PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival is underway for its 41st year, but things are a little different this time around.
The Gershman Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival has a new name — Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media.
"Media, we're using as an umbrella term which encompasses new media, media arts ... really, it's digital storytelling through digitally created content — artistic or otherwise — that is shared and distributed through the internet," explained executive director Kristen Evans.
This year, Evans said PJFM has set up a hybrid model. People can either attend movies in person or watch at home.
"We have a 7-day streaming time frame," she said, "so you'll have seven days to watch a film and we've broken it up into week one and week two."
The new format was something they had been developing since before the pandemic.
"Not just because of technology and new media and things like that, but because of accessibility issues," she shared. "Not everybody can go out to the theater."
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Evans said last year their virtual film festival drew nearly 12,000 visitors. She predicts the virtual aspect is likely here to stay.
But while the mode of exhibition and the name have changed, PJFM's goal is still the same.
"The goal is to share Jewish stories," said Evans. As for what kinds of stories viewers will find this year, she said the topics run the gamut.
"We have a screening committee that is headed up by our executive artistic director and it's months of watching films," Evans explained.
"They're watching hundreds of films and they're really trying to select stories that are the best representatives of where we are in this day and age, and the stories that people feel that need to be showcased and shared."
Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media's Fall Fest runs through November 20.