Atlanta Jewish Film Festival Reimagines 2021 Festival Experience + You’re Invited

The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) is thrilled to announce the return of its annual festival, the 21st edition, to be held as a hybrid event across 12 days from Feb. 17-28, 2021. In response to the ongoing pandemic, AJFF has reimagined the festival experience to combine at-home virtual screenings with select drive-in movies, expanded conversation with filmmakers and special guests, as well as other unique components that prioritize the safety, comfort and convenience of audiences.

The 2021 AJFF film lineup, to be announced over the coming weeks, will include over 30 narrative and documentary features plus short film offerings, representing a diversity of genres and subjects. Powered by CineSend, the festival’s Virtual Cinema will allow audiences to access the very best in international cinema from a smart TV, home theater, computer, tablet or other mobile device.

In addition, thanks to an exclusive partnership with Mercedes-Benz Stadium, AJFF will also offer a limited number of drive-in screenings in the 11-acre The Home Depot Backyard greenspace, a spectacular backdrop for a physically distanced but shared moviegoing experience.

Always core to the festival’s mission of fostering dialogue, AJFF will continue its commitment to community conversation with enhanced guest programming, including speaker introductions and extensive Q&A panels that further explore the themes and topics presented onscreen.

“Cinematic stories feed the soul at a time when we need the help of film artists to make sense of our world, to be inspired, and to reignite our shared sense of humanity. Our festival staff and volunteers have gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure the core tenets of the festival – community, representation, storytelling and experience – are preserved in our 2021 hybrid edition,” says AJFF Executive Director Kenny Blank. “It’s gratifying to see that, despite the pandemic, the pipeline of new films on Jewish themes is as strong as ever. We look forward to being ‘together through film’ in February, our motto for these COVID times.”

Additional details on films, virtual screenings, programming, and drive-in dates to come soon.

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MUCHO MUCHO AMOR - A New Netflix Original Documentary of Walter Mercado

Watch our interview with the filmmakers behind Mucho Mucho Amor. Alex Fumero, Cristina Costantini and Kareem Tabsch share stories about the life of Walter Mercado and production of the film.

Every single day for decades, extravagant Puerto Rican astrologer, psychic, and gender nonconforming legend Walter Mercado charmed the world with his televised horoscopes. Equal parts Oprah, Liberace, and Mr. Rogers, Walter was a celebrated daily part of Latin culture, who at his peak reached over 120 million viewers. Since childhood, Walter was regarded as a healer, but his greatest miracle might have been his personal transformation from shy farm boy to flamboyant showman. Walter enthralled much of the world with sequined capes, opulent jewelry and pressing horoscopes that shared a message of love and hope to his devoted viewers — until one day he mysteriously disappeared.

Over a decade later award-winning documentarians Cristina Costantini (Science Fair) and Kareem Tabsch (The Last Resort) plus producer Alex Fumero (I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson) received unprecedented access to Walter during his post-fame seclusion and invite us into his home and interior world. With MUCHO MUCHO AMOR, they capture Walter’s final two years, when the pioneering icon grappled with aging and his legacy, as he prepared for one last star-studded spectacle. We invite you to view the first trailer for MUCHO MUCHO AMOR, the new Netflix Original Documentary about the iconic Latinx astrologer Walter Mercado. We hope you will discover the magic, mysticism and the love of Walter Mercado.  A hit at the Sundance Film Festival this year, the film is releasing globally on Netflix July 8th.

For many, Walter Mercado has been a household name for generations.  He was that optimistic/larger than life character that came into everyone's household via television.  For some he was even bigger than Oprah and uber flamboyant like that of Liberace. But he was always full of love, life and inspiration! We need some Walter right now!!!

Every day for decades, Walter Mercado mesmerized 120 million Latinx viewers with his extravagance, glamour, and artistry. Viewers across generations and all over the world gathered around the TV eagerly waiting for him to deliver his daily reading of your sign. Award-winning documentarians Cristina Costantini (Science Fair) and Kareem Tabsch (The Last Resort) direct MUCHO MUCHO AMOR, produced by Alex Fumero (I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson). “We sincerely hope you will become inspired by Mercado’s message of understanding, peace mucho paz and above all love mucho mucho amor.”

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It’s a wrap: 36,000+ attend 2018 AJFF

TOP PHOTO: Death in the Terminal, which looks at a 2015 terrorist attack at an Israeli bus station and its aftermath, won the Documentary and Human Rights jury prizes.

THE 2018 ATLANTA JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL — 23 days long, with more than 190 screenings at seven venues — attracted more than 36,000 moviegoers, according to festival organizers. Closing night at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, featuring the Southeast premiere of writer-director Pablo Solarz’ The Last Suit, attracted a record-setting crowd of more than 1,600.

As usual, a number of awards were handed out, too. The winners:

NARRATIVE JURY PRIZE (for a feature-length fiction film): The Testament, director Amichai Greenberg’s 2018 story about an uncompromising Holocaust researcher who uncovers a long-buried secret about his family history.

DOCUMENTARY JURY PRIZE (for a feature-length nonfiction film): Death in the Terminal, Israeli directors Tali Shemesh and Asaf Sudry’s 2017 look at a 2015 terrorist attack at an Israeli bus station, and the paranoia-fueled confusion that followed.

“On My Way Out: The Secret Life of Nani and Popi,” from Canada.

SHORTS JURY PRIZE (run time of 40 minutes or less): On My Way Out: The Secret Life of Nani and Popi, Canadian directors Brandon and Skyler Gross’ 2017 piece about an ostensibly happy couple marking six decades of marriage and uncovering a painful truth.

EMERGING FILMMAKER JURY PRIZE: Winter Hunt, German filmmaker Astrid Schult’s 2017 psychological thriller about a young woman who seeks reprisal against a suspected ex-Nazi.

BUILDING BRIDGES JURY PRIZE (fosters understanding among communities of diverse religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds): Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds: The Conductor Zubin Mehta, German director Bettina Ehrhardt’s profile of the India-born maestro most often associated with the Israeli Philharmonic.

HUMAN RIGHTS JURY PRIZE: Death in the Terminal, again.

“The Number on Great-Grandpa’s Arm,” from American director Amy Schatz.

AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST NARRATIVE: The Last Suit, a 2017 film about a cantankerous, aging Jewish tailor who leaves his life in Argentina for a journey back in time and halfway around the world to find the man who saved him from death at Auschwitz.

AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY: Itzhak, director Alison Chemick’s 2017 impressionist, fly-on-the-wall portrait of Itzhak Perlman, the Iraeli-born master violinist.

AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST SHORT: The Number on Great-Grandpa’s Arm, American director Amy Schatz’s 19-minute piece from 2017, about a young boy’s tender questions, his great-grandfather’s tattooed arm and the intimate, emotional conversation about tragedy and perseverance that ensues.

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