CINEMA JUDAICA: THE WAR YEARS Exhibition to Open 11/16 at Futernick Family Art Gallery

"CINEMA JUDAICA: The War Years" exhibition will run from November 16 through December 28, 2014 at the Futernick Family Art Gallery (located at 11155 SW 112th Ave, Miami, FL 33176).

In the years following World War II and the creation of the State of Israel, Jewish-themed films and the bold advertising that accompanied them had a major influence on the way the Jewish people and Israel were viewed.

This unprecedented exhibition of iconic Hollywood film posters from 1939 to 1949 illustrates how the motion picture industry countered America's isolationism, advocated going to war against the Nazis, influenced post-war perceptions of the Jewish people and the founding of the State of Israel, and shaped the face of contemporary Jewish life.

The exhibit chronicles the "Great Debate" films of 1939-1941 during the years of vigorous public argument about American intervention in Europe, the role of the first anti-Nazi films within the context of the battle between Charles Lindbergh and America First Committee isolationists and the Fight for Freedom interventionists, the attempt by Ambassador Joseph Kennedy to block anti-Nazi films, and threats from isolationist Senators to regulate the motion picture industry with films like "Confessions of a Nazi Spy."

With the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and America's declaration of war, Hollywood produced patriotic movies - "platoon" films - which reflected the melting pot tradition of American ethnic diversity and helped instill a unified fighting spirit. Included are posters for World War II espionage and concentration camp escape melodramas plus films about Nazi Germany's accountability such as "Address Unknown," and "Hotel Berlin." Following the war were the "Exodus" films addressing the attempt by European war refugees to rebuild their lives and cultures after the Holocaust. Post-war Hollywood films addressed anti-Semitism on the home front in films like "Gentleman's Agreement."

The Gallery is open Sundays 1 - 4pm, plus December 6, 5:30pm, prior to Film Crime After Crime and Book Festival Event - Joshua Safran, author of Free Spirit: Growing Up On the Road and Off the Grid - at 6:30pm in the Robert Russell Theater at the Alper JCC.

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