Desc: Tijuana Jews: Directed by Isaac Artenstein. Mexican-Jewish director Isaac Artenstein repeatedly experienced reactions of surprise, even disbelief, from many people north of the border: they had no idea there were Jews in Mexico, and especially in Tijuana. Tijuana Jews is an authentic and living testimony set against conceptions and misconceptions of this near-mythic border city. Throughout the early 20th century, thousands of European Jews sailed to America to escape persecution and look for new opportunities. Some arrived in Mexico, and a small group made their way north to Tijuana. The Tijuana Jewish community was established by immigrants and their descendants from Eastern Europe-Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi Jews from countries like Poland, Russia, Lithuania, and Rumania. And also by Sephardic Jews from Turkey, Greece, and the Balkans and by Arabic Jews from Syria and Lebanon. Tijuana Jews illuminates the experiences of local pioneers who established the first Jewish temple in Tijuana and subsequent congregations, including Maguen David, The Hatikvah, and the Centro Social Israelita de Tijuana. For the film's director, Tijuana was also a place for weddings and bar mitzvahs and helping out at his father's store on Revolution Avenue. The first-person narration takes the audience on an intimate journey that builds to a dynamic present that includes the transformation of Tijuana into the busiest border crossing in the world, and the migration of many Tijuana Jewish families to America. Tijuana Jews is a personal exploration of this unique community, which blended Jewish and Mexican cultures and customs in an unlikely place and time.