“The mission of the Israel Film Festival is to spotlight Israel’s thriving film and television industry, to enrich the American vision of Israel’s social and cultural diversity, and to advance tolerance and understanding. In the last two decades, more than 600 films have been enjoyed by over 650,000 film enthusiasts in Los Angeles, Miami, New York.”

“The mission of the Israel Film Festival is to spotlight Israel’s thriving film and television industry, to enrich the American vision of Israel’s social and cultural diversity, and to advance tolerance and understanding. In the last two decades, more than 600 films have been enjoyed by over 650,000 film enthusiasts in Los Angeles, Miami, New York.”

From December 4, 1957, when San Francisco International Film Festival founder Irving Levin kicked off the first International Film Festival, to the upcoming 50th anniversary, numerous people have contributed to the yearly endeavor of planning, producing, and staging what is the annual SFIFF. And this year is no different. Graham Leggat, the executive director of the San Francisco Film Society gives us his take on the thriving and pioneering festival this time around.

Sherby is the type of musician that the industry needs. She writes her own music. She formed her own label. Most impressively, she founded Likwid Joy, a nonprofit devoted to helping underprivileged children by using music as a way to change lives. This career route may never earn a Behind the Music special, but it should earn some well-deserved respect.

The variety of soul, jazz, hip-hop, and dance that they put together in this 56-minute album is impressive but excessive. Livin’ Out Loud is obviously a talented bunch and towers above many in a genre where 12 chapters of “Trapped in the Closet” reside.

These boys from the Garden State are musically talented and have the rock star look. Singer Billy Clifton sounds like he should be ins front of a microphone. They even have their media- friendly factoid with drummer Craig Lawlor’s four-year stint on “As the World Turns,” playing Adam Hughes.

This Yale graduate majored in music perception and cognition, along with psychology and philosophy. She presents a convincing argument as to why people like the music they do—a philosophy that directly reflects her very own, very infectious musical style.

Raun Kaufman, who as a child was diagnosed with sever Autism Spectrum Disorder, and against all odds, his parents invented a radical form of treatment, which caused him to not only stop certain behaviors associated with autism, but to recover completely from the disorder. Over 20 years ago, the best-selling book Son-Rise was written about Raun, and an NBC television movie based on his recovery followed. And now he is the CEO of the Autism Treatment Center of America and is helping countless children recover from the disorder.

Keith Munyan has modeled for 15 years and has been on calendars, appeared on “X-tra,” “Hard Copy,” and “Access Hollywood.” He was featured on Billboards for Bud Light, modeled for Diet Coke, did countless commercials, and was a very successful swimsuit model. With those rugged good looks of his, one would never expect to see him behind the camera.

Marlene Forté has appeared in Lost, The Unit, My Wife and Kids, The George Lopez Show, etc. The film Adrift in Manhattan, where Marlene is featured along with Heather Graham and William Baldwin, recently premiered at Sundance Film Festival. She has produced and starred in several of her own productions, and hers is a face, you will immediately recognize!