April 19th was a good date in Dayton

On April 19th, Aviva attended the closing of the 2016 Dayton Jewish Film Fest with a screening of Rosenwald. This is the third time she has been in Dayton with her films as previously speaking with her movies on Hank Greenberg and Gertrude Berg.

The screening was in honor of the memory of Carole Rabinowitz who, with her husband Bernard, funded Ciesla’s past films. Her memory will live on in her many philanthropic contributions to the Jewish community of Dayton.

After the screening, Aviva attended a discussion on the film with Film Fest Chair Martin Gottlieb.

The 2016 Dayton Jewish Film Fest was presented by the JCC of Greater Dayton. Below is a a picture of Aviva with members of the Rabinowitz family members.

Aviva with the Rabinowitz family

On the road again

On March 31st, Reverend Donrico Colden, who organized the showing of the film in Harrisburg after seeing it in Philadelphia, drove Aviva to Harrisburg, PA for a packed screening of Rosenwald. Rev. Colden and Julie Sherman, Chair of the Harrisburg Jewish Film Festival, introduced Aviva before the film. Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse was in attendance. The next morning, Aviva showed the film for the students at SciTech High as well as some students visiting from The Nativity School of Harrisburg who had come to listen.

Chair Julie Sherman, Mayor Papenfuse, Aviva Kempner, and Rev. Colden

After the Harrisburg screening, Aviva flew out to Washington state for the Seattle Jewish Film Festival on April 3rd, where Rosenwald screened to a warm reception. Aviva was honored with a REAL/REEL Difference Award from the festival, along with the festival’s founder, Deborah Rosen.

Afterwards she flew back to the east coast to Boston, MA for a special event screening on April 5th at Brandeis University. Peter Ascoli, Rosenald’s biographer and grandson, also spoke after the film. Brandeis is also home to the National Center of Jewish Film, who distribute the Rosenwald film and all the films produced by the Ciesla Foundation.

From left to right: Peter Ascoli, Lisa Rivo, Aviva Kempner, Sharon Rivo