The 15th annual Pittsburgh Jewish-Israeli Film Festival will present a lively mix of movies dealing with topics ranging from the dean of Pittsburgh's painters and basketball's early years to a prayerful young man with Down syndrome preparing for his bar mitzvah.

The March 27-April 13 event will feature some coveted titles that may be familiar to even casual moviegoers: "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation," a coming-of-age tale set in 1970 Brazil, and "The Band's Visit," about Egyptian musicians stranded in an Israeli desert town.

The festival, opening with "Noodle," will try to reach its widest audience by using eight venues.

Most of the selections will play at the SouthSide Works Cinema but they also will screen at the Manor in Squirrel Hill, Regent Square Theater in Edgewood, Melwood Screening Room in Oakland, Carnegie Mellon's McConomy Auditorium, Galleria in Mt. Lebanon, and Carmike theaters in Cranberry and Greensburg.

Almost all of the two dozen movies will make their Pittsburgh premieres and two will be world premieres. Those will be "Samuel Rosenberg: Pittsburgh's Painter Laureate" by Kenneth Love and "The Hope," spotlighting singer-songwriter Rick Recht.

The festival, a program of the United Jewish Federation, also will feature some special events, including a gala opening night reception, concert, appearances by directors and a New York comedienne and, for one Sunday morning only, bagels.

Last year's event attracted more than 3,200 moviegoers, along with 1,000 students who saw movies for free as part of a "Teen Screen" program.

Although the festival calendar in Pittsburgh gets more crowded by the year, this event brings together the Jewish community and also attracts non-Jews (an estimated 25 percent of the audience).

"I think that's a really important statistic," says Kathryn Spitz Cohan, executive director of the festival.

"These films, so many of them are genuine human-interest stories and that appeals to people. I also feel, with the Middle East conflict -- the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- this is a way to learn something about someone who is not like you in a peaceful manner."

Spitz Cohan and assistant director Suzi Neft work with 25 volunteers on the festival, which will present:

• "Noodle" -- Comic drama, nominated for 10 Awards of the Israeli Film Academy, about an Israeli flight attendant and an abandoned Chinese boy. March 27 at 7 p.m. at SouthSide Works Cinema. Reception follows.

• "Love and Dance" -- The son of an Israeli father and Russian mother throws himself into competitive ballroom dancing to pursue his dream girl. March 29 at 8:45 p.m. at SouthSide Works Cinema. Repeats March 30 at 7 p.m. at Galleria.

• "Steal a Pencil for Me" -- Documentary about a Dutch accountant who ends up in a concentration camp with his wife ... and girlfriend, which is why the besotted couple write love letters. March 30 at 1 p.m. at Manor.

• "The Galilee Eskimos" -- Senior citizens living on a kibbutz join forces to keep their home from being turned into a casino. March 30 at 3:30 p.m. at Manor.

• "Max Minsky and Me" -- Inspired by the novel "Prince William, Maximilian Minsky and Me," this family comedy from Germany is about a 13-year-old juggling boys, basketball, her bat mitzvah and a crush on fellow astronomy fan Edouard, prince of Luxembourg. March 30 at 7:30 p.m. at Manor. Repeats March 31 at 7 p.m. at Galleria and April 2 at 7 p.m. at Cranberry 8.

• "Someone to Run With" -- Adaptation of David Grossman's novel of the same name, about a shy 17-year-old looking for the owner of a lost dog and finding a hidden world. March 30 at 6:30 p.m. at CMU's McConomy Auditorium.

• "The Champagne Spy" -- Award-winning documentary about a Mossad undercover agent who swore his 12-year-old son to secrecy. That boy, now a middle-age man, tells his father's and family's story. March 31 at 7:30 p.m. at SouthSide Works.

• "Knowledge Is the Beginning" -- Music bridges the divide between Jews and Arabs in this movie about the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, formed in 1999. Presentation by Impact Games follows. April 1 at 7 p.m. at SouthSide Works.

• "Making Trouble" -- Six comediennes -- Molly Picon, Fanny Brice, Sophie Tucker, Joan Rivers, Wendy Wasserstein and Gilda Radner -- are at the center of this documentary. Preceded by New York performer Marion Grodin, daughter of actor Charles Grodin. April 3 at 7:30 p.m. at SouthSide Works.

• "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation" -- When a 12-year-old boy's parents are forced to go underground in 1970, he ends up in the care of his grandfather's elderly Jewish neighbor in Sao Paulo. A crowd-pleaser that might be the "get" of the festival. April 5 at 8:45 p.m. at SouthSide Works.

• "Bad Faith" -- A four-year carefree relationship between a Jewish woman and Muslim man takes a serious turn when she gets pregnant in this French film. April 5 at 9 p.m. at SouthSide Works.

• "Praying With Lior" -- This audience favorite at other Jewish festivals is a documentary about a young man with Down syndrome named Lior Liebling preparing for his bar mitzvah. His grandparents are Pittsburghers. April 6 at 10:30 a.m. at SouthSide Works (if you want a breakfast bagel with your movie, RSVP to phone number below).

• "Aviva, My Love" -- Asi Levi plays an overwhelmed hotel cook who secretly longs to be a writer in this big winner at the 2006 Israeli awards. April 6 at 1 p.m. at SouthSide Works.

• "Constantine's Sword" -- Documentary tracing former Catholic priest James Carroll's journey to confront his past and uncover the roots of religious-inspired violence and war. April 6 at 4 p.m. at SouthSide Works.

• "My Mexican Shiva" -- A wacky look at a patriarch through his death, shiva and his extended, dysfunctional family. With score by Klezmatics. April 6 at 7 p.m. at SouthSide Works.

• "Bittersweet" -- A contemporary look at modern-day life, with all its complications, in Tel Aviv. Director Doron Benvenisti to speak. April 7 at 7 p.m. at SouthSide Works.

• "The First Basket" -- Actor Peter Riegert narrates this look at the intertwined histories of basketball and Jewish athletes. April 8 at 7 p.m. at SouthSide Works.

• "She's Got It" -- Israeli comedy about three women who overhear a scheme to rob a bank and hatch one of their own. April 8 at 7:30 p.m. at SouthSide Works.

• "Arranged" -- Two first-year teachers in Brooklyn, one an Orthodox Jew and the other a Muslim, discover they have much in common, including arranged marriages. Co-director Diane Crespo to speak. April 9 at 7 p.m. at SouthSide Works.

• "Nina's Home" -- Nina (Agnes Jaoui) is the director of a children's shelter in France at the end of World War II. The young charges still believe their parents will return until a group of concentration camp survivors move in, bringing stories of the Holocaust with them. April 10 at 7 p.m. at Carmike 15 at Westmoreland Mall, Greensburg. Repeats April 13 at 1 p.m. at SouthSide Works.

• "Sixty Six" -- A boy's bar mitzvah coincides with the final match of the World Cup in this coming-of-age tale set in 1966 England and featuring Helena Bonham Carter as his mother. April 10 at 7:30 p.m. at SouthSide Works.

• "The Band's Visit" -- An Egyptian band gets lost in rural Israel in a warm-hearted story about cross-cultural relations. First shown during the Three Rivers Film Festival and returning to Pittsburgh Filmmakers. April 12 at 9 p.m. at Regent Square Theater.

• "Samuel Rosenberg: Pittsburgh's Painter Laureate" -- Filmmaker Kenneth Love uses reminiscences by family members, interviews with scholars and former students, plus rare home movies, to tell the story of the celebrated artist and teacher who died in 1972. Love and Rosenberg's family to appear, reception to follow. April 13 at 4 p.m. at SouthSide Works.

• "The Hope" -- Film about Rick Recht, who put Jewish rock on the map, plus a concert with the musician. April 13 at 7 p.m. at Filmmakers' Melwood Screening Room.

Although higher prices apply for the opening night festivities and two special events, most tickets are $8 for general admission; $7 for patrons 65 and over; $6 for groups of 12-plus, purchased in advance; and $5 for students with valid IDs.

For tickets, call 412-992-5203 or go to www.ujfpittsburgh.org/filmfestival (purchases are not processed on Saturday and Sunday). The Web site also has information about additional festival sponsors.

You can also pay cash at the box office 30 minutes before showtime. The phone number also will provide up-to-date information on sold-out events.