New York Jewish Film Festival Spotlight: My Australia

The 21st Annual New York Jewish Film Festival, taking place January 11th-26th, is presented by the Jewish Museum and the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Movies with Abe has the pleasure of offering a look at a number of the films being shown.

My Australia
Directed by Ami Drozd
Screening January 12th at 3:30pm, Jan 19th at 3:30pm, and January 21st at 6:30pm

This light-hearted drama follows ten-year-old Tadek and his older brother as they are uprooted from their naively anti-Semitic roots in 1960s Poland when their mother reveals that she is in fact Jewish, taking them to what she claims is Australia, but is actually Israel. Their journey is hardly a conventional one, and it’s so interesting to see Tadek, played convincingly by actor Jakub Wroblewski in his feature film debut, find himself increasingly drawn to the idyllic kibbutz lifestyle and begin to realize that his preconceived notions may not in fact be universally applicable. It’s not a film that so overtly turns perceptions on their heads, but it’s an endearing and entertaining take on ignorance and the way in which people’s eyes are opened.