.”

Besides furthering local exposure to Almagor’s films, Botwinick said, this year’s festival remains faithful to its goal of helping to define what the Jewish experience is through film.

“We want to inform Orange County [about] Jewish life that is outside of the Holocaust,” she said. “We want to show films that have connections to Judaism or Israel but that are personal . . . films that show how people have developed [and become] what they are.”

She added that even though the University Synagogue has a religious orientation, the series avoids “being preachy” or choosing movies that promote Judaism. Botwinick also said the program “doesn’t have a political agenda” and tries not to advance the Israeli cause over any other. It’s not a money-maker either; according to Botwinick, last year’s festival just about broke even.

“We really just want to show good movies, just movies that will be enjoyed,” she said.

The three-film series continues March 31 with “Martha and I,” directed by Jiri Weiss and winner of best dramatic film at the San Francisco International Film Festival in 1991. The movie stars Marianne Sagebrecht (“Bagdad Cafe”) as a German maid who falls in love with a Jewish doctor in pre-World War II Germany.

“It’s just a wonderful love story, told during a time when there were problems not only with religion but social status,” Botwinick said.

The festival ends April 21 with “A Kiss to This Land,” directed by Daniel Goldberg and released in 1994. The documentary film follows seven Jews who emigrate from Europe and the Middle East to Mexico, where they struggle to build new lives during the early 1900s.

“This is interesting because [it focuses on Judaism] in Mexico, which most of us probably don’t think much about,” Botwinick said.

After each screening, Michael Berlin (a screenwriter with film and TV credits, including “The Commish” and “Miami Vice”) will speak about the films and his own experiences in the industry.

* What: The University Synagogue’s Jewish Film Festival, beginning with Eli Cohen’s “Under the Domin Tree.”

* When: Sunday at 9:30 a.m. A bagel breakfast (included with the ticket) will be offered at 9 a.m.

* Where: The AMC MainPlace theater in the MainPlace/Santa Ana mall.

* Whereabouts: Exit the Garden Grove (22) Freeway at Main Street; go south.

* Wherewithal: $20 for each movie, $45 for the series.

* Where to call: (714) 553-3535.