“We are part of an industry where the viewing habits of people are changing,” said Peter L. Stein, executive director of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (www.sdjff.org), which is spearheading the project. “We want to be ahead of the curve. For us, it is not just about turning the lights off and showing a movie.”

The New Media Initiative will serve as the ultimate destination for film lovers and filmmakers alike, replicating the same successful models of curation, exhibition, education and community-building that the festival has successfully offered since 1980, now brought to life online through a media-rich web resource.

Steven Spielberg’s Santa Monica-based Righteous Persons Foundation pledged $100,000 to the project and the New York-based Charles H. Revson Foundation provided a matching $100,000 grant.

“We’re extremely excited to bring what SFJFF has always been recognized for in our theatres – excellence in filmmaking, engaged and diverse audiences, rich educational content, and bridge-building through film – to the boundless channels of online media,” said Stein. “We’re thrilled to have the support of such forward-looking philanthropic foundations as we start our work."

In a telephone interview with the Jewish Tribune, Stein described this new online resource as “the IMDB of Jewish film.”

[For those not familiar with IMDB, or Internet  Movie Database, it is the most comprehensive listing of every movie ever made. It also features an exhaustive list of actors, actresses and reviews.]

The New Media Initiative web site will offer easy access to hundreds of film titles, streaming media, viewer recommendations, educational and curriculum materials, social networking opportunities for communities of Jewish film fans and a showcase for new Jewish stories and films created specifically for emerging media platforms. The site will also enable hundreds of rare, independent, international and archival Jewish-themed films to find new audiences online.

As Stein explained, the New Media Initiative signals a broader trend of film festivals, filmmaking and educational content moving online. Not only will the site give viewers the chance to experience the film festival remotely; it will give users a place to search and connect, serving as a living archive and educational tool for Jewish history and film for future generations.

The  June 23  launch, said Stein, is just the beginning – the site will evolve and grow in the months to come, adding new features, films and social media capabilities.
Stein pointed out that the SFJFF has always been on the cutting edge.

“We were the first Jewish Film Festival in the world,” he said. “Our original name was simply ‘The Jewish Film Festival.’ Now there are 110 around the world.”

As for a Canadian connection, Stein envisions festivals in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and elsewhere being able to contribute content to this new site by uploading selections.

“I also see this site being used by schools,” he said.

Starting with a backlist of about 1,200 curated titles from its 28-year history, SFJFF’s web-based project will enable hundreds of rare, independent, international and archival Jewish-themed films to find new audiences online, with a select number of titles available for viewing in their entirety.

SFJFF’s web offerings will also include the extensive media and educational resources of the Jewish Heritage Video Collection (JHVC), a video library of more than 250 outstanding features and documentaries, television and children's programs, and a series of original courses that explore Jewish history and culture through film. Developed by the Jewish Media Fund with the support of the Charles H. Revson Foundation, the JHVC is installed at 215 sites, including universities, JCCs and libraries, in 39 states.

A particularly exciting element of the project will be encouraging filmmakers and film fans to view, create, comment on and share Jewish-subject media through social networks, video-sharing sites and mobile devices.

“We look forward to introducing our special brand of cinema to new fans around the world,” added SFJFF’s Stein, “and to creating a space online for the next generation of Jewish media-makers to tell their stories.”

Two Canadian films made in Toronto – Victoria Day and Ten For Grandpa – are expected to get a lot of attention at the SFJFF.

Victoria Day is directed by David Bezmozgis. It tells the story of Ben Spektor, the son of Russian Jews who emigrated from the then (1988) Soviet Union. He becomes preoccupied with the disappearance of a classmates in his Toronto high school  in a more unsettling way than he can fully grasp.

Ten for Grandpa is a 2008 film by writer/director Doug Karr. Filmed in Toronto for the Bravo! Network, it explores the convoluted past of Karr’s own grandfather. It explores the 10 questions Doug has always wanted to ask his notorious grandpa, whose life included stints as a White House press reporter, a film producer, a powerful millionaire, a defence contractor, a corporate CEO and, some have alleged, a Soviet agent.