The films “Footnote” and “Schwartz Dynasty” will headline the Sixth Annual Israeli Film Festival at Congregation Temple Israel on Sunday, March 10. The films will be screened in the May Chapel of the congregation located at 1 Rabbi Alvan D. Rubin Drive in Creve Coeur.  Admission is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and advance reservations are required.  Both films are primarily in Hebrew with English subtitles and are suitable for mature teens and adults.  

“Footnote” will open the festival at 4 p.m., followed by “Schwartz Dynasty” at 6:30 p.m. Festival attendees can attend either or both films.  Complimentary Israeli refreshments will be served between screenings.

“Footnote” is the tale of great rivalry between a father and son. Both men are eccentric professors who have dedicated their lives to their work in Talmudic studies. When the father learns that he is to be awarded the Israel Prize, the highest honor for scholarship in the country, his desperate need for validation is exposed. The son is thrilled to see his father’s achievements finally recognized, but in a dark twist, must choose between the advancement of his own career and his father’s.

“Schwartz Dynasty” is a bittersweet comedy about two women who join forces in a struggle against cemetery politics. Miriam is heartbroken because she cannot bury her husband, who committed suicide, in the cemetery of the moshav her family founded. Ana, who has traveled from Russia to bury her father’s ashes in the same cemetery, also runs into roadblocks. Despite a number of ingenious attempts, the efforts of the two women are thwarted at every turn. The story leaves a warm, haunting feeling that continues on after the film ends.

To RSVP for either or both films, contact Janet Dillon at 314-432-8050 or [email protected]. The festival is co-sponsored by Temple’s Israel Engagement Committee and by Israeli House.