July 2014. Israel is at war in Gaza. Uri, an Israeli soldier, is shot and wounded. At the hospital, he is welcomed as a hero. Between treatments and visits from high-profile generals and celebrities, Uri and his family reckon with his new status. An insider’s look at how war as a state-of-mind is shaping Israeli society.
Adult language.
Length: 29 minutes
Director: Adi Mishnayot
Ladino, the old Sephardic Jewish language, is in great danger of being extinct. In Serbia, there are only two surviving native speakers: two old ladies. They fight to save their language.
Length: 8 minutes
Director: Laurent Rouy
Rachel is losing her sight to the point she can”t even manage doing the smallest daily functions, like dialing the phone. She opens her door to passing by strangers, on a tiny but significant journey, to reach out to her daughter, on the other side of the world.
Length: 20 minutes
Cast: Leora Rivlin, Uri Gavriel, Nir di-nur, Erez Kahana, Nathchayanit Elberg.
Director: Or Sinai
Writer: Or Sinai
Long Distance trailer.
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
The discovery of a puzzling photograph sparks a student to probe the history of Rome’s Jewish ghetto and the fate of a little girl, in this Italian teen drama interlacing past and present. When Sofia finds an old snapshot in a neglected suitcase, she’s mesmerized by the child’s picture. As details emerge—the child’s name, separation from her parents during a Gestapo raid, and rescue by a nun—Sofia commits to honoring the girl’s memory by staging an original play with classmates and friends from a nearby Jewish high school. But first she must overcome objections of concerned parents. A talented ensemble injects youthful energy into this inspiring interfaith story about the importance of memory, coexistence and reconciling generational frictions.
Length: 100 Minutes
Cast: Giulio Base
Director: Giulio Base
Giulio Base was born in Turin (Italy) in 1964.
He achieved two Doctorates: the first in Literature
and Philosophy and the second in Theology.
He began his show-business’ career as an actor,
studying in Florence at the ‘Dramatic Art Studio’
established by the Italian master Vittorio Gassman.
After many years playing with Italian directors such
as Nanni Moretti or internationals (as the recent role
in “All the money in the world” by Sir Ridley Scott),
he made his film directorial debut with the worldwide
prize winning “Crack” (1991), inspired by a successful
theatrical piece that he first directed for the stage.
From then on he helmed 29 titles starring many movie
stars, such as: Oscar winners Shelley Winters and F.
Murray Abraham, Oscar nominees Max von Sydow and Omar
Sharif, Dolph Lundgren, Monica Cruz, Paul Sorvino, etc.
His works have been selected in all the major film
festivals around the world (Venice, Cannes, Los
Angeles, Berlin, Toronto, Shanghai, Sydney, Buenos
Aires, etc) where they won several movie awards.
A Starry Sky Above the Roman Ghetto Read More »
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!
Tickets required, but free of charge. At check out you will be given the opportunity to donate to The Blue Card Fund, a national non-profit organization solely dedicated to providing financial assistance to destitute Holocaust survivors residing in the United States.
This is AJFF’s designated charitable partner for this year’s Yom HaShoa programs.
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.
Tickets required, but free of charge. At check out you will be given the opportunity to donate to The Blue Card Fund, a national non-profit organization solely dedicated to providing financial assistance to destitute Holocaust survivors residing in the United States.
This is AJFF’s designated charitable partner for this year’s Yom HaShoa programs.
#Uploading_Holocaust Read More »