Jewish Film Fest Scope Expanded : Cinema: Event opening tonight ventures far from mainstream fare.

LA JOLLA —  The concept of a city with a vibrant film “scene,” a metropoliswhere serious film buffs gather in coffee shops to converse about something less mainstream than “Bugsy,” also includes a variety of festivals and screenings representing different lifestyles and cultures, as well as various directing styles and actors.

Judging by the lineup for its second San Diego Jewish Film Festival, which begins tonight at Sherwood Auditorium, the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center is intent on becoming a legitimate contributor to San Diego’s far-too-often faltering efforts to develop an imitation of that mythical concept of a “scene.”

After a solid but tentative roster of four films last year, the center has put together a broad, interesting and, in some cases, challenging collection of six films to be shown on five nights. Like a young child stretching its legs for the first time, the festival is showing signs of life, suggesting it might be one of the few local community festivals that will be willing to push its staid audiences beyond the usual cinematic mainstream pablum, presenting a diverse spectrum of ideas and perspectives on the Jewish experience, including an anti-war film from Israel and another that deals frankly with homosexual issues.

“People interested in the social consciousness of Jews and where they are in the community, these films speak to them, not only of the past but issues they face now,” said festival chairwoman Joyce Axelrod.

It is no accident that the festival is moving into such progressive and interesting territory. After the surprising success of last year’s program--which concluded with “A Plot Against Harry” and drew about 1,000 people for the four movies--the event organizers decided it was time to slide into the next level.

With the help of underwriting support for “True Confections,” one of the films in the festival, from Jewish Family Service, the festival’s budget was increased from last year’s $6,000 to $9,000, which has allowed it to go after bigger films, many of which have never--and may never have been--screened in San Diego, as well as speakers.

Just as important was a willingness to push the envelope in terms of content.

“What makes a film interesting is not just whether it’s liked or disliked, but whether it makes them stop and think,” said Lynette Allen, the director of cultural arts for the Jewish Community Center, stating a simple truth of film that seems to elude far too many event organizers.

This year’s San Diego Jewish Film Festival opens with a classic Yiddish film, “Yidl Mitn Fidl,” filmed in Poland in 1936 and starring Molly Picon. It was one of the box office hits of the short-lived heyday of Yiddish films and, like “Uncle Moses,” which opened last year’s festival, it provides a historical foundation and context to the discussion of Jewish films as a cultural storybook, as something more than simple pop entertainment.

All the films in the series will be accompanied by speakers. UC San Diego’s Eleanor Antin, a teacher, performance artist and filmmaker who specializes in re-creating the style and emotions of old Yiddish films, will discuss “Yidl Mitn Fidl.”

The festival hits its stride Tuesday with a 7:30 p.m. screening (all screenings begin at this time) of “Avanti Popolo,” an Israel film nominated for a 1986 Academy Award for best foreign film. A surreal black comedy set in 1967 soon after the end of the Six Day War, it follows two lost Egyptian soldiers who encounter an Israeli patrol. Rife with a strong anti-war statement, it was criticized by such powerful figures as Israeli general Ariel Sharon, who condemned the film for its portrayal of some Israeli soldiers as something less than competent and professional.

The festival resumes on Thursday with two films, “Forever Activists: Stories from the Abraham Lincoln Brigade” and “A Letter to Harvey Milk: Harry Weinberg’s Notebook.” Director Judy Montell will be on hand to discuss her “Abraham Lincoln Brigade,” which was nominated for a 1990 Oscar for best documentary. It chronicles the reunion of the famous brigade, which fought against Franco during the Spanish Civil War.

The inclusion of “A Letter to Harvey Milk,” Yariv Kohn’s 1991 16-millimeter film, will certainly raise a few eyebrows, and it generated some heated discussion among the members of the Jewish Community Center’s organizing committee. It is about an elderly Jewish man who, inspired by his lesbian teacher, writes a long “memorial” letter to slain political and gay leader Milk, discussing his own homosexual experience at a concentration camp, among other things.

In other words, this is not standard community film fest fare. For those who want to explore its themes and nuances further, Kohn is scheduled to be on hand to discuss the film.

The festival continues next Monday with Gail Singer’s “True Confections,” a fairly predictable but light and enjoyable coming-of-age film depicting an 18-year-old girl dealing with her confusion about conservative norms in Winnipeg, Canada. Singer is scheduled to attend.

Far more moving is the festival’s concluding entry, the 1990 Czechoslovakian “The Last Butterfly,” the powerful tale of a French mime who must find the delicate balance between survival and getting along with his Nazi captors and collaborating with the enemy. Tom Courtenay’s poignant performance as the mime, who manages to subtly turn the tables on the Germans, is remarkable, and the inherent sadness and versatility of his distinctive facial features makes this a future classic.

The film’s poignancy will be brought closer to home by the evening’s guest speaker--Dr. Edith Eva Eger, a La Jolla resident, clinical psychologist and Auschwitz survivor.