By Jeffrey Catalano
Assistant Editor
On Wednesday, February 11, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., the “Jewish and Israeli Film Festival” will be screening, in partnership with the University of Cincinnati Department of Judaic Studies, the fifth film in its line-up, “The Sea,” at the Schiff Center in downtown Cincinnati. “The Sea” is a 2025 Hebrew and Arabic-language drama directed by Shai Carmeli Pollak. The film is 93 minutes long and carries a content warning of graphic content and violence.
Shai Carmeli Pollak’s film follows the story of Khaled, a 12-year-old boy from a Palestinian village who travels to the sea for the first time during a school trip. However, once he reaches the military checkpoint, he’s denied entry and sent back home.
Despite this, Khaled remains determined to sneak in to Israel and embark on a journey to the sea. When Khaled’s father, a undocumented laborer working in Israel, learns that his son is missing, he does everything to find him, risking his entire livelihood.
In addition to the screening of “The Sea,” a short film will be shown and there will be an in-person discussion after the film. The short film is “The Cave Synagogue,” which is directed by Peter Decherney and 8 minutes long.
“The Cave Synagogue” follows the real life story of a Ugandan Jewish man and singer as he and his sons venture to the cave synagogues where Jews prayed in during the reign of Idi Amin. Amin was the ruthless dictator of Uganda from 1971 to 1979.
The post-film discussion after the screening of “The Sea” will feature Dr. Muli Peleg and Rabbi Sammy Kanter. Dr. Muli Peleg is a political sociologist who specializes in conflict analysis and conflict resolution processes, negotiation processes, leadership models and democratic sustainability. He currently acts as an Israel Institute Fellow and and a Visiting Professor to the University of Cincinnati. Rabbi Sammy Kanter is the Director of Jewish Life at the Mayerson JCC.
There is a fee for admission to this film screening on February 11.
