PRESS RELEASE: August 2009

Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festiva Granted 501c3 Non-Profit Status

18-Year-Old Film Festival becomes one of Silicon Valley’s Newest Arts and Cultural Non-Profit Organizations

August 2009…The Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival (SVJFF), formerly a program of the Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center of Silicon Valley, has been certified as an independent non-profit organization, with the APJCC as one of its major sponsors.

The SVJFF recently received non-profit status when the Internal Revenue Service approved its formal application for the highly coveted 501c3 non-profit designation. The SVJFF is, therefore, one of the newest arts and cultural non-profit organizations in the Silicon Valley.

“Achieving 501c3 status is a major milestone in the 18-year history of the Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival,” said Lorin Fink, the organization’s president. “We are very grateful to the Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center of Silicon Valley for their total support over the years, and we plan to continue to work closely as partners with them.”

“We congratulate the Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival on becoming an independent non-profit organization, and look forward to working together as a major sponsor, said Hal Bordy, CEO of the APJCC. “We are proud that the seeds of the Film Festival were planted and cultivated over the years at the APJCC.”

Significantly, the SVJFF is in its “Chai” 18^th year. It was formed by Fagie Rosen, Burt Epstein and Bernis Kretchmar in 1991 as the San Jose Jewish Film Series, later becoming the San Jose Jewish Film Festival, and, last year, the Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival. In fact, Rosen and Epstein are still very involved with the SVJFF. The Festival has achieved prominence in the South Bay by showing high-quality films and staging compelling outreach events that raise cultural awareness and entertain audiences of all backgrounds in the community.

At the beginning of 2008, to improve the growth opportunities of the Festival as well as to manage day-to-day operations, the organization hired long-time volunteer, Mark Levine, to be the part-time Executive Director. Commenting on the non-profit status, Levine said, “We are now able to raise our profile and seek donations as a totally independent entity.” Programming is handled by Margalit Raviv, a part-time program director, who works closely with the organization’s volunteer preview committee.

One of the key motivators behind the transition is the opportunity to create new sponsorships with other organizations. The Oshman Family Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto, for example, is another major sponsor of the Festival and—in fact—the SVJFF is co-sponsoring a movie on October 17, “Letters for Jenny,” to mark the opening night of both the Festival and the new JCC campus in Palo Alto, the Taube Koret Campus for Jewish Life (tickets available from the SVJFF web site, www.svjff.org).

The 18^th Annual Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival opens October 17 with this opening night event and continues to Sunday, November 22. Tickets and information are available from the Film Festival web site at www.svjff.org, or by calling 1-800-838-3006. (more information on the film program will be included in next month’s Jewish Community News).

Jewish festivals are found throughout the US. Many are attached to the local Jewish Community Centers, and many others are—like the SVJFF—independent non-profits. The San Diego Jewish Film Festival, for example, is about the same age as the SVJFF and it is affiliated with the Jewish Community Center in La Jolla as a part of the separate non-profit Arts organization. San Diego, like the SVJFF, attracts both affiliated and non-affiliated members of the community.

The Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival mission remains the same. It is committed to entertaining and educating moviegoers with feature films, documentaries, and events that highlight and honor various aspects of Jewish life around the world. Key sponsors, besides the APJCC of Silicon Valley and the OFJCC of Palo Alto, include the City of San Jose, the Koret Foundation, the Arts Council of Silicon Valley, Dorsey and Whitney Foundation, the Fairmont Hotel, Silicon Valley Bank Foundation, and the Camera Cinemas.