Virtual screening

A six-hour interview with David Ben-Gurion, one of modern history”s greatest leaders, emerges from the obscurity of an archive where it has lain unrecognized for decades. It is 1968, and Ben-Gurion is 82 years old. He lives in the seclusion of his home in the desert, remote from all political discourse, which allows him a perspective on the Zionist enterprise. His introspective soul-searching is the focus of this film, and his reflections provide a surprising vision for today”s crucial decisions and for the future of Israel.

Film: 70 minutes

Director: Yariv Mozer

Production countries: Israel, France, Germany

Year: 2016

The story of a 78-year-old Greek man and his Hasidic rapper son, who have been estranged for many years. They embark together on a road trip from Israel to Greece searching for an old magician who saved the father”s life during World War II. The journey leads them to absurd encounters, and it ultimately brings them to a final confrontation of father and son.
CONTAINS NUDITY, ADULT SITUATIONS

Film: 100 minutes

Director: Nicola Hens

Production country: Israel

Year: 2014

Noah Klieger was a French Jewish teenager during WWII. He lay on the beach of Dunkirk when hundreds of thousands of British soldiers were evacuated to Britain. He smuggled Jewish children from Belgium to Switzerland. He was captured by the Germans and sent to the Auschwitz death camp. When he arrived there, he claimed himself as a boxer which saved his life. He was the last remnant of the boxing team of Auschwitz death camp, the oldest active journalist in the world, and a crew member of the ship “Exodus – 1947.” In the film, Noah returns for the first time to the places that marked his life. Noah Klieger is an example of courage, optimism, and resilience.
SOME SCENES OF THE HOLOCAUST

Film: 60 minutes

Director: Uri Borreda

Production country: Israel

Year: 2017

Israel’s 6th Prime minister, Menachem Begin led Israel for six dramatic and tumultuous years, which produced waves that are still felt deeply within the fabric of Israel’s social and political landscape today. During Begin’s shortened one-and-a-half terms of office, he faced a maelstrom of challenges and made a handful of fateful decisions that led to both creating peace and launching a war kindled by hubris. Exploring these events, the film depicts a multi-faceted portrait of a man who held on to an unwavering ideology full of conflicts, as well as the cultural mosaic and fissured society that he sought to lead. The film merges rare archival footage shown for the first time, as well as current interviews with key figures from Menachem Begin’s time as Prime Minister.

Film: 85 minutes

Director: Levi Zini

Production country: Israel

Year: 2020

APFF@AJFF:
A celebration of the life of Ralph Modjeski, one of America’s greatest bridge designers. He was behind some of the 20th century’s most significant bridges which transformed America: the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge, the Huey P. Long Bridge in New Orleans, and Quebec Bridge in Canada, among others. The film takes a deeper look at the scientific mind and artistic soul of a Polish-born, Paris-trained immigrant; a virtuoso pianist who contributed to the building of modern America.

Film: 87 minutes

Director: Basia and Leonard Myszyński

Production countries: USA, Canada

Year: 2016

Community partner:

View Event

“Yet another standout performance by Shira Haas, cementing her place as one of the best young Jewish actors today.
This taleof a dysfunctional family is an intense, gripping drama.” Shadowed by a strict, military father who inflicts severe methods of punishment as a form of discipline, seventeen-year-old Ariella commits a grave error that her father isn’t willing to punish her for. Seeking a punishment of her own, Ariella embarks on a dark quest where she will discover a secret to her father’s past that will lead them to confront one another.
MATURE LANGUAGE, MATURE THEMES, NUDITY, INTENSE SCENES

Film: 104 minutes

Directors: Aviad Givon, Imri Matalon

Production country: Israel

Year: 2019

Community partner:

Shortly after the death of his uncles, Didier Frenkel descends into the basement of their shared home and finds a treasure: an ancient archive of animated films from Egypt starring Mish-Mish Effendi, the Arab equivalent of Mickey Mouse, and others. His Jewish father and uncles created these characters but never got the attention they richly deserved. Didier begins restoring the films and unveils the story of the rise and fall of these pioneers of Arab animation. Surprisingly, Didier’s mother strongly opposes this project.

Film: 73 minutes

Director: Tal Michael

Production countries: Israel, France

Year: 2019

Community partner: 

It is only now, at the age of 98, that Marthe Cohn, a French Jew, can talk freely about her experience as a spy during World War II. Known at the time as Chichinette, she was recruited as a young woman by the French army and sent to gather intelligence from inside Germany. At four-and-a-half-feet tall, Cohn—then as today—may not look like much of a threat, but her incredible bravery and resourcefulness contributed to the Nazis’ eventual defeat. The Accidental Spy is as dynamic as the woman whose extraordinary story it tells.

Film: 86 minutes

Director: Nicola Hens

Production countries: Germany, France

Year: 2020

In the midst of WWII, a German couple, Fritz and Emma, agree to hide Albert, a Jewish refugee, at their remote farm in the Black Forest. Since his marriage with Emma has remained childless, Fritz uses this opportunity to suggest an unorthodox deal: He asks Albert to sleep with his wife and conceive a child on his behalf. The consequences are dramatic: Emma discovers her sexuality, Fritz cannot control his jealousy, and Albert feels trapped between the two of them. Against the background of war, an unpredictable drama unfolds that turns offenders into victims and vice versa.
MATURE CONTENT

Film: 104 minutes

Director: Franziska Schlotterer

Production country: Germany

Year: 2016

“An untold story based on fact and fiction of Thessaloniki’s Jewish community during the Second World War.”
It’s 1942 and German law has been imposed in Thessaloniki, Greece, where Estrea, a young Jewish girl, has fallen in love with Yorgos, a Christian boy who works in a small nightclub. The club acts as a retreat from the atmosphere that has taken over the city, and people gather there to hear famed bouzouki player, Vassilis Tsitsanis. The score features music by Tsitsanis—one of the leading Greek composers of his time—which permeates this film.

Film: 118 minutes

Director: Manoussos Manoussakis

Production country: Greece

Year: 2016