Israeli director Eran Riklis’s The Human Resources Manager, which won Best Picture at this year’s Israel’s Ophir Awards and was later selected as Israel’s entry for Best Foreign Film for this year’s Oscar, is the opening-night presentation at the 7th Annual Houston Jewish Film Festival. “Okay, there’s a human resources manager in Jerusalem who’s given the task of taking the body of a dead worker back to Eastern Europe,” Riklis told David Poland of moviecitynews.com. “That’s essentially the story. Then it’s all nuance. We’re a generation that comes from trauma, and, traditionally, Israelis have said we have enough news every day, we don’t have to deal with that in cinema. No, we have to go beyond the headlines, beyond what we see on television, and dig in.”

The two-week-long festival also includes such award winners as the WWII immigration documentary Against the Tide; the rollicking movie about the cult klezmer band The Klezmatics; and the Czech thriller Protektor. Riklis’s The Human Resources Manager screens at 7:30 p.m. March 9. Jewish Community Center, 5601 South Braeswood. The festival includes screenings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1001 Bissonnet and Discovery Green, 1500 McKinney. For a full schedule, call 713-729-3200 or visit www.jcchouston.org. $8 to $10.

Wed., March 9, 7:30 p.m., 2011

This article appears in Mar 3-9, 2011.

D.L. Groover has contributed to countless reputable publications including the Houston Press since 2003. His theater criticism has earned him a national award from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia...