Event List

Travel around the world, across religious and cultural divides, to discover the origins of the nutritious chickpea dish, and meet a diverse group of hummus disciples, including those vying for the title of World’s Largest Serving of Hummus.  

Also includes free ticket to Q&A with director Oren Rosenfeld.

Length: 70  minutes:

Release: 2016

Director: Oren Rosenfeld

Presented free of charge in celebration of Yom HaAzmaut (Israel Independence Day), thanks to support from the Israel-American Council of Austin and AJFF365 subscribers.

Celebrate Yom Ha’Atzmaut with There are No Lions in Tel Aviv. The story of the chief Rabbi of Copenhagen’s Jewish community, who would come to be known as Rabbi Doolittle. In 1935, Max Shorenstein left his honorable position as chief Rabbi of Copenhagen, to fulfill a longtime dream: to build a zoo in Tel Aviv and teach the local children about the love of animals.

This film is offered in collaboration with the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC of Houston and is proudly supported by the Israel Engagement Fund: A JCC Association of North America Program Accelerator, made possible by the generosity of several committed donors.

AJFF co-presented this movie at the 2019 Austin Film Festival and we are delighted to share it with you again, for free!

Length:  63 minutes

Release: 2019 

Director: Duki Dror

Live Q&A with Oren Rosenfeld, director of HUMMUS! THE MOVIE

Oren Rosenfeld was born in Jerusalem on January 29, 1976. He started his career as a photojournalist covering the 2nd Palestinian Intifada. In 2010 Oren Founded his production company Holy-Land Productions. Rosenfeld directed and co-wrote Israel’s Arab Warriors for the BBC in October 2016, following the first unit of Israeli Arab soldiers to serve in the Israeli occupied West Bank.

His award-winning film Hummus The Movie stirred controversy when the Guinness Book of World records refused to send representatives to judge the world’s largest plate of hummus due to alleged security concerns. In 2017 Rosenfeld joined Jane Corbin to write and direct The Real Fauda, a BBC documentary about the real story behind the hit Netflix drama Fauda. 

In early 2018, Rosenfeld returned to India to continue production of Mumbai Jews a film about the long established Jewish community in Mumbai, and the significance of their cultural, social and political contributions to India. Mumbai Jews touches the story of Moshe Holtzberg, one of the survivors of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. He was almost two years old when the attack orphaned him. Rosenfeld follows his return, 10 years later. The story focuses on Holtzberg’s nanny Sandra Samuel. 

Rosenfeld’s latest work Lost in Paradise Goa won the LIAFF award for Best Short Documentary.

Rachel Cowan was a civil rights activist, community organizer, the first female Jew by choice ordained as a Rabbi, a beloved and influential mindfulness teacher, a grandmother, a wise elder. And then she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

Watch the film, then join the Q&A panel (included free of charge) on May 2nd at 2PM Central to meet filmmaker Paula Weiman-Kelman, AJFF’s Dr. David Goldblatt, and members of Jewish Family Service to discuss the film and learn about JFS’s new Wise Aging program.

Length: 60 minutes

Release: 2020

Director: Paula Weiman-Kelman

Presented for free, thanks to support from Shalom Austin and AJFF365 subscribers.

Rachel Cowan was a civil rights activist, community organizer, the first female Jew by choice ordained as a Rabbi, a beloved and influential mindfulness teacher, a grandmother, a wise elder. And then she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

Watch the film, then join the Q&A panel (included free of charge) on May 2nd at 2PM Central to meet filmmaker Paula Weiman-Kelman, AJFF’s Dr. David Goldblatt, and members of Jewish Family Service to discuss the film and learn about JFS’s new Wise Aging program.

Length: 60 minutes

Release: 2020

Director: Paula Weiman-Kelman

Presented for free, thanks to support from Shalom Austin and AJFF365 subscribers.

Meet filmmaker Paula Weiman-Kelman, AJFF’s Dr. David Goldblatt, and members of Jewish Family Service to discuss the film Dying Doesn’t Feel Like What I’m Doing and learn about JFS’s new Wise Aging program.

Paula Weiman-Kelman is a veteran documentary filmmaker known for moving portraits of inspiring women. Her happy connection to the Austin Jewish Film Festival began in 2004 with Blessings: Roommates in Jerusalem.  It continued in 2016 with  Torah Treasures and Curious Trash.  Her current film Dying Doesn’t Fell Like What I’m Doing premiered to a sold out, standing room only event at the Athena Women’s Festival in Manhattan in March, 2020. Days later the world shut down… She has been blessed to share the film this past year in an inspiring variety of virtual film festivals and gatherings.