Washington Jewish Film Festival presents a ‘Rated LGBTQ’ series

Popular Jewish film festival kicks off this weekend

By Doug Rule on May 18, 2017 @ruleonwriting

Now in its 27th year, the Washington Jewish Film Festival presents traditional film screenings as well as related cultural and educational programs at six different theaters. Six films at this year’s festival are “Rated LGBTQ,” exploring sexuality, gender and identity on screen.

Cabaret, the hit 1972 adaptation of the stage musical classic starring Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli, which screens Sunday, May 21, at 7:30 p.m., at the Edlavitch DCJCC, and Saturday, May 27, at 12:30 p.m., at AFI Silver Theatre.

Family Commitments, an outrageously quirky comedy about a Jewish-Arab same-sex wedding, in its Mid-Atlantic Premiere Saturday, May 20, at 8:45 p.m. at Landmark E Street Cinema, and Saturday, May 27, at 6:30 p.m., at Edlavitch DCJCC.

In Between, Maysaloun Hamoud’s remarkable feature debut about three Arab-Israeli women sharing an apartment in the vibrant heart of Tel Aviv and struggling with contemporary and traditional pressures, which screens Wednesday, May 24, at 8:15 p.m., at Landmark E Street Cinema, and Sunday, May 28, at 1:45 p.m., at AFI Silver Theatre.

The Freedom to Marry, a riveting ride through history with Evan Wolfson and Mary Bonauto, who led the push for one of the most successful civil rights campaigns in modern history, screening on Sunday, May 21, at 5:15 p.m. at AFI Silver Theatre, and Wednesday, May 24, at 7:15 p.m., at Edlavitch DCJCC.

The Guys Next Door, a lyrical documentary about the bonds between a straight family and their gay neighbors, screening Sunday, May 21, at 6 p.m., at Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema, and Monday, May 22, at 6:15 p.m., at Landmark E Street Cinema.

Uncle Howard, a paean and an elegy to Aaron Brookner’s uncle and the film he made about his friend William S. Burroughs before his premature AIDS-related death, screening on Sunday, May 21, at 4:15 p.m., at Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema, and Monday, May 22, at 8:45 p.m., at Landmark E Street Cinema.

The Festival runs to Sunday, May 28. Tickets are $14.95 for regular screenings. Visit wjff.org.