By Reporter staff 

The Greater Binghamton Jewish Film Fest will hold a virtual showing of “March’ 68” in March. A virtual discussion of the film will be moderated by Ben Kasper, professor emeritus at SUNY Broome, on Sunday, March 17, at 5 pm. The link to the film will be sent to those who register by 5 pm on Thursday, March 14. Registration is available here. Donations are appreciated; the suggested donation is $10.

The film tells the story of two young students – Hania (Vanessa Aleksander) and Janek (Ignacy Liss) – who meet and fall in love in 1960s’ Warsaw, which was a time of social turmoil and Jewish discrimination. Although Hania and Janek are not interested in politics, governmental edicts affect them: Hania’s father and mother lose their jobs due to the antisemitic purge and are forced to emigrate. Since Hania does not want to leave Janek, the two participate in a protest rally at the university, during which they learn freedom can come at a high price.

The film won the Audience Award for Best Narrative at the Washington, DC, JxJ Film Festival in 2023, the Audience Award for Best Feature at the Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival in 2023, the Audience Award for Best Narrative at the Jewish International Film Festival Australia in 2022 and Honorable Mention – International Jury Competition at the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival in 2022.

On the website, Cultural Almining , Daniel Garber wrote that the film “is an excellent romantic drama set in Warsaw during that dark, tumultuous and repressive time.” Nora Lee Mandel wrote on her website, Mandel Maven’s Nest Lilith Watch: Guide to Jewish Women in Film, that “integrating archival footage and recordings into both sides of the involving romantic story, [Director Krzysztof] Lang, with co-writer Andrzej Golda, intensely builds up how anti-Zionism and antisemitism were fomented to make Jews scapegoats for the political power plays within the Communist government... While Lang lost childhood friends in March 1968, this poignant film is also a sober lesson on what happens again and again, with different victims.” 

“Join us for this film, which is a wonderful conclusion to this year’s excellent Film Fest series,” said Shelley Hubal, Federation executive director. “I found this film very engaging. Although it takes place in 1968, its message is still relevant today.”