Sundays at the movies: Naples Jewish Film Festival returns in March

NAPLES, Fla. - EntSun -- An annual film series highlighting the best and brightest cinematic moments from newly released Israeli and Jewish cinema returns to Naples with a series of five film screenings on Sundays in March.

The 2025 Naples Jewish Film Festival kicks off on Sunday, March 2 with "Running on Sand," a feature film about a young Eritrean refugee who is deported from Israel but is then mistaken for the new foreign player of a struggling soccer team. The film, which is in Hebrew with English subtitles, screens at 7 p.m. at the Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center, 4720 Pine Ridge Road, and includes a post-film discussion by Zoom with director Adar Shafran.

The following week brings "The Glory of Life," a love story about a writer and a dancer set in the Baltic Sea coast, Germany and Austria. The German language film with English subtitles will be screened on March 9 at 3 p.m., also at the Iser Center.

On March 16, the festival heads downtown, where "Bad Shabbos" will screen at The Naples Players, 701 Fifth Avenue South, at 7 p.m. The 2024 Tribeca Film Festival winner is a comedy about an engaged interfaith couple whose parents meet for the first time over a Shabbat dinner gone awry. Writer and director Daniel Robbins is scheduled to attend and will discuss his work with the audience.

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On March 23, the festival returns to the Iser Center with a 7 p.m. screening of "Pink Lady." The film, in Hebrew with English subtitles, features Battie and Lazer, a young ultra-Orthodox couple whose marriage is challenged by forces both external and within, testing their love and faith.

The festival concludes on March 30 at 7 p.m. with "Soda," a drama directed by acclaimed Israeli filmmaker Erez Tadmor set in an Israeli working-class neighborhood in 1954. The film features Israeli stars Lior Raz ("Fauda," "Gladiator 2") and Rotem Sela ("Beauty and the Baker").

"From comedies to drama, romance to mistaken identity, the festival offers something for everyone," said film festival co-chair Stacey Baum. "We're especially excited to bring the festival back to Fifth Avenue South and The Naples Players for what is sure to be a special evening."

Individual tickets for each movie are $35, with tickets $50 for "Bad Shabbos" at The Naples Players. Season packages and patron tickets including benefits such as guaranteed admission for each event and preferred seating are also available.

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For more information about the annual festival, sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Greater Naples, visit JewishNaples.org/naples-jewish-film-festival (https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.LMdXjQvZ1EPt1gvkZCgHMQBtjEI2jf9-2FInc4dODaAYlHzMpgCIYMtAVTKcxW5r-2FkbclkO8-2Bz0VEvIda5aA8jRk0QAu-2FM-2FyfhCGvsiCmgrDQ-3Ddzgk_CCAvz18ZnFPs75Wsjr4vObFrXulPEo-2FQUi8grK-2Fi8-2FQFA8t5ESpw5kgBJ2jdTQ...).