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If you are desperate to get a jump on Academy Award season, head to the Washington Jewish Film Festival for Blessed Is the Match: The Life & Death of Hannah Senesh, which is one of 15 finalists for the five slots available in the documentary category. It's a prime chance to see the film before Oscar buzz picks up.

Washington District of Columbia Jewish Community Center has sponsored the festival, now in its 19th year, for its entire run. Susan Barocas, in her first year of directing the festival, spoke about the process of picking films.

"We put out a call for entries. … There's an online submission," Barocas said. "We also go to the … Jerusalem film festival, so we see a lot there."

They also find films from film festivals around the country. Barocas said there were more than 300 films submitted this year, which were narrowed down to the 59 for the screenings.

The Diamondback screened two of the films appearing in the festival's lineup.

STRANGERS

Strangers is a love story set against the backdrop of the World Cup finals in Berlin and the Israel-Lebanon war. The two eventual lovers, Eyal, an Israeli living on a kibbutz (Liron Levo, Munich), and Rana, a Palestinian living in Paris (Lubna Azabal, Body of Lies) meet on a train, where they accidentally switch bags.

Their love grows out of this mishap. After arranging to meet up to exchange bags (using the cell phones in the backpacks), the two discover they are both without a place to stay during the finals. They end up sharing an apartment together, as it's the only available lodging.

From there, it's merely a foregone conclusion the pair will fall in love. The love happens quickly - as it does in many romantic films - but the performances from Levo and Azabal make the growing attachment believable.

With the war as a backdrop, conflict arises. Eyal supports Israel, while Rana opposes the country. While Strangers isn't the best romantic film set in a wartime setting, it is buoyed by the palpable chemistry between Levo and Azabal. The two appear to be wholly in love with each other despite their differences, and their relationship makes the film much better than it would have been otherwise.

The 2008 Washington Jewish Film Festival runs from Dec. 4 through 14 and features 59 films. The films are spread across seven venues. Tickets and venue information for all shows are available at www.wjff.org.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

HEY HEY IT'S ESTHER BLUEBERGER

Hey Hey It's Esther Blueberger is the festival's opening-night film, making its U.S. premiere. Australian first-time writer/director Cathy Randall has put together a coming-of-age tale centered around 13-year-old Esther Blueberger's (newcomer Danielle Catanzariti) bat mitzvah.

Esther is an outcast at her posh prep school, spending most of her days (and lunch periods) observing the other, more popular girls in their social circles. Her only friend (other than her brother) is a duck she finds in the attic of her school. The popular girls essentially ignore her existence.

Enter Sunni (Keisha Castle-Hughes, The Nativity Story), the leader of a group of punkish girls who attend the public school. After joining Esther's bat mitzvah party and showing her a good time, Esther and Sunni forge a friendship.

The film gets a little far-fetched at this point, as Esther is able to deceive both her parents and her school - using an e-mail to explain her absence with a supposed move to Sweden - while secretly attending Sunni's public school. Esther also doesn't register for any classes; she simply tags along to all of Sunni's.

It's not without its bright spots - both Castle-Hughes and Catanzariti perform well, and the friendship between the girls seems genuine. But the film ultimately suffers from some plodding, drawn-out sections and broadly-drawn characters outside of the main pair. Clearly, Randall has talent, but this first effort has the expected rough patches of many debut directors.

RATING: 2.5 out of 5 Stars

tripp.laino@yahoo.com

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