Atlanta Jewish Film Festival announces virtual programming

Atlanta Jewish Film Festival Opening, Closing Selections The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival announced Opening Night, Young Professionals Night and Closing Night selections for the 20th annual event. "Shared Legacies: The African-American Jewish Civil Rights Alliance" Sherry Frank (left) and Congressman John Lewis appear in the documentary. The present alliance between African-Americans and Jewish Americans dates to the 1909 NAACP founding. Since then, both groups have faced segregation and bigotry. A commo

Months after the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival in February, the event has announced a lineup of virtual programs.

There are three events AJFF has announced that fit well within the recommendations for continued social distancing: AJFF In Conversation: The Podcast; AJFF In Conversation: The Webinar and AJFF Playback.

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“The COVID-19 crisis has prompted film festivals and arts organizations to rethink how they engage audiences. As we innovate and adapt, AJFF offers these alternative forms of programming as a way to preserve community connection and our love for film, while health and safety concerns require we be separated,” said Kenny Blank, AJFF’s executive director in a statement. “We look forward to a return to the singular theatrical experience, watching movies together on the big screen. Until then, our virtual programs represent a new way to celebrate Jewish culture and the cinematic arts.”

AJFF In Conversation: The Podcast is a biweekly discussion featuring the voices of the annual film festival, which is celebrating its 20th year. The podcast features talks about the topics on the origins of Jewish films.

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AJFF In Conversation: The Webinar is a monthly series that takes viewers on a deep dive into Jewish cinema. Audiences are invited to view the selected film on-demand before joining the webinar, which features discussions with Jewish filmmakers, journalists and academics in a post-film Q&A.

AJFF Playback is an interactive contest that continues the 20th-anniversary celebration of the film festival online. The public is invited to vote for their favorite movies from the AJFF vault to help choose which flick will be deemed the "2020 AJFF Playback Winner" among the short, documentary and narrative categories.

Visit AJFF.org to watch the four short films and vote for the winners. Come back to the website each Monday to see which movies won and cast your vote in that week's set of films.