Virtual screening

At a banquet hall in Israel, at the height of a war, Adam Weizmann’s Bar Mitzvah party turns into a glorious catastrophe. On the cusp of manhood—and on the verge of a nervous breakdown—Adam takes a crucial step toward coming to terms with his sexuality.

Adult language, sexual content, mature themes.

Length: 25 minutes

Cast: Amit Rahav, Amir Khoury, Maya Dagan, Yaniv Biton, Ruby Porat Shoval, Peter Knoller, Maayan Selektar

Director: Eli Zuzovsky

Writer: Eli Zuzovsky

Mazel Tov trailer.

Presentation partner:

Photographer Olive returns from work to find her new flatmate, Nina rummaging through her room. Unbeknownst to Olive, Nina is about to miss the deadline to join a beauty pageant dedicated to Adolf Hitler and is in desperate need for photos for the application. She begs Olive to help her take them. Although Olive is bemused by her new flatmates erratic behaviour, she feels sorry for her and relents. As Nina’s behaviour becomes increasingly bizarre, Olive becomes suspicious. When the opportunity arises, Olive decides to investigate. Sneaking into Nina’s room, she discovers the truth behind the beauty pageant – discovering that the pageant is not your regular beauty pageant, but instead, something called Miss Hitler.

Adult language.

Length: 12 minutes

Cast: Gemma Barnett, Bebe Sanders

Director: Ella Marks & Yael Roth

Writer: Ella Marks

Moshe Sneh, Defense Minister and Chief of Staff of State in-the-making, the man who was in command of bringing thousands of Jews, Holocaust survivors, from Europe to Israel in spite of British Mandate opposition. The film focuses on SS Exodus, an operation he initiated, raised funds for the ship.

Length: 14 minutes

Director: Amir Har-Gil

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

An intimate, insightful, and moving film, “Leona” tells the story of Ariela, a young Jewish woman from Mexico City who finds herself torn between her family and her forbidden love. Ripe with all the drama and interpersonal conflicts of a Jane Austen novel, the film follows Ariela as she negotiates the labyrinth of familial pressure, religious precedent, and her own burgeoning sentiment. Her journey is both painful and beautiful—there are no easy choices to be made, and the viewer travels back and forth with her as she struggles with her heart to take the best path. NUDITY, MATURE SITUATIONS.

Note:  Film ticket includes free ticket to live Q&A with director Isaac Cherem on March 14.

Year: 2021

Film length: 95 minutes

Cast: Naian González Norvind, Christian Vazquez, Carolina Politi, Daniel Adissi, and Margarita Sanz

Director: Isaac Cherem

Writers: Isaac Cherem, Naian González Norvind

Production country: Mexico

Presentation partner:  

Syndrome K is the true story about a highly contagious, highly fictitious disease created by three Roman Catholic doctors during the holocaust to hide Jews in a Vatican-affiliated hospital.

Length: 80 minutes

Release: 2021

Director: Stephen Edwards

Writer: Gregory Alan Ballard

Presented for free thanks to the support of AJFF365 Subscribers. Become a subscriber today!

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.

Thousands of young Israelis join the journey to Poland” each year to learn about the Holocaust. Looking into the journey through the videos they upload on YouTube reveals a moving and troubling image about the way the collective memory is formed in the web age.

#Uploading_Holocaust is a remarkable feat of editing – turning some of the more than 20,000 uploaded clips into a moving, informative, and meaningful narrative.

Length: 75 minutes

Release: 2016

Director: Nir & Sagi Bornstein

Presented for free, in remembrance of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), thanks to the support of the Israel-American Council Austin and AJFF365 subscribers.

IAC Zikaron basalon with Ms. Etty Brish on Wednesday, April 7th at 8:00 PM Central.

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