SOLD OUT

Florida Premiere

PBJFF Opening Night Film

Sponsored by: The Private Client Reserve of U.S. Bank
JCC Grand Business Patron of the Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival

Directed by: Roberta Grossman
USA, 2012 / English / 85 minutes

Special thanks to the Marilyn & Maurice Cohen Opening Night Film Fund

This special event is in honor of Rick Stone
Special Guest Appearance by: Olympic Gold Medalist, Aly Raisman

From the Ukraine to YouTube everyone knows the song, Hava Nagila. Get ready to sing along, and look into 150 years of Jewish history and culture along the way. This film was the unanimous choice of PBJFF screening committee for opening night.

The film is full of musical and comedic moments featuring such stars as: Larry David, Mary Tyler Moore, Mel Brooks, Julie Andrews, Danny Kaye, Roberta Peters, and Bob Dylan to name a few!

During Israel’s formative years, the U.S. fell in love with the culture of this new country. Ed Sullivan visited David Ben-Gurion in Israel and brought Israeli artists on his legendary show. As Hava Nagila became “the song” at weddings and bar-mitzvahs, it also provides a cultural look at how American Jewry went main stream. Harry Belafonte and Connie Francis made Hava Nagila one of their signature songs.

Thanks to Russian Jewish pop singer Regina Spektor, and the emotional connection provided this past summer by Olympic Gold Medal winning gymnast, Aly Raisman, Hava Nagila has regained its place as one of the most beloved songs of all time.