Virtual screening

AJFF Festival and Combo passes include participation in this event.   To watch online, go to virtual.goelevent.com and login with the same email and password you used to buy your ticket/pass/membership.

All four episodes are available to watch from November 2 – November 11 in Texas only.

 

Ever wonder how Israelis perceive us American Jews? The New Jew is a four-episode Israeli TV docu-series, showcasing the cultural and political influence of the Jewish community in the United States, the variety of alternative models it offers for living a rich Jewish life, and the intricate relations between American Jews and the State of Israel. The show is presented by Guri Alfi, one of Israel’s most popular comedians—and was produced for the Public Broadcasting Corporation in Israel.

Cast: Guri Alfi, Moshe Samuels

Additional support from:

Bar (12), a longtime member of the boys group and the class”s soccer team, dominates the field more than ever and scores the winning goal at her school’s semi-final soccer tournament. So when the team’s captain announces opening the fixed line -up for voting, she isn”t worried. Following their first sex education class, Bar senses a change in the group and feels the need to ensure her getting enough votes until the end of the school day. While going from one friend to another, having a hard time getting what she wishes for, she starts to realize that a deeper issue is at stake.

Adult language.

Length:  20 minutes

Cast: Talma Tal, Netanel Bondi, Ori Sardam, Ori Assraf Shimon, Roi Chaluya, Dolev Ashurov, Jonathan Burg, Noam Marom, Yam Teper, Itai Abayan, Ofek Peretz, Zohar Shitrit, Tsafi (Tsafra) Shimoni, Anna Anat Gofman Banai

Director: Romi Menachem

Writer: Romi Menachem

In this surrealist dreamscape based on actual events, E=MC³‘ is Victor Stabin’s animated tale of Albert Einstein’s invention and patenting of the perpetual motion refrigerator that brings peace to the Middle East. The animation combines fantastic imagery with tongue-in-cheek storytelling and plenty of schtick.

Length: 12 minutes

Cast: Dave Davies, Richard Hake

Director: Victor Stabin

Introduction by director Victor Stabin.

How would you react if your father”s last wish was a little bit out there? For siblings Roz and Elli, it becomes a battleground for who will determine their pop”s final journey. Pops is a Jewish comedy drama about family, religion and how we choose to honor a life well-lived.

Length: 19 minutes

Cast: Samantha Spiro, Nigel Lindsay

Director: Lewis Rose

Writer: Lewis Rose

The event is supported, in part by:

In Argentina in 1939, while the World Chess Championship was taking place, breaking news shocked the participants: Germany had invaded Poland and World War II had erupted. Many great masters were stranded away from their home countries, and began to organize exhibitions in order to make their living. One of them searched for something else.

Length: 18 minutes

Cast: Juan Nemirovsky, Jorge De la Rosa, Cristian Marchesi

Director: Alfonso Gastiaburo

Writer: Alfonso Gastiaburo

The ”Taliban Women” is the nickname for a growing band of ultra-orthodox women in Israel who choose to wear a hooded garment similar to a Muslim burka. From behind her veil, Rachel defies accepted definitions of gender, religion, and freedom.

Length: 10 minutes

Cast: Rubi Blal Asfour, Yiftach Betsaleli Teltsch

Director: Yochay Rosenberg

Writer: Yochay Rosenberg

Norm, a Jewish immigrant boy growing up during the Great Depression in St. Louis, dreams of flying in an airplane. When an airfield near his home offers a 10-minute flight for two dollars, Norm gets hopeful about fulfilling his dream. His parents, survivors of pogroms – anti-Semitic attacks, are protective, and claim that a flight in an airplane is dangerous. Even so, Norm saves up his ice cream money, a nickel at a time, to pay for a short flight. But, when he discovers the truth about how his mother’s family was killed in the Old Country, he gets cold feet. Norm must decide whether to continue living in the shadow of family trauma or break free and fulfill his dream.

Length: 27 minutes

Cast: Grayson Taylor, Carole Forman, Te’ena Klien, Leo Grinberg, Catharine Ashmore Bradley

Director: Yasmin Gorenberg

Writer: Yasmin Gorenberg, Myra Noveck

Ofira (67), a recently retired teacher, refuses to become a victim of routine life and decides to revive an old dream – becoming a painter. With no support from her family, Ofira faces the white canvas, when in fact she is facing herself, to paint the rest of her life.

Length: 20 minutes

Cast: Dina Limon, Rami Baruch, Ofra Weingarten, Gal Aviv-Kalderon

Director: Shahar Shamay

Writer: Shahar Shamay, Osnat Friedman, Hadas Klein

Matt wants to find his late mother’s “Beefies” recipe for a pandemic Passover, but finds he must reconnect with his estranged brother to do so. Matt will have to figure out her fractured recipe, or burn down his kitchen trying.

Length: 9Minutes 41 Seconds

Cast: Salome Mergia, Goran Ivanovski, Molly Gray, Adam Lebowitz-Lockard

Director: Adam Lebowitz-Lockard

Writer: Adam Lebowitz-Lockard

Infamous New York City talent agent, Yvette Slosch, is determined to make a star out of her newest client, jazz violinist, Aaron Weinstein. She refuses to let Aaron”s lack of name recognition, jazz”s dwindling fan base, or the 2020 global pandemic get in her way. As the pandemic rages, Yvette”s schemes to keep Aaron”s career afloat become increasingly convoluted, testing her abilities as an agent and her friendship with Aaron.

Length: 20 minutes

Director: Aaron Weinstein

Call Me Back trailer.