For the ninth year, the Worcester Jewish Community Center is gearing up to bring a week of Jewish cinema to Central Massachusetts.

JCC’s Cultural Arts and Adult/Senior Adult Director Nancy Greenberg, and organizer of the event, has been working hard to find films that she feels will appeal to the Central Massachusetts audience. Starting with a list of 20-30 films, Greenberg screens the films to decide on the final five or six films that will be screened for the festival.

“I really have to curate my films and make sure that they’re winners,” Greenberg said. She looks for films that have been on the Jewish film festival circuit and have been well received. Greenberg also tries to add in non-U.S. films for “a different perspective.”

In past years, the festival has shown films such as The Deli Man, Besa: The Promise and recipient of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, Ida.

However, Greenberg said that although the films are Jewish, they are really for everyone. Greenberg tries to get a good variety of films that will appeal to a wide group of people. She says she usually, “[picks] a documentary … and at least one Israeli film.” Of this year’s films, she says that “there’s a good mix coming together.”

This year’s films include a documentary, a comedy and dramas:

Raise the Roof is a documentary about two artists who were inspired by images of wooden synagogues of 18th century Poland, which had all been destroyed by the Nazis. The film follows them as they set out to make a replica of a synagogue in Poland.

The Last Mentsch focuses on a Holocaust survivor who wants to be buried in a Jewish cemetery in Germany. The only problem is he has no documentation of being Jewish. This film touches upon the irony that the man was imprisoned for being Jewish, yet cannot be buried in a Jewish cemetery. The movie follows him on a journey with a young Turkish woman to his home country, where he goes back to his roots and finds his identity.

Dough is a comedy about a failing kosher bakery. The bakery is in desperate need of help, and the owner hires a young Muslim man. The boy accidentally ends up putting some marijuana in the baked goods, and – unsurprisingly – the sales of the bakery improve. Dough is a lighthearted and humorous movie about redemption and overcoming prejudice.

Apples from the Desert tells the story of a young woman born into an ultra-orthodox family who runs away from home to find out what the secular world in Israel is like. This film was the recipient of many awards, including three Israeli Academy Awards.

The festival will also show an Israeli film, A Borrowed Identity, about a Palestinian-Israeli teenager who is accepted into a prestigious boarding school. He forms a strong bond with a fellow outsider and falls in love with a Jewish classmate, as he struggles to deal with issues of language, culture and identity.

Also, in an encore showing, Yoo-Hoo, Mr.s Goldberg is the humorous story of radio and television pioneer Gertrude Berg.

“I think the conflicts in the films will resonate with people,” Greenberg said. “The great thing is that if I didn’t bring these films in, it wouldn’t make it to Worcester or Central Mass.”

JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL SCHEDULE:

St. John’s High School, Ryken Center, 378 Main St., Shrewsbury
A Borrowed Identity, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 23, $15.
Dough, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 30, $15.
Raise the Roof, 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31, $15

The Willows at Worcester, The Great Room, 101 Barry Rd., Worcester
The Last Mentsch, 7:15 p.m., Tuesday Jan. 26, $10.
Apples from the Desert, 7:15 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 2, $10.

Worcester Senior Center, 128 Providence St., Worcester
Yoo-hoo, Mrs. Goldberg – Encore showing, 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22, free

For more information, visit worcesterjcc.org.

By Diana Holiner