Temple Concord will partner with Menemsha Films and Chai Flicks to offer its congregation, along with the general Jewish community and friends, a different way to celebrate Hanukkah this year: a film festival. New films will be released for viewing each night of Hanukkah, which begins the night of November 28. The films will be available for viewing until December 12. 

“This eight-night, 11-film package is normally $48, but, if you enter the discount code of TCBING at checkout, your cost will be just $36 and half of your payment will be donated to Temple Concord,” said organizers of the event. “Enjoy the fun, invite others to join you to watch the films and talk with others about the films. Consider signing up for the festival for you and your family. Give the festival as a gift to family and friends.” 

To register, visit this link and enter discount code TCBING.

• Night one: Three films will be shown. “The Broken Candle” tells the story of Nira, a broken Hanukkah candle who becomes the shamash on the last night of Hanukkah. In “Unraveling,” filmmaker Stacey Ravel Abarbanel delves into the memory, history and contemporary life in Columbus, NM, asking if Pancho Villa tried to kill her grandfather in the 1916 raid during the Mexican Revolution. “Xueta Island” explores the legacy of the Chuetas on Majorca, believed to be descendants of the island’s Inquisition-era Jewish population.
• Night two: “Kiss Me Kosher” has been called “a subversive love story between clashing cultures and families when two generations of Israeli women fall for a German woman and a Palestinian man.”
• Night three: Two films are featured. “The Tattooed Torah” tells the story of how a Torah from Czechoslovakia came to America. The film is narrated by Ed Asner and illustrated by Martin Lemelman, who spoke at Temple Concord twice about his graphic novels. “Mish Mish” explores the Egyptian animated films of the Frenkel brothers. Mish-Mish Effendi was called the Mickey Mouse of the entire region, and the film gives a glimpse into an Arab-Jewish golden age from the past.
• Night four: “Latter Day Jew” tells the story of H. Alan Scott: a gay, former Mormon, a Jew by choice, a cancer survivor, writer-comedian and his spiritual path preparing for his bar mitzvah at age 35.
• Night five: “Leona” tells the story of a young Jewish woman from Mexico City torn between her family and her forbidden love. The film shows the interpersonal conflicts she faces as she struggles to find her independent right path.
• Night six: “The Crossing” follows 10-year-old Gerda and her brother, Otto, who follow their parents’ path in the Norwegian resistance during World War II. After their parents are arrested, they find two Jewish children hiding in their basement. They decide to help the children cross the border to neutral Sweden to be reunited with their parents.
• Night seven: “A Starry Sky Above The Roman Ghetto” focuses on a group of young people who go on a trek to unravel the mystery behind an old photograph they find. Their journey helps them understand the history of Rome’s Jewish ghetto during World War II.
• Night eight: “Here We Are” is about a father, Aharon, and his autistic son, Uri. After raising Uri, some think it’s time for him to live in a specialized home. On the way to the home, father and son run away together.

“Add a new dimension to your celebration of Hanukkah this year with the Hanukkah Film Festival, and support our congregation at the same time,” organizers said. “We hope these Hanukkah films wets everyone’s appetite for the Jewish International Film Fest of Greater Binghamton Committee upcoming season.”