The Jewish Federation of Florida’s Gulf Coast Presents: Ticket Purchasing Open and Exciting Opportunity for Teens at the August Real to Reel Film Screening: BULGARIAN RHAPSODY, In-Person at Studio Movie
Kara Gold-Harris: kara@jewishgulfcoast.org
Largo, FL; June, 2022: The Jewish Federation of Florida’s Gulf Coast is excited to announce the upcoming Real to Reel Film Screening for August. Join us as we present BULGARIAN RHAPSODY, Directed by Ivan Nichev. This teenage love story set against 1943 Bulgaria was selected in honor of Tu B’Av. We return to Studio Movie Grill (7718 113th St N, Seminole, FL 33772) on Thursday, August 11TH, 2022 at 7PM. Tickets are $10 per person ($12.40 after fees) and include a complimentary dessert off the SMG menu. With thanks to series sponsors Sue Heyman and Mike White, High School students will be admitted into the screening for free!* For a free ticket, complete the form at JewishGulfCoast.org/BACKTOSCHOOL. *Free tickets are based on availability. Only students who complete the form and have received a confirmation email will be admitted into the theatre for free. Arrive at 6:30 to order dinner from your seats in advance of the film. The event will also feature a talkback after the film moderated by special guest Erica Hruby. Interested parties can learn more, view the movie trailer, and purchase tickets for this event at JewishGulfCoast.org/RealtoReel. *An On-Demand link will not be available for this film due to licensing restrictions.*
“The history lesson embedded in this story is subtle yet also packs a wallop. The slow erosion of good will, the shocking spectacle of sympathetic people turning indifferent is profoundly troubling. It is understandable that historical upheaval drives average citizens to do terrible things in order to survive, yet witnessing the destruction of harmony, seeing people turn their back on their fellow man, is haunting. The betrayal not only foreshadows the doom of our youthful leads, but their entire community.” – The Arts Fuse
From a Times of Israel interview with Bulgarian actor Alex Ansky:
“My parents survived due to the generosity and open hearts of many, many Bulgarians who accepted Jews, hid them and didn’t let the Bulgarian regime have the lists of (Jewish) names,” Ansky explained… He told celebrity follower Guy Pines that making the film allowed him to close a circle. Ansky commented to Pines that he played a character who reminded him of his own father.
Both were struck with what it was like to wear a yellow star during filming… Ansky said his parents assimilated into Israeli culture soon after they arrived. He said his father never regretted moving to Israel and living in a Jewish state. “I am not sorry,” he said. “We knew what happened in Europe and wanted to change our fate in life. The fate of the Jews is to have a state of their own. So, as a boy of four years old, I did not believe in a state of my own, but my parents took it seriously and they believed in it — in creating a state of their own.”
About the Film:
Summer of 1943. The Jews of Greater Bulgaria must adhere to the laws of Germany. Moni and Giogio meet Shelly (17) and face the values and limits of friendship, as they both fall in love with her, while outside rages their conflicted world. The Bulgarians are ordered to deport the Jews; trains traverse Bulgaria with 11,343 Jews from Macedonia and Thrace. The fate of the three youngsters mirrors the lives of the Balkan Jews during WWII, challenged with the horrors of that period.
Please contact info@jewishgulfcoast.org with any questions regarding the event.