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Country Categories Genre-Subject Venue
Abortion: Stories Women Tell
Award-winning filmmaker and Missouri native Tracy Droz Tragos, director of the Sundance Grand Jury Award–winning documentary Rich Hill and Emmy-winning Be Good Smile Pretty confronts the power of Missouri’s restrictive abortion laws by sensitively telling the intimate stories of women who must surmount every obstacle to access abortion. This timely and relevant film reveals the ultimate connection between the right to choose and the right to live a fully empowered life.
—Lexi Leban
Fri, Jul 29, 2016 1:25 PM
Aida's Secrets
Two brothers, Izak and Shepsel, were born in a displaced persons camp after World War II. They lived their entire lives in the shadow of secrets kept from them by the people closest to them. The brothers were separated as babies, neither was told the other existed. An investigation into the mysterious history of their birth family led to an amazing reunion after six decades. The film offers a rare glimpse into the displaced persons camps in post World War II Germany, showing the vibrant and sometime wild social life that flourished among the young survivors. This period has hardly been dealt with on the screen until now.
Fri, Jul 22, 2016 12:00 PM Fri, Aug 5, 2016 2:05 PM
And Then, Violence
After recent Paris terror attacks, and in an increasingly violent and anti-Semitic atmosphere, a young secular Jewish law student questions whether she has become a target in the country she so dearly loves.
Arc of Justice
In 1968 a group of civil rights leaders flew to Israel to study land-based cooperative living and created New Communities, one of the largest Black-owned land trusts in America. This film follows the opposition they faced and the victories they achieved toward economic self-sufficiency in the wake of Jim Crow segregation.
—Zoe Pollak
Directors Helen Cohen and Mark Lipman in person.
Art and Heart: The World of Isaiah Sheffer
Art and Heart, Catherine Tambini’s spirited documentary celebrates the life of Isaiah Sheffer, the founding artistic director of Symphony Space and host of Selected Shorts on public radio who inspired everyone from Leonard Nimoy to Stephen Colbert. Paired with Making Morning Star. Academy Award–nominated filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar’s intimate documentary relates the creation of Morning Star, a new opera by composer Ricky Ian Gordon as he brings 11 years of ideation to life.
—Neha Talreja
Preceded by Making Morning Star
Wed, Jul 27, 2016 3:20 PM Thu, Jul 28, 2016 1:30 PM Fri, Jul 29, 2016 1:40 PM
Audrie & Daisy
Fifteen-year-old Audrie Pott in Saratoga, California, and 14-year-old Daisy Coleman in Maryville, Missouri never met. What connects them is the sexual violence and humiliation they suffered in unrelated incidents from groups of boys who got them drunk, assaulted them and posted their actions on the internet. Thanks to probing interviews with strikingly perceptive subjects, this film provides unflinching insight into the entitlement that leads to the condoning of sexual violence.
—Zoe Pollak
Screened at 2016 Sundance Film Festival
Fri, Jul 29, 2016 8:50 PM Fri, Aug 5, 2016 4:10 PM
Baba Joon
Israel’s submission to the 2015 Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film surprises in many ways. For starters, the screenplay is almost entirely in Farsi, not Hebrew. The semi-autobiographical feature film debut from writer/director Yuval Delshad depicts three generations in the Morgian family, Persian immigrants from Iran to Israel eking out a living as rural turkey farmers. Sensitive performances, gentle pacing and refreshing plot twists combine to weave a richly satisfying story.
—Emily Kaiser Thelin
Sat, Jul 23, 2016 1:50 PM Mon, Jul 25, 2016 8:20 PM Sat, Jul 30, 2016 2:10 PM Sat, Aug 6, 2016 2:05 PM
Bacon & God's Wrath
A 90-year-old Jewish woman reflects on her life’s experiences as she prepares to taste bacon for the first time.
Sundance Jury Award, Best Short Documentary
The Bentwich Syndrome
Humorously examining Anglo-Jewish life of the 19th and 20th centuries, directors Gur Bentwich and Maya Kenig embark on a road trip to dissect the origins of their family. An array of aunts and cousins hold court, as well as long-departed Bentwiches, who come to life through zany Monty Python-esque animation. In the end, we become Bentwiches-by-proxy, crammed into the back seat of the family car, enjoying the ride.
—Alexis Whitman
Preceded by Spring Chicken, Dir. Tamir Elterman.
Mon, Jul 25, 2016 1:20 PM Fri, Jul 29, 2016 11:50 AM
Blush
Seventeen-year-old Naama is thoroughly bored with her overbearing family and uneventful suburban school days. That is until bleached-blonde bad girl Dana shows up with her flirtatious smile and a bag of weed. But while Naama is both partying hard and falling hard for Dana, her sister goes missing, and the whole family is deeply rattled. Blush is a portrait of modern Israel through the eyes of the youth who are pushing the boundaries.
—Alexis Whitman
Sun, Jul 24, 2016 8:50 PM Sat, Aug 6, 2016 8:55 PM Sun, Aug 7, 2016 8:20 PM
Class Divide
One-hundred-fifteen steps is all that separates a public housing complex from a private school for Manhattan’s elite. Class Divide shines a light on people who live a stone’s throw apart but inhabit completely different worlds. Despite grim statistics about poverty, the film is imbued with optimism as it shares stories from both sides of the street and finds common ground in the hopes and dreams of young people and their families.
—Stephanie Rapp
Fri, Jul 29, 2016 6:40 PM
Disturbing The Peace
This inspiring documentary finds a spirit of compassion and empathy in an unexpected place: among combatants from both sides of the Israeli/Palestinian divide. Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters come together to form Combatants for Peace, a nonviolent group that uses dialogue, theater and art to try to end the conflict. Disturbing the Peace doesn’t shy away from harsh realities and, somehow, still leaves you inspired.
—Tamar Fox
Director Stephen Apkon in person
Preceded by Hitchhikers, Dir. Yair Agmon
Tue, Jul 26, 2016 11:45 AM Mon, Aug 1, 2016 1:15 PM
False Flag
Not since Prisoners of War has there been such a provocative, nail-biting espionage thriller on Israeli TV. In False Flag five Israeli citizens wake up one morning to discover that they are suspects in the kidnapping of the Iranian minister of defense. The five become wanted and news coverage turns their world upside down. Their attempts to deny involvement are in vain. Even their loved ones question, could they be guilty?
—Lexi Leban
Sat, Jul 23, 2016 8:30 PM Sat, Jul 30, 2016 6:50 PM Sun, Jul 31, 2016 6:30 PM Sat, Aug 6, 2016 6:30 PM
Fever At Dawn
A Swedish refugee camp doctor gives Holocaust survivor Miklós six months to live. But the young man refuses to die before meeting the love of his life. He sends letters to 117 Hungarian women in sex-segregated camps throughout Sweden. The response of 19-year old Lilli captures his heart and his imagination. Péter Gárdos’s romantic drama, based upon his novel of his parents’ post-Holocaust courtship creates indelible images of heartbreak and hope.
—Sara L. Rubin
Tue, Jul 26, 2016 8:55 PM Thu, Jul 28, 2016 3:45 PM Fri, Jul 29, 2016 9:00 PM
For The Love of Spock
“Live long and prosper.” It’s impossible not to cherish those famous words spoken by the beloved half-human Vulcan. Leonard Nimoy, the man behind the pointy ears, left an indelible mark as an artist and as a mensch. Featuring clips from Nimoy’s career and inspiring interviews with the Star Trek cast, director Adam Nimoy has crafted a loving tribute to not only his father, but also to the man we know as Mr. Spock.
—Joshua Moore
Sun, Jul 31, 2016 7:45 PM Mon, Aug 1, 2016 8:30 PM
Freedom to Marry, The
What’s the definition of a mensch? After watching this inspiring documentary, you’ll have a two-word answer: Evan Wolfson. Founder of the advocacy group Freedom to Marry and the acknowledged “godfather” of the marriage equality movement, Wolfson’s 30-year struggle to bring about justice for millions of gays and lesbians is the heart of this fascinating history that retraces the circuitous path towards legalizing same-sex marriage in the United States.
—Peter L. Stein
Fri, Jul 29, 2016 3:50 PM Wed, Aug 3, 2016 8:35 PM
A German Life
From 1942 until the end of the war, Brunhilde Pomsel worked as a stenographer for Joseph Goebbels, the infamous Nazi minister of propaganda. Now 105 years old, she is the last living witness to have seen the machinations of Nazi power from the inside. With her face in close-up, she recounts her past with lucidity and forces us to ask the timely question, “What would I have done in this situation?”
—Jay Rosenblatt
Sun, Jul 24, 2016 12:15 PM Mon, Jul 25, 2016 3:15 PM Sun, Aug 7, 2016 2:15 PM
Germans and Jews
This thoughtful documentary is a subtle examination of the history of Germany’s postwar Jewish population and of the fraught and fragile relations between Jews and non-Jews. Structured around a dinner party attended by Germans and Jews—some of whom were born in Germany, some who are “Germans by choice”—the film negotiates sensitive questions of memory, guilt, identity and redemption with grace and aplomb while giving access to both sides of a crucial historical dialogue.
—Seth Barron
*SJM: Single Jewish Mom Free Screening
Sat, Jul 23, 2016 12:00 PM Thu, Jul 28, 2016 12:00 PM Tue, Aug 2, 2016 4:40 PM
A Grain of Truth
In this riveting thriller, a woman in a small Polish village is murdered with a knife used for Jewish ritual slaughter. Prosecutor Teodor Szacki (Robert Wieckiewicz, Little Rose, SFJFF 2010) is called in on the case and soon uncovers a town full of deeply rooted anti-Semitism. Based on a best-selling crime novel, this gripping film, which feels like a Polish version of Seven, will keep you glued to your seat until the last frame.
—Tamar Fox
Mon, Jul 25, 2016 1:40 PM Fri, Aug 5, 2016 8:50 PM
Holy Zoo
In Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo, Israelis and Palestinians work alongside one another to tend to the zoo’s elephants, crocodiles and rhinos. Inevitably, tensions within and across animal species reflect themselves in the mostly good-natured, always edgy interactions between employees, who lead regular tours of Muslim and Jewish schoolchildren through the zoo’s grounds. Katharina Waisburd’s keen eye results in an unforgettable lens into the current conflict in the Holy Land. Preceded by The Mute’s House.
—Zoe Pollak
Wed, Jul 27, 2016 12:50 PM Thu, Jul 28, 2016 4:10 PM Fri, Jul 29, 2016 4:05 PM
Home Movie
Told through 8mm and 16mm home movies found after being stored in a wardrobe for over 50 years, this intimate family story hints at something unspoken: snatches of tales of those left behind, of silence about the past, of absences unexplained, of non-existent family members.
Hounds
After 16 years as a disaffected museum guard, Iris is finally offered a promotion. A careless mistake with a priceless work of art, however, forces her to decide how far she is willing to go to secure her rise up the social ladder.
How to Win Enemies
Take a classic Woody Allen–style antihero, add Alfred Hitchcock–level intrigue and a strong dose of Argentine sex appeal, and you have this comic, poignant and smart feature. Director Gabriel Lichtmann shows the complicated family relations of Lucas, a young Buenos Aires Jewish lawyer and a mystery buff (he even has a dog named Sherlock) as he solves the mystery of who conned him out of a down payment on a house.
—Emily Kaiser Thelin
Wed, Jul 27, 2016 6:00 PM Thu, Jul 28, 2016 6:30 PM Sun, Aug 7, 2016 8:45 PM
Hummus! The Movie
Where can you find the best hummus in the world? From Suheila, a single Muslim woman who is known for her legendary hummus, to Jalil, a Christian Arab hipster in Ramle who runs his father’s hummus joint, to Eliyahu, a born-again Orthodox Jew who owns a hummus restaurant chain, this fun and fascinating film about the highly competitive hummus restaurant business in Israel shows how powerful this chickpea spread can be.
—Tamar Fox
Sat, Jul 23, 2016 12:30 PM Sun, Jul 24, 2016 10:30 AM Fri, Aug 5, 2016 12:15 PM
I, Dalio-Or, The Rules of the Game
The great French actor, Marcel Dalio (Renoir’s Grand Illusion), made a career in French cinema of playing shady characters and small-time crooks: informers, blackmailers and gangsters. In other words, the stereotypical Jew. Landing in American cinema after fleeing the Nazis, he was no longer “the Jew,” but now “the Frenchman.” Filmmaker Mark Rappaport presents us with two Dalios, or are they the same?
In Search of Israeli Cuisine
Renowned chef Michael Solomonov explores a diverse world of food drawn from more than 100 cultures. Chefs, farmers, vintners, cheese makers and home cooks discuss their roots and show specialties that both preserve and update traditional recipes using global inspiration. Uniquely and lovingly prepared shakshuka, boreka, maqluba, couscous and a kugel that challenges expectations are just a few of the irresistible dishes featured. Warning: This movie will make you hungry!
Sat, Jul 23, 2016 3:50 PM Sun, Jul 24, 2016 2:15 PM Sat, Jul 30, 2016 12:00 PM Fri, Aug 5, 2016 4:20 PM
Indignation
The award-winning writer and producer James Schamus (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain) crafts a poignant and faithful adaptation of Philip Roth’s Indignation as his directorial debut. Hailed by Roth himself as the best film adaptation of his work, Indignation is a moving portrait of Marcus Messner, the son of a Kosher butcher who sets off for college in 1950’s Ohio and finds his atheist self at odds with its Christian Midwestern culture.
- Lexi Leban
Screened at 2016 Sundance Film Festival
Jews in Shorts: Docs (2016)
True life characters are often more compelling than fictional ones. A filmmaker’s childhood image from a forgotten home movie; a 90-year-old ready to eat bacon for the first time; a violinist parting with his sacred instrument, which changes the life of a 12-year-old schoolgirl; a legendary actor with dual identities, French and Jewish. These are subjects of this year's emotionally compelling documentary shorts program.
- Joshua Moore
Wed, Jul 27, 2016 1:50 PM Sat, Aug 6, 2016 12:20 PM
Jews in Shorts: Narratives (2016)
Comedy and drama can be found in many places: early ’90s New York, an Israeli drone control center, Paris in the aftermath of the recent terror attacks, Central Park invaded by a 20-piece marching band and an Israeli modern art museum. These are the diverse settings of this year’s dynamic and provocative narrative shorts program where the stories unfold in the most surprising of ways.
- Joshua Moore
Wannabe 16'
Operator 15'
And Then, Violence 15'
What Cheer 17'
Hounds 28'
Thu, Jul 28, 2016 11:30 AM Sat, Aug 6, 2016 4:25 PM
Joe’s Violin
Joseph Feingold, a Polish Holocaust survivor donates the violin he’s had for 70 years to a local instrument drive, changing the life of a 12-year-old schoolgirl from the nation’s poorest congressional district and unexpectedly, his own.
Joshy
After his engagement falls apart on the evening of his birthday, Joshy’s (Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley) best buddies rally together to pull off a much-needed guys-only weekend for their grieving friend. As the partying heats up, Joshy and company continue to distract themselves from their troubles until they finally have to confront the elephant in the room: their feelings. Male bonding has never been more complex . . . and comically awkward.
- Joshua Moore
Screened at 2016 Sundance Film Festival
After the screening of Joshy, Next Wave passholders are welcome to join director Jeff Baena and invited talent from the film for a reception on the Castro mezzanine.
Thu, Jul 28, 2016 8:30 PM
Keep Quiet
Extreme in his anti-Semitic beliefs and denial of the Holocaust, Csanád Szegedi rose up through the ranks to a leading position in Hungary’s far-right Jobbik Party, and became a member of the European Parliament. At the height of his political career, documentation surfaced showing that Szegedi’s maternal grandparents were Jewish. In a stunning about-face, Szegedi chose to explore his Jewish roots, study Judaism and make a trip to Auschwitz with Holocaust survivors.
—Sara L. Rubin
Sat, Jul 30, 2016 4:40 PM Wed, Aug 3, 2016 6:30 PM
Koudelka Shooting Holy Land
Award-winning Magnum photographer Josef Koudelka captures within the frame of his lens how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has changed the landscape of the Holy Land. This documentary shows the man behind the camera, one who is relentless in pursuit of his craft but increasingly dismayed at seeing a land that is holy to multiple faiths disfigured by the erection of walls, barricades and security checkpoints. Preceded by The Man Who Shot Hollywood.
—Mark Valentine
Mon, Jul 25, 2016 4:00 PM Sun, Jul 31, 2016 1:55 PM
The Last Laugh
The Last Laugh explores the role of humor and its limitations in confronting tragic events, including the Holocaust. It is a journey across a comedic landscape marked by speed bumps, caution signs and potholes big enough to swallow a clown car. Comedic giants like Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner and Sarah Silverman will leave you laughing and appreciating the importance of humor even in the face of events that make you want to cry.
- Mark Valentine
Sat, Jul 30, 2016 7:10 PM Sun, Jul 31, 2016 2:55 PM
Left On Purpose
Justin Schein originally set out to make a standard documentary on former Yippie activist Mayer Vishner. But in the middle of shooting, Vishner made it clear he had a different plan. The film ends with his last political act: his exit from this world. Schein’s dilemma becomes the film’s new narrative, as he goes from documentarian to friend to one of Vishner’s last caretakers, ultimately making him complicit in the death of his subject.
—Neha Talreja
Winner of the Audience Award at DOC NYC Festival 2015.
Wed, Jul 27, 2016 3:50 PM Sat, Aug 6, 2016 2:25 PM
Making Morning Star
Academy Award–nominated filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar present engaging documentary about the creation of a new opera, Morning Star. This intimate look into the artistic process introduces composer Ricky Ian Gordon as he attempts to bring 11 years of ideation to life. With the help of librettist William M. Hoffman and stage director Ron Daniels, conservatory students fill out a 10-day workshop cast with hopes of turning a fragmented work into full-blown operatic magic. Artists and admirers alike will take away a new appreciation for the joys and challenges of process and creation.
—Neha Talreja
Directors Julia Reichert and Steve Bogner in person in San Francisco and Berkeley
The Man Who Shot Hollywood
Few have heard of Jack Pashkovsky. This unassuming Russian Jewish émigré parlayed his love for movies into becoming the self-appointed, unpaid chronicler of Hollywood royalty during the 1930s and ’40s with his relaxed, un-glam portraits. Before there were paparazzi, let alone Instagram and selfie sticks, there was Pashkovsky.
—Mark Valentine
Mountain
This haunting debut feature from Israeli director Yaelle Kayam explores religious themes in a tale of a young woman’s struggle to find herself. It depicts an Orthodox woman suffering in a loveless marriage, searching for companionship amidst the tombstones, pimps and prostitutes of Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives. Even as the plot turns dark, actress Shani Klein (Zero Motivation, SFJFF 2014) imbues the character Tsiva with an unforgettable tenderness.
—Emily Kaiser Thelin
Wed, Jul 27, 2016 8:55 PM Thu, Jul 28, 2016 8:55 PM Sun, Aug 7, 2016 6:45 PM
Mr. Gaga
Inspiring and tough, charismatic yet prickly, Ohad Naharin is Mr. Gaga, Israel’s rock star choreographer and the artistic director of the Batsheva Dance Company. He is the subject of this exciting new documentary from returning SFJFF favorite, Tomer Heymann. Naharin invented his own playful style of movement called Gaga and returned to Israel to create some of the most provocative and physically demanding choreography of the 21st century. Winner, Audience Award, SXSW 2016.
—Tien-Tien L. Jong
Audience Award, SXSW 2016
Sat, Jul 30, 2016 11:30 AM Sun, Jul 31, 2016 11:30 AM
The Mute's House
An intimate look into the lives of energetic eight-year-old Yousef and his deaf mother, Sahar, the last Palestinian residents of a deserted apartment building in the Israeli-controlled district of Hebron.
Natasha
Jewish Canadian writer David Bezmozgis directs his acclaimed short story of forbidden teenage love between Mark, a Toronto slacker and his troubled Russian cousin by marriage. Bezmozgis’s highly provocative and deeply poignant coming-of-age drama features the extraordinarily measured performances of Alex Ozerov as Mark and newcomer Sasha K. Gordon as the sexually precocious Natasha, the dark star who forever alters Mark’s staid, suburban existence.
—Thomas Logoreci
Tue, Jul 26, 2016 6:20 PM Wed, Jul 27, 2016 7:50 PM Fri, Jul 29, 2016 6:25 PM Sat, Aug 6, 2016 8:30 PM
A New Color: The Art of Being Edythe Boone
Bay Area artist and civil rights activist Edythe “Edy” Boone is a sprightly septuagenarian who seems only to gain energy over the years. Since she was a girl, this celebrated muralist (i.e. the San Francisco Women’s Building) has aspired “to develop a new color no one has seen in life.” Her unflagging drive and determination are captured by Berkeley filmmaker Mo Morris in this film’s every frame. Preceded by Arc of Justice.
—Zoe Pollak
Fri, Jul 29, 2016 11:00 AM Thu, Aug 4, 2016 1:50 PM
Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
Norman Lear wrote, produced, created, and developed more than a hundred television shows. His legendary body of work includes such iconic programs as: All in the Family; Maude; Good Times; The Jeffersons; and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. Now about to turn 94, this Jewish World War II veteran is the focus of the documentary Norman Lear: Another Version of You and the author of an autobiography, Even This I Get to Experience. The Festival is honored to present this year’s Freedom of Expression Award to Norman Lear, the television pioneer and founder of the advocacy organization, People for the American Way, whose passionate, inspiring involvement may be needed now more than ever.
—Lexi Leban
Screened at Sundance 2016
Sun, Jul 24, 2016 3:15 PM Mon, Jul 25, 2016 6:15 PM Sun, Aug 7, 2016 2:10 PM
On the Map
Led by the magnetic Tal Brody, the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team, a combination of NBA also-rans and Israeli players, rallied a nation in its David-and-Goliath pursuit of the 1977 European Championship. Director Dani Menkin presents the context for what was a much-needed morale boost amid Israel’s sagging economy, the lingering sorrow of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre and the battle-weariness in the wake of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
—Sara L. Rubin
Sat, Jul 23, 2016 6:15 PM Sun, Jul 24, 2016 6:30 PM Sun, Aug 7, 2016 4:40 PM
One Week and A Day
When Eyal (Shai Avivi, Sweet Mud, SFJFF 2007) finishes the week of mourning for his late son, his wife (Evgenia Dodina, Invisible, SFJFF 2011) urges him to return to their routine but instead he chooses to gets high with his young slacker neighbor. The two misfits embark on a tragicomical journey to discover that there are still things worth living for in Eyal's life. Director Asaph Polonsky's debut feature offers a humorous and moving depiction of grief and whatever comes next.
Winner, International Critic's Week, Cannes Film Festival 2016
- Joshua Moore
Mon, Jul 25, 2016 9:00 PM
Operator
A single mom works as a human drone operator, killing people on a daily basis in order to make a living. How much of that spills into her home life?
Origin of Violence
Nathan Fabre, a teacher in a French-German school, is working on his thesis about the French Resistance during World War II. During a research trip to Buchenwald, he finds a photo of a prisoner with an uncanny resemblance to his father. When his father ignores his queries, Nathan pursues the matter himself, and his research becomes much more than academic, complicated further by his romance with a young German woman.
—Sara L. Rubin
Fri, Jul 22, 2016 6:30 PM Tue, Jul 26, 2016 8:35 PM Fri, Aug 5, 2016 9:20 PM Sat, Aug 6, 2016 6:30 PM
The People Vs. Fritz Bauer
In late 1950s Germany attorney general Fritz Bauer (played by The White Ribbon’s lauded Burghart Klaussner) is intent on bringing the infamous Nazi Adolf Eichmann to trial. This riveting historical thriller chronicles the hindrances and the potentially mortal dangers Bauer faces as a closeted gay Jewish lawyer working alongside men in the government who can bring criminals like Eichmann to justice but who ultimately have the power to conceal their own Nazi pasts.
—Zoe Pollak
Screened at Berlinale 2016
Sat, Jul 23, 2016 6:30 PM Tue, Jul 26, 2016 6:15 PM Fri, Aug 5, 2016 6:30 PM Sat, Aug 6, 2016 4:10 PM
Rabin in his Own Words
This examination of the life and times of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is constructed largely from archival footage, photographs and interviews, from Rabin’s early days to his tragic death. Director Erez Laufer (One Day After Peace, SFJFF 2012) takes us from Rabin’s childhood, through his experience fighting in three wars, to his assassination, and reminds us of the possibility for peace that remains for those who want it.
—Seth Barron
Fri, Jul 22, 2016 4:15 PM Sun, Jul 24, 2016 12:00 PM Wed, Aug 3, 2016 4:15 PM
Robert Klein Still Can't Stop His Leg
Like Richard Pryor and George Carlin, he influenced a slew of the next generation of comics, and Robert Klein is still really funny! Klein is shown in his daily routines, providing a privileged look at the great comedian as he jokes about everyday life. Klein appeared on the Tonight Show and Letterman more than 100 times and hosted the third Saturday Night Live, appearing in the famous cheeseburger sketch. His spot-on impression of Rodney Dangerfield and his meeting with Don Rickles are some of the many highlights. Interviews with Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart and Bill Maher, as well as clips from some of Klein’s seminal routines, round out this delightful portrait.
—Jay Rosenblatt
Mon, Jul 25, 2016 6:30 PM
Sand Storm
Layla, a teenager in a Bedouin village in South Israel has a cell phone, drives a car, and has a secret boyfriend at the college she is attending. She watches from a distance as her mother accepts her father’s second wife into their family, prompting questions about her own future. This stunning first feature by Israeli director Elite Zexer sympathetically captures the struggle between tradition and modernity in the beautifully stark Negev desert landscape.
- Lexi Leban
Winner, World Cinema Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival 2016
Fri, Jul 22, 2016 8:55 PM Sun, Jul 24, 2016 8:45 PM Tue, Aug 2, 2016 8:25 PM
Screenagers
Are your kids scrolling through life, missing out on a childhood filled with imagination and outdoor adventure? Are you multitasking on your device, half listening to your child talk about his or her day? You are not alone. In Screenagers, filmmaker Delaney Ruston examines the impact of digital devices on our lives and the fraught household negotiations taking place around them. Screenagers will be followed by bagels and a post-film discussion.
—Lexi Leban
Sun, Jul 31, 2016 10:30 AM
The Settlers
In a comprehensive and compelling retelling, award-winning Israeli filmmaker, Shimon Dotan (Smile of the Lamb, SJFFF 1986) traces with remarkable access the history of Israeli settlements in the West Bank since Israel’s decisive victory in the 1967 Six Day War. Using archival footage of the religious zealots and interviews with a diverse range of modern-day settlers, Dotan weaves together the story that entangles the destinies of Israel and the Palestinian people.
—Janis Plotkin
Screened at Sundance Film Festival 2016
Tue, Jul 26, 2016 3:50 PM Sat, Jul 30, 2016 4:15 PM Sun, Jul 31, 2016 12:00 PM Sun, Aug 7, 2016 12:00 PM
Shtisel: Season 2
Shtisel is a family melodrama that looks like Modern Family put on a kippah and went to Jerusalem. This melodrama returns to SFJFF for its second season. The critical and commercial success combines Haredi traditions and popular television tropes. Season 2 again follows the Shtisel clan as they navigate adolescence, engagement, sibling ties and death. Whether for romantic, religious or family reasons, Shtisel appeals to fans of love across all ages.
—Maya Lekach
Fri, Jul 22, 2016 2:05 PM Sat, Jul 23, 2016 2:20 PM Thu, Aug 4, 2016 4:20 PM Fri, Aug 5, 2016 2:10 PM
Song of Songs
Ukraine, 1905. Ten-year-old Shimek tells his darling Buzya fairy tales of the faraway, imprisoned Tsarevna, as their dreams of inhabiting a larger world beyond the shtetl blend with the first stirrings of young love. An inspired adaptation of the iconic stories from Sholem Aleichem’s Tevye the Dairyman (which also served as the source material for Fiddler on the Roof), a sense of wonder vibrates through the artfully composed Tarkovsky-like images of Hasidic village life.
—Tien-Tien L. Jong
Wed, Jul 27, 2016 12:00 PM Wed, Aug 3, 2016 2:05 PM
Spring Chicken
Anny, a 94-year-old Holocaust survivor, loves dressing up for the Jewish holiday Purim. She is the champion of her Israeli retirement home’s costume contest since she moved in three years ago. Anny survived Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and lost her parents in Auschwitz. This year, she decides to dress up as a chicken.
Streit's: Matzo and the American Dream
Just as its iconic pink box has graced Passover seder tables for generations of American Jews, so, too, Streit’s matzo factory has stood for some 80 years on the Lower East Side. For many Jews, a family business has been a way to make a living and a way to ensure that the next generation could do better. This is all challenged by the need for modernity, the pressures of foreign competition and enticing real estate offers.
—Sara L. Rubin
Tue, Jul 26, 2016 2:10 PM Thu, Jul 28, 2016 1:50 PM Tue, Aug 2, 2016 2:40 PM
A Tale of Love and Darkness
Natalie Portman makes her directorial feature debut with an adaptation of Amos Oz’s internationally acclaimed autobiographical novel A Tale of Love and Darkness. Set during the birth of Israel, the film examines suffering even after salvation. At its core, Amos’s story is about his relationship with his tragic, complicated mother, portrayed by Portman. Determined to make the film in Hebrew, Portman took eight years to write the script and find funding. The result is a beautiful rendering of the bestseller.
—Neha Talreja
Sat, Jul 23, 2016 8:50 PM Thu, Aug 4, 2016 6:30 PM
The Tenth Man
Ariel lives in New York, far from the lively Jewish district in Buenos Aires where he grew up. But when his father summons him back home for help, Ariel reluctantly returns. The Tenth Man is a kindhearted comedy with a gentle romantic touch. Director Daniel Burman (All In, SFJFF 2012) joyfully upends the old adage that you can never go home again and instead says, maybe under the right circumstances, you can.
—Jay Rosenblatt
Thu, Jul 21, 2016 6:30 PM Sun, Jul 24, 2016 4:55 PM Tue, Aug 2, 2016 6:30 PM Sun, Aug 7, 2016 6:25 PM
There Are Jews Here
This quirky and poignant documentary examines the challenges of Jewish life in small-town America. Focusing on four tiny Jewish communities, directors Brad Lichtenstein and Morgan Elise Johnson examine in intimate detail what happens to a congregation when there are scarcely enough Jews left to form a quorum for religious activities, much less to maintain a vibrant community. An unusual and intriguing look at a segment of American Jewish life that is rarely examined.
—Seth Barron
Tue, Jul 26, 2016 1:45 PM Sat, Jul 30, 2016 2:10 PM Mon, Aug 1, 2016 3:40 PM
Thy Father's Chair
In this Jewish Grey Gardens, Avraham is a sixtysomething Orthodox Jew living in Brooklyn in his deceased parents’ family home. Avraham passes his time in his claustrophobic apartment petting his cats and sitting on a dilapidated couch among old newspapers, books, bed bugs and rotten food. When a deep cleaning crew arrives, he finally has to face his fears and confront his inability to separate himself from the past.
—Shevi Loewinger
Mon, Jul 25, 2016 11:30 AM Sun, Aug 7, 2016 12:00 PM
Torah Treasures and Curious Trash
Former Berkeley resident Jo Milgrom's outsider art mixes Torah and trash. The 87-year-old artist/feminist Jewish thinker scavenges Jerusalem dumpsters for choice junk that she combines with worn-out ritual objects rescued from synagogues and funeral homes. Armed with only a glue gun, she challenges the religious establishment by juxtaposing the sacred and the mundane in her assemblages. This rich visual portrait will forever change the way you see a trash can.
—Joshua Moore
Uncle Howard
Much-admired Jewish filmmaker Howard Brookner epitomized the promise and talent of New York’s vibrant independent film scene of the 1980s, but he has been largely forgotten since his death from AIDS at age 34. In a poignant act of documentary remembrance, Howard’s nephew Aaron, who hero-worshiped his uncle as a child, goes on a treasure hunt through New York’s counterculture to reconstruct Howard’s unconventional life and pay homage to a remarkable young artist.
—Peter L. Stein
Tue, Jul 26, 2016 4:10 PM Thu, Aug 4, 2016 8:45 PM
Wannabe
In a story inspired by the director’s childhood, a neurotic Jewish teen must win over his crush by impressing her skeptical Jamaican family in 1990s New York City.
What Cheer?
After the sudden passing of his wife, a composer (Richard Kind) tries to ignore his overwhelming grief only to be faced with a 20-piece marching band that floods his world with a boisterous, interminable song.
Who’s Gonna Love Me Now?
In this honest and emotional documentary by Tomer and Barak Heymann (Close Up: Heymann Brothers, SFJFF 2008), Israeli expatriate Saar Maoz lives in London, where he’s active in the London Gay Men’s Chorus and struggling with HIV. When his Orthodox parents ask him to come back to Israel, Saar must decide where his future lies and how to make peace with his family as they struggle to accept his identity and his HIV status.
—Tamar Fox
Winner, Panorama Audience Award, Berlin Film Festival 2016
Sun, Jul 24, 2016 6:45 PM Sat, Jul 30, 2016 9:15 PM Sun, Jul 31, 2016 9:00 PM
Wrestling Jerusalem
Writer/actor Aaron Davidman takes us on a whirlwind journey that presents competing narratives of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. He gracefully embodies 17 characters, moving deftly from male to female, Palestinian to Israeli, American to European. Davidman’s ability to empathize makes him an excellent tour guide. Masterfully shot backstage during a live performance, and in the desert, the film conjures cafes, buses and settlements as well as the deeply human stories they contain.
—Stephanie Rapp
Wed, Jul 27, 2016 6:20 PM Thu, Jul 28, 2016 6:30 PM Sun, Jul 31, 2016 3:55 PM Sun, Aug 7, 2016 4:15 PM
The Writer
Critically acclaimed Israeli Arab writer Sayed Kashua (hit TV series Arab Labor, SFJFF 2008–13), delivers a masterfully nuanced dramatic series about Kateb, a 40-year-old Israel Arab writer, who, like Amjad, the protagonist of Arab Labor, is living in Israel and struggling with an identity crisis. Kateb (like Kashua in real life) faces the challenge of growing creatively in Israeli society, which sometimes has preconceived notions about even its most talented Palestinian writer.
—Nancy K. Fishman
Sat, Jul 23, 2016 4:30 PM Sun, Jul 31, 2016 5:30 PM Mon, Aug 1, 2016 6:15 PM Sat, Aug 6, 2016 12:15 PM
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