SUN & STARS INT'L FILM FESTIVAL to Showcase Five Revealing Documentaries in WPB & Delray Beach, Jan 22-Feb 2

Arts and Entertainment

January 6, 2025

(West Palm Beach, FL – January 6, 2025) The Donald M. Ephraim Sun & Stars International Film Festival© (SASIFF), presented by MorseLife, returns for its third season with screenings at the Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts (Jan. 23-Jan. 30, 2025) and EVO Entertainment Delray Marketplace (Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2025). Among the more than two-dozen world-class movies from all over the world are several revealing documentaries

“Five compelling and very diverse documentaries screen in Sun & Stars, bringing the viewers into the heart of real-life stories. They range from an in-depth account of the show-biz life and times of mega-star Liza Minnelli in our opening night film, LIZA: A TRULY TERRIFIC ABSOLUTELY TRUE STORY, to TROLL STORM, the saga of a Jewish mom and businesswoman in Montana who chose to fight the dangerous forces of antisemitism bearing down on her family,” says Barbara Scharres, SASIFF Artistic Director.

In-person encounters with filmmakers are unique situations that round out the stories and afford the viewer the rare opportunity for face-to-face dialogue with the director or the subject of a film. Director Bruce David Klein will be present for Q&A at the screening of LIZA. Tanya Gersh, the subject of TROLL STORM, and Tracy Whipple, the co-director of BROKEN DOLLS will each be present for audience discussion.

The five informative documentaries that will be shown during the upcoming Sun & Stars International Film Festival are:

BROKEN DOLLS

(Documentary / Jewish, 2023, South Florida Premiere. Directed by Tracy Whipple and Gilles Bovon. USA, 82-minutes)

A mother’s obscured past become a daughter’s call to action in reconstructing a history altered by the Holocaust. In 1939, a mysterious benefactor enables a seven-year-old Jewish girl and her mother to escape Nazi Germany on a ship for Shanghai, where they face deprivation and an uncertain future. In the Jewish Ghetto of the international Chinese city, the child spends a decade reinventing herself. Decades later, now herself a mother with an established life in Florida, she comes full circle, seeking to lay claim to her past. In the complex quest to reclaim her German citizenship, the discovery of a shocking secret adds a new perspective to her life story.

Note: Co-Director Tracy Whipple will be present for audience discussion.

EVO Entertainment Delray Marketplace

Sunday, February 2, 1 pm

ETERNAL YOU

(Documentary, 2024, Florida Premiere. Directed by Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck. Germany/USA, 87-minutes – In English and Korean with English subtitles)

This is an incisive look at the ways artificial intelligence technology is transforming the ways humans deal with death. A new industry offers the tempting opportunity to allegedly communicate with deceased loved ones by way of an avatar that appears to channel their voices, current thoughts, emotions and memories. In uncanny and increasingly unsettling encounters, including with the mom who would go to any lengths to again hug her dead child, the filmmakers survey the startling and sometimes shocking experiences of users. Interviews with multiple developers of the technology skirt around the ethical implications while eagerly plunging into the future. “This thought-provoking and bang-up-to-the-minute documentary explores a morally questionable use of AI… on the knife-edge between thrilling innovation and cynical recklessness” – The Guardian.

EVO Entertainment Delray Marketplace

Friday, January 31, 4 pm

HOUSEWIFE OF THE YEAR

(Documentary, 2024, Florida Premiere. Directed by Cierán Cassidy. Ireland, 77-minutes)

Winner of Best Irish Feature Documentary at the 2024 Galway Film Fleadh. From 1968 to 1995, Irish television annually featured the “Housewife of the Year” contest in which mostly-middle-aged mothers of many children competed for the crown and sash and the grand prize of a gas range after demonstrating their skill in household arts including preparing a simple meal. Scenes from the show’s history range from humorously kitsch to shockingly sad, revealing a life with parameters strictly proscribed by society and the Catholic church, and in which motherhood was not optional. The film’s present-day encounters with surviving winners revive mixed memories while delving into once-forbidden subjects including virginity and marriage, unwed motherhood, contraception and husbands wedded to the pub.

The Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center

Saturday, January 25, 1 pm

LIZA: A TRULY TERRIFIC AND ABSOLUTELY TRUE STORY

(Documentary / 2024, Florida Premiere. Directed by Bruce David Klein. USA, 104-minutes)

The Opening Night Screening of The Donald M. Ephraim Sun & Stars International Film Festival©, presented by MorseLife.

One film is barely enough to encompass all the facets of the glittery life and career of Liza Minnelli, but director Klein pulls it off with many a humorously bossy aside from the Oscar-winning Cabaret star herself. This portrait puts the emphasis on a lifetime of meaningful relationships with mentors including Kay Thompson, Bob Fosse, and Halston as young Liza emerges from the shadow of her famous father, film director Vincente Minnelli, and her legendary mother Judy Garland to become one of the most extraordinary artists of our time. Appearances by friends and collaborators include Mia Farrow, Chita Rivera, Ben Vereen, George Hamilton, and with running commentary by musician Michael Feinstein pulling it all together with his usual flair. “A gorgeous portrait of a legendary showbiz survivor, warmly celebratory but also unquestionably authentic”—The Hollywood Reporter

Note: Director Bruce David Klein will appear and answer questions at the Festival’s Opening Night screening.

The Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center

Thursday, January 23, 7:30 pm

TROLL STORM

(Documentary / Jewish, 2023, Palm Beach County Premiere. Directed by Eunice Law. USA, 83-minutes)

A Montana realtor’s win in a groundbreaking First Amendment court case that struck a blow to white supremacy and neo-Nazism is charted in this searing documentary. Tanya Gersh, a wife, mom, and successful businesswoman, becomes the target of a smear campaign initially launched by a neighbor. Outsider far-right extremists jump into the act, sensing an opportunity for grandstanding their antisemitic agenda. Gersh’s contact information and location is released nationally in a hate publication, resulting in a cyber storm of death threats and harassment that cause the family to fear for their safety. Steeled by a knowledge of history and a sense of solidarity with Holocaust survivors, Gersh digs in and chooses to fight back.

Note: Tanya Gersh will be present for audience discussion.

EVO Entertainment Delray Marketplace

Wednesday, January 29, 7 pm)

For more information about the SASIFF or to purchase tickets, please visit www.sasiff.org.

About The Donald M. Ephraim Sun & Stars International Film Festival:

The Donald M. Ephraim Sun & Stars International Film Festival©, presented by MorseLife, aims to bring highly anticipated, critically acclaimed, and thought-provoking films to Palm Beach County. As a world-class film festival, The Donald M. Ephraim Sun & Stars International represents a major contribution to the cultural life of Palm Beach County. SASIFF returns for a new season with screenings at the Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts (Jan. 23-Jan. 30, 2025) and EVO Entertainment Delray (Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2025). For more information, please visit www.sasiff.org, www.facebook.com/DME.SASIFF and www.twitter.com/dmesasiff or www.instagram.com/dme_sasiff or contact [email protected] or 561.220.6735.

About MorseLife:

MorseLife serves more than 3,600 seniors every day on its campus in West Palm Beach and through its community outreach programs. Founded in 1983, MorseLife is a provider of health care and residential services for seniors in Palm Beach County. A charitable, not-for-profit organization, its programs also include short-term rehabilitation, long-term care, independent and assisted living, memory care assisted living, hospice, home health care, care management, meals-on-wheels, and PACE. Since its beginnings, MorseLife has built a reputation and tradition of caring for seniors with excellence, dignity, and compassion. For more information, visit morselife.org, www.facebook.com/MorseLife, www.twitter.com/MorseLifeHealth, www.instagram.com/morselifehealth or www.linkedin.com/company/morselife-inc-/ or contact [email protected].

NOTE:

By providing these photos, we affirm that Tribune Publishing has full license to publish and syndicate the photos and that said publication and syndication will not infringe upon, misappropriate, or otherwise violate the proprietary rights of any third party, including intellectual property rights or rights of publicity/privacy. This license stands in perpetuity.

Attached Images:

(Photo Credit: Sun & Stars International Film Festival)

1. BROKEN DOLLS – EVO Delray, January 31

2. HOUSEWIFE OF THE YEAR – Rinker Playhouse, January 25

3. LIZA: A TRULY TERRIFIC AND ABSOLUTELY TRUE STORY

– Rinker Playhouse, January 23

4. TROLL STORM – EVO Delray, January 29

Available for Interview:

Barbara Scharres, Artistic Director

The Donald M. Ephraim Sun & Stars International Film Festival

773.875.0304

[email protected]