Atlanta Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) today announced a dramatic expansion of 2011 festival dates and venues in response to tremendous audience demand.

The 11th Annual AJFF will be held Feb. 8-27, 2011. This expansion from 12 to 20 days allows AJFF to reach a larger audience, exhibit additional films, offer more repeat screenings of popular titles, and decompress what is currently a densely packed schedule. The shift to February and away from the winter holidays also offers AJFF organizers an extended period of time in which to plan and promote festival programming for the benefit of attendees.

Besides extending the dates, AJFF is pleased to announce the addition of a major new venue: GTC Merchants Walk 12 Cinema in Marietta. With the Georgia Theatre Company hosting screenings at its East Cobb multiplex, AJFF will serve a new and emergent demographic. The East Cobb venue complements the existing AJFF locations: Regal Cinemas Atlantic Station Stadium 16, Lefont Sandy Springs, and Regal Cinemas Medlock Crossing Stadium 18. Details regarding the festival schedule, programming and ticket sales will be announced at a future date.

AJFF Executive Director Kenny Blank explained the changes: "After record attendance at our 10th anniversary festival, we recognized the time had come to scale up AJFF for a new decade. This expansion of dates and venues will translate to richer programming, increased access and an improved festival experience for our patrons. We're thrilled to grow AJFF to meet audience demand, and grateful to receive such enthusiastic support from our theater partners and the Atlanta community."

The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival ranks as the largest film festival in Atlanta and second largest Jewish film festival in the United States. More than 20,000 moviegoers attended the 10th Annual AJFF in January 2010. Another 1,500 patrons attended the AJFF Gala Concert commemorating the festival's 10th anniversary, a first-of-its-kind concert by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra of film scores from Jewish-themed Hollywood classics.

ABOUT THE ATLANTA JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL

Atlanta Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) is a cinematic examination of Jewish life, culture and history, and is produced by the American Jewish Committee, the country's oldest human relations organization, to support its mission of "building bridges of understanding" across community lines. AJFF features an international showcase of some 50 narrative and documentary films that represent a diverse mix of genres and subjects. Film screenings are supplemented by guest speakers to provide a dynamic forum for audience dialogue with filmmakers, academics, authors and other expert panelists. Since its founding in 2000, AJFF has achieved robust growth in attendance, audience diversity, community visibility, quality of programming, and sponsor participation. The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival is a non-profit event, made possible with the generous support of corporate, foundation, government and individual sponsors. For more information, visit http://www.ajff.org/, call 404-806-9913, or join the AJFF Facebook fan club at bit.ly/atljewishfilm.