Nancy Churnin

There's no sugarcoating of the Jewish experience in the 12th Annual International Jewish Film Festival of Dallas, which opens today. Instead, in one of the richest and most varied slates of movies in recent memory, the 11-film series of Dallas premieres, presented by the Jewish Community Center of Dallas, sheds light on the complexity of Jewish life over the years.

It runs the gamut from the funny yet poignant struggles of a Jewish-Muslim couple in the French film Bad Faith to the spiritually and emotionally challenging Secrets, from France and Israel, in which an Orthodox woman struggles with conflicts between religious rules and her gut feelings about right and wrong.

Even the comedy is different, with a documentary, It's Not in Heaven , focusing on a Catholic-born comedian whose act is about why he converted to Judaism three times. Another documentary, The Champagne Spy, offers a searing psychological portrait of a famed Israeli spy that lauds his bravery while delving into his immense personal failings from the point of view of his adult son.

Here's a look at some of the highlights:

(United Kingdom, 2006, 93 mins.)

This autobiographically inspired dramatic comedy from Made of Honor director Paul Weiland is a bittersweet coming of age film in which a lonely boy's plans for a spectacular bar mitzvah go awry. Stick around to see Mr. Weiland's actual home movies at the end to contrast the real people with the splendid actors, including Helena Bonham Carter as the mother and Gregg Sulkin making a memorable film debut as the bar mitzvah boy.

DETAILS: 9 tonight Studio Movie Grill, Royal Lane at North Central Expressway. Includes a dessert reception after the show.

(France and Israel, 2007, 120 mins., in Hebrew and French with English subtitles)

This controversial and challenging film was nominated for eight Israeli film awards. It focuses on a young Orthodox Israeli woman named Naomi, who wins a temporary reprieve from a marriage arranged by her father, a rabbi, to study in a religious school for girls. Once there, she reluctantly teams up with another student to help an impoverished French woman by delivering food. But when the woman begs Naomi for spiritual help, Naomi finds herself questioning her previous certainties about right and wrong. The film addresses adult situations and has nudity and gay themes.

DETAILS: Tuesday at 8 p.m. Angelika Plano, 7205 Bishop Road.

(France, 2006, 88 mins., in French with English subtitles)

Some of this story about an odd couple (Jewish woman, Muslim man) is played for laughs. But there are lots of poignant moments, too, as this couple, who have been keeping their relationship secret from their families, decide to come clean after discovering they are expecting a baby. The film stars the appealing Cécile De France and writer-director Roshdy Zem, who was nominated for a Cesar for best first work.

DETAILS: Thursday at 7 p.m. Studio Movie Grill, Royal Lane at North Central Expressway.

(Israel, 2007, 90 mins., in Hebrew with English subtitles)

In this winner of several Israeli film awards, a Chinese cleaning lady leaves her 6-year-old boy with her Israeli employer, saying she will return in an hour. But she doesn't return. Eventually, Miri, a sad, widowed El Al flight attendant, discovers the woman was deported back to Beijing. Now she must figure out what to do with the child. She could drop him off with an agency, where he would be someone else's problem, or she can try to thwart bureaucrats in both countries to reunite them. As she considers a risky plan that could lead to criminal charges, she confronts the inner fears that have kept her from taking chances in her own life.

DETAILS: Sept. 20 at 9 p.m. Studio Movie Grill, Royal Lane at North Central Expressway

Catch these three documentaries Sept. 14 at the Jewish Community Center:

•It's Not in Heaven (Israel, 2005, 43 mins.): So, what kind of a Jewish name is Yisrael Campbell? It's the name of a man who grew up Catholic, but was so taken with the Jewish faith that he converted three times – in the Reform tradition, then Conservative and finally Orthodox. This currently traveling comic has a lot of funny things to say about his most excellent adventure.

•Steal a Pencil for Me (United States, 2007, 94 mins., in English and Dutch with English subtitles): In this unusual Holocaust story, an unhappily married man falls in love with a young woman he meets at a party. An unlikely romance develops when the man, his wife and the woman end up in the same concentration camp.

•The Champagne Spy (Israel and Germany, 2007, 90 mins., in Hebrew and German with English subtitles): The winner for best documentary at the Israeli Academy Awards offers a deeply nuanced portrait of an Israeli spy who begins to identify too much with the part he plays of a wealthy German horse breeder in Egypt.

DETAILS: It's Not in Heaven at 3 p.m., Steal a Pencil for Me at 4 p.m., The Champagne Spy at 7 p.m. Zale Auditorium at the Jewish Community Center, 7900 Northaven Road in Dallas.

•Refusenik (United Sates, 2007, 120 mins., in English, Russian and Hebrew with English subtitles): The Dallas premiere of this documentary tells the plight of Soviet Jews and how a few stubborn individuals in the United States built a movement that ultimately helped free 1 ½ million people.

DETAILS: Sunday at 7 p.m., Zale Auditorium at the Jewish Community Center, 7900 Northaven Road in Dallas.

•Beaufort (Israel, 2007, 125 mins., in Hebrew with English subtitles): A young Israeli commander and his troops occupy an outpost only to be told to destroy the place they won at great cost. This winner of five Israel film awards was nominated for a best foreign-language film Oscar.

DETAILS: Sept. 13 at 9 p.m., Angelika Plano, 7205 Bishop Road.

•The Galilee Eskimos (Israel, 2007, 96 mins., in Hebrew with English subtitles): Young families at a kibbutz loot and leave the elderly founding members without food or equipment. Refusing to give up on their home, the aging members work to bring the place back to life.

DETAILS: Sept. 16 at 7 p.m., Studio Movie Grill, Royal Lane at North Central Expressway.

•Max Minsky and Me (Germany, 2007, 94 mins., in German with English subtitles): A German Jewish girl would rather pay a local delinquent, Max Minsky, for basketball lessons than study for her bat mitzvah. That's because she wants to make the school team, which will get to meet Prince Edouard of Luxembourg. But things don't go exactly according to plan in this adaptation of a popular children's book.

DETAILS: Sept. 18 at 8 p.m., Angelika Plano, 7205 Bishop Road.

The 12th Annual International Jewish Film Festival of Dallas runs todaythrough Sept. 20. $85 for all 11 films; $10 to $15 for individual films in advance, $12 to $17 at the door. Tickets available at the theaters one hour before showtime or in advance by calling 214-739-2737, visiting www.jccdallas.org or at the JCC front desk at 7900 Northhaven Road in Dallas.