If you’re like me, you often find yourself thinking, “Gosh, it’s been weeks since we had a film festival.”    Sure, there are always movies around this town, but there’s something extra-cool about a film festival and the Seattle Jewish Film Festival, which breaks the festival drought by opening on Thursday, April 4, is no exception.

 The SJFF is eight days of film and other performances by artists  from all over the world that explore and celebrate Jewish life, culture, identity and history, obviously appealing to people who are Jewish but open and accessible for everyone.   Festival highlights include a stand-up performance by comedian Judy Gold on Sunday, April 13, at the Cinerama which is immediately followed by Making Trouble, a film about Jewish women in comedy, an April 10 live performance by indie folk rocker Geva Alon, and a whole bunch of great movies.

Movies include Aviva, My Love, an Israeli film about a woman’s struggle to hold onto her dreams of writing, Max Minsky und Ich (Max Minsky and Me), a family-friendly film from Germany about a teen girl finding her place in a world that includes boys, basketball and her Bat Mitzvah, First Basket, a US made film about the Jewish origins of basketball, and My Mexican Shiva, a Mexican film about the seven days of mourning for a beloved relative and way, way, way more films than I could name here, all of which look interesting and engaging.

Just like all the other film festivals, the SJFF has a bunch of special events and visits by filmmakers to talk about their films, see the website for details and be sure to have a good time at the festival.