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| The Women's Balcony opens this year's Washington Jewish Film Festival |
From our friends at the Washington Jewish Film Festival...
The 27th Annual Washington Jewish Film Festival Unveils 2017 Slate
Washington's largest Jewish cultural event runs May 17-28, and features the best in independent and international cinema
Last week, the Washington Jewish Film Festival announced the program for the 27th annual event. The Festival, which runs from May 17-28 in venues throughout the Washington area, includes 63 feature-length and 18 short films from 25 countries, and showcases the diversity of Jewish life across the world. In addition to the film program, the Festival will host talkbacks and panel discussions with dozens of filmmakers from the U.S. and abroad. Opening Night will feature THE WOMEN'S BALCONY, a dramatic comedy set against a gender rift in an Orthodox community in Jerusalem. FANNY'S JOURNEY, the extraordinary true story of a young girl who leads a group of children through Europe to escape the Nazis, closes out the twelve-day event.
Last week, the Washington Jewish Film Festival announced the program for the 27th annual event. The Festival, which runs from May 17-28 in venues throughout the Washington area, includes 63 feature-length and 18 short films from 25 countries, and showcases the diversity of Jewish life across the world. In addition to the film program, the Festival will host talkbacks and panel discussions with dozens of filmmakers from the U.S. and abroad. Opening Night will feature THE WOMEN'S BALCONY, a dramatic comedy set against a gender rift in an Orthodox community in Jerusalem. FANNY'S JOURNEY, the extraordinary true story of a young girl who leads a group of children through Europe to escape the Nazis, closes out the twelve-day event.
"Every year we strive to present new cinematic voices from all corners of the globe that reflect and inform the Jewish identity," said Ilya Tovbis, Director of the Washington Jewish Film Festival. "The 2017 program includes some of the most striking international films of the past year, from both emerging and master filmmakers. In many cases, the Festival will be the only chance for Washingtonians to catch these cinematic gems on screen."
The feature, documentary and short films in the slate touch on an array of Jewish perspectives from around the world. This year's festival includes three thematic strands: Rated LGBTQ which explores sexuality and gender identity; Mechanisms of Extremism, films that examine extremist governments, societies and movements; and Laugh Track, a selection of comedies of all stripes.
In addition to the main film program, the festival features a series of discussions and screenings to celebrate artists behind the camera, on stage and, even, in the kitchen. Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland will be honored with the WJFF Visionary Award. "As If, A Clueless Night!" is bringing back the '90s with a party and screening of CLUELESS followed by a conversation with filmmaker Amy Heckerling. The 7th Annual Community Day of Education on Arab Citizens of Israel pairs a screening of 77 STEPS with a panel discussion on the daily lives and challenges of Arab citizens of Israel. "An Evening of Yiddish Culture" explores the enduring artistic legacy of Yiddish film and music. The ever-popular "Two Jews Walk into a Bar (and a Deli)" is a one-of-a-kind cinematic bar crawl.
A project of the Edlavitch DCJCC, the Washington Jewish Film Festival (WJFF) is the largest Jewish cultural event in the greater Washington, D.C. area. Films and programs will take place at AFI Silver Theatre, Bethesda Row Cinema, E Street Cinema, the National Gallery of Art, and the Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater at the Edlavitch DCJCC.
A full Festival schedule can be found at www.wjff.org. A list of titles and events is included below.
OPENING NIGHT SELECTION:
THE WOMEN'S BALCONY
Dir. Emil Ben-Shimon (Israel, 2016)
An accident leads to a gender rift in a devout Orthodox community in Jerusalem, in this rousing, gold-hearted tale about women speaking truth to patriarchal power.
Featured in the Laugh Track strand.
CLOSING NIGHT SELECTION:
FANNY'S JOURNEY
Dir. Lola Doillon (Belgium/France, 2016)
It's 1943, and 12-year-old Fanny stays hidden in a home far from her parents. She takes care of her two younger sisters until she is forced to flee. Fanny thereupon leads a group of eight children heading across occupied France.
WJFF VISIONARY AWARD PRESENTED TO AGNIESZKA HOLLAND:
Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland will be honored with the WJFF's Visionary Award, which recognizes creativity and insight in presenting the Jewish experience on film.
Holland's debut feature Provincial Actors (1978), was heralded as a leader of the "cinema of moral disquiet" movement, and won the International Critics Prize at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival. In 1981, after Marshall Law was instituted in Poland, Holland emigrated to France.
Among her impressive and prolific catalog of films made in the west, highlights include Angry Harvest (1985), Europa Europa (1990), and In Darkness (2011)-all of which were nominated for Academy Awards.
Holland is actively involved in TV production, having directed seminal episodes of major US TV series including The Wire, Treme, The Killing, and House of Cards. Her latest film, Spoor, premiered at the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival, where it was awarded the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize.
Agnieszka Holland joins us for a Q&A, Award ceremony, and a screening of her Oscar nominated film Angry Harvest.
SPOTLIGHT SELECTIONS:
THE BLOOM OF YESTERDAY
Dir. Chris Kraus (125 min, Austria/Germany, 2016)
A self-serious German Holocaust researcher is struggling with his complicated family history and flagging career. At the height of his crisis, he's assigned a new intern, who might be his exact opposite.
Featured in the Laugh Track strand.
CLUELESS
Dir. Amy Heckerling (97 min, United States, 1995)
Director Amy Heckerling in person! Special screening of iconic 90s teen comedy starring Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd.
Prior to the show, join us for As If, A Clueless Night for drinks, games, a photo booth, and more.
Featured in the Laugh Track strand.
THE HISTORY OF LOVE
Dir. Radu Mihăileanu / (134 min, Canada/France, 2016)
Based on Nicole Krauss' bestselling novel, The History of Love is a sprawling saga of undaunted ardor and merciless twists of fate. Featuring a brilliant cast including Gemma Arterton, Derek Jacobi, and Elliott Gould.
MENASHE
Dir. Joshua Z. Weinstein (105 min, Israel/United States, 2017)
Deep in the heart of New York's ultra-orthodox Hasidic Jewish community, a grocery store clerk struggles to provide for and responsibly parent his young son following the death of his wife. A major hit of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
ON THE MAP
Dir. Dani Menken (85 min, Israel, 2016)
A fast-moving and emotional documentary about the 1977 Maccabee Tel-Aviv basketball team - a squad that no one believed could win, but ended up toppling the four-time defending European championship Soviet club.
MAIN SLATE:
1945
Dir. Ferenc Török (Hungary, 2017)
It's August 1945 - an uneasy stillness pervades a small Hungarian village longing for a return to normalcy after the war. Two strangers arrive - they are father and son; they are Holocaust survivors.
AND WHEN I DIE, I WON'T STAY DEAD
Dir. Billy Woodberry (United States, 2015)
A contemporary of Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs, African American poet Bob Kaufman is one of the Beat Generation's most overlooked artists. Filmmaker Billy Woodberry - leader of the L.A. Rebellion film movement - offers a cinematic ode to Kaufman's life, work, and legacy.
ANGEL WAGENSTEIN: ART IS A WEAPON
Dir. Andrea Simon (Bulgaria/United States, 2017)
Bulgarian-Jewish filmmaker, partisan hero, screenwriter, and author Angel Wagenstein demonstrates the power of art to act as a revolutionary bulwark against oppressive governments and ideologies.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
BAL EJ: THE HIDDEN JEWS OF ETHIOPIA
Dir. Irene Orleansky (Israel, 2016)
Following a hundred-year-old account of prominent Jewish scholar Jacque Faitlovich, filmmaker and distinguished ethnomusicologist Irene Orleansky travels to Africa to discover and explore a small and secretive group of Ethiopian Jews.
BEN-GURION, EPILOGUE
Dir. Yariv Mozer (France/Israel, 2016)
It is 1968, and Ben-Gurion is 82 years old. He lives in the seclusion of his home in the desert removed from all political discourse, which allows him a unique perspective on the Zionist movement.
BETWEEN WORLDS
Dir. Miya Hatav (Israel, 2016)
Visiting their son in a Jerusalem hospital in the aftermath of a terrorist attack, Orthodox couple Bina and Meir form a surprising bond with Amal, a beautiful young Arab woman, seemingly there to attend to her dying father.
BODY AND SOUL: AN AMERICAN BRIDGE
Dir. Robert Philipson (United States, 2016)
Examining the fascinating history of the titular jazz standard,filmmaker Robert Philipson explores the fraternity and conflict between African American and Jewish American musicians that left an indelible mark on this country's cultural history.
CABARET
Dir. Bob Fosse (United States, 1972)
WJFF Classics - 45th Anniversary Presentation.
In 1930s Berlin, impulsive and morally liberal agent provocateur Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli) meets the scholarly and handsome Bryan (Michael York), and the two develop an intimate relationship.
Featured in the Rated LGBTQ strand.
A CLASSY BROAD
Dir. Anne Goursaud (United States, 2016)
Marcia Nasatir broke through the film industry's glass ceiling back in the 1970s. The Jewish San Antonian became a successful producer and the first woman to serve as vice president of production at a major Hollywood studio (United Artists.)
CLOUDY SUNDAY
Dir. Manoussos Manoussakis (Greece, 2016)
A smash box-office hit in Greece, Cloudy Sunday tracks a tumultuous wartime romance between a Jewish girl and Christian resistance fighter set against the backdrop of Thessaloniki's vibrant Sephardic community.
DAD IN TRAINING
Dir. Cyril Gelblat (France, 2015)
Obsessed with making music, Antoine takes his marriage to Alice, a beautiful, accomplished magistrate and loving mother to their daughters, for granted - until she throws him out, files for divorce, and leaves the girls on his doorstep!
Featured in the Laugh Track strand.
DIMONA TWIST
Dir. Michal Aviad (Israel, 2016)
Michal Aviad (The Women Pioneers) follows the lives of seven North African and Polish women who arrive to Israel by boat in the 1950s and 1960s and are sent straight to Dimona, a newly formed desert town.
DOING JEWISH: A STORY FROM GHANA
Dir. Gabrielle Zilkha (Canada/Ghana/United States, 2016)
When Gabrielle Zilkha, a Canadian filmmaker working in Accra, gets a call from her mother telling her that she's found Jews with whom to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, Zilkha sets off to find the tiny but vibrant Sefwi Jewish community.
THE EXCEPTION
Dir. David Leveaux (United Kingdom, 2016)
A riveting WWII thriller filled with espionage and romance in equal measure, The Exception follows German soldier Stefan Brandt (Jai Courtney) as he investigates exiled German Monarch Kaiser Wilhelm II (Christopher Plummer.)
EXIT: MUSIC
Dir. James Murdoch (Canada/Germany/Israel/United States, 2016)
Exploring the lives and exile of five composers - Paul Ben-Haim, Adolf Busch, Walter Branfels, Erich Korngold, and Mieczyslaw Weinberg - Exit: Music investigates anti-Semitism in the music industry and the Third Reich's hijacking of German music for propaganda purposes.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
FAMILY COMMITMENTS
Dir. Hanno Olderdissen (Germany, 2015)
After two years of dating, David pops the question, and Khaled's answer is unequivocally, "Yes!" Tying the knot proves challenging however, courtesy of a homophobic Arab father and a pseudo-orthodox, overbearing Jewish mother.
Featured in the Laugh Track and Rated LGBTQ strands.
FOG IN AUGUST
Dir. Kai Wessel (Austria/Germany, 2016)
Based on a true story, a harrowing tale of a Roma boy's experiences with the Nazi euthanasia program while he is held in a mental hospital.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
FOREVER PURE
Dir. Maya Zinshtein (Ireland/Israel/Norway/United Kingdom, 2016)
The Beitar football club - the most popular and controversial soccer team in Israel - deals with racist outrage from fans after signing two Muslim players.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
THE FREEDOM TO MARRY
Dir. Eddie Rosenstein (United States, 2016)
An insider's look at the organizers and carefully structured campaign behind the marriage equality movement - now known as one of the most successful civil rights initiatives in modern history.
Featured in the Rated LGBTQ strand.
A GERMAN LIFE
Dirs. Christian Krönes, Florian Weigensamer, Roland Schrotthofer, Olaf S. Müller (Austria, 2016)
Brunhilde Pomsel got closer to Nazi-Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels than anyone else. Aged 105 during filming, she used to work as secretary and stenographer for one of worst criminals in history.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
THE GUYS NEXT DOOR
Dirs. Amy Geller and Allie Humenuk (United States, 2016)
Raised in a Jewish family, Rachel and her husband Tony are a traditional married couple with their three teenage children. Less traditional is Rachel's decision, at 41, to become a surrogate for Erik and his husband Sandro, not once, but twice within two years.
Featured in the Rated LGBTQ strand.
HARMONIA
Dir. Ori Sivan (Israel, 2016)
A contemporary adaptation of the biblical tale of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, set in the world of the Jerusalem Philharmonic Orchestra. Nominated for 4 Ophir (Israeli Academy) Awards.
HOLY ZOO
Dir. Katharina Waisburd (Germany, 2016)
In the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, Israelis & Palestinians and Jews & Muslims encounter each other every day. They meet as visitors or work as animal attendants side-by-side −something quite ordinary in other countries, but a telling exception here.
THE HOURGLASS SANATORIUM
Dir. Wojciech Jerzy Has (Poland, 1973)
Wojciech Jerzy Has' restored art-house masterpiece conjures a surrealist dreamscape in which past and present - from the Three Wise Men to the Holocaust - collide in a mind-bending phantasmagoria.
Followed by a talk by Columbia professor Annette Insdorf, and a signing of her new book, Intimations: The Cinema of Wojciech Has.
IN BETWEEN
Dir. Maysaloun Hamoud (France/Israel, 2016)
In Maysaloun Hamoud's remarkable feature debut, three Palestinian women sharing an apartment in the vibrant heart of Tel Aviv find themselves in a complicated balancing act between tradition & modernity, citizenship & culture, and fealty & freedom.
Featured in the Rated LGBTQ strand.
A JEW MUST DIE
Dir. Jacob Berger (Switzerland, 2016)
Popular myth holds that Switzerland remained an innocent bystander during WWII. Famed writer Jacques Chessex powerfully repudiates this notion when, after a lengthy period of silence, he shares what he witnessed as a young boy. Starring Bruno Ganz.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
JERRY LEWIS: THE MAN BEHIND THE CLOWN
Dir. Gregory Monro (France/United States, 2016)
Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Rosenbaum, and other film luminaries examine Jerry Lewis' groundbreaking and controversial career - from film credits such as The Bellboy and The Nutty Professor to his edgy standup material.
Featured in the Laugh Track strand.
KEEP QUIET
Dirs. Sam Blair and Joseph Martin (Hungary/United Kingdom, 2016)
As vice-president of Hungary's far-right extremist party, Csanad Szegedi espoused anti-Semitic rhetoric and Holocaust denials, but found his life upended when his own Jewish roots were revealed. Keep Quiet depicts Szegedi's three-year journey to embrace his newfound religion.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
LET YOURSELF GO
Dir. Francesco Amato (Italy, 2016)
Elia (Toni Servillo, The Great Beauty) is a distinguished psychoanalyst who has little patience for physical exertion of any kind. When fate pairs him with Claudia-a personal trainer obsessed with the cult of the body-the circumstances threaten to drive him right out of his celebrated mind.
A LETTER TO MOTHER
Dir. Joseph Green (Poland, 1939)
Restored 35mm presentation courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film. Released in the US two weeks after the German blitzkrieg over Poland, this tale of family disintegration and poverty serves as a metaphor for the displacement facing European Jews in 1939.
LOVE IS THICKER THAN WATER
Dirs. Ate de Jong and Emily Harris (United Kingdom, 2016)
Opposites attract when Vida, an urbane Jewish cellist from London, falls in love with Arthur, a working class bike courier from Wales. Their class and cultural differences - not to mention disapproving families - quickly test the relationship.
Featured in the Laugh Track strand.
MOOS
Dir. Job Gosschalk (Netherlands, 2016)
In this charming, Amsterdam-set comedy, Moos has put her life on hold long enough; she's finally set to pursue her dream of going to acting school. Not actually having been accepted is only a minor hiccup...
Featured in the Laugh Track strand.
MURDER IN POLNA (Parts 1 and 2)
Dirs. Viktor Polesný and Vaclav Jester (Czech Republic, 2016)
A riveting, timely, and chilling historical drama that explores the Hilsner affair, a criminal investigation that veered dangerously off course due to a simmering anti-Semitism in 1899 Czechoslovakia.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
MY DEAR CHILDREN: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE POGROMS (Work-in-Progress)
Dirs. LeeAnn Dance and Cliff Hackel (United States, 2017)
WJFF is partnering with Docs In Progress® to present this workshop screening. Years after her father's death, using a letter written by her grandmother as a guide, Judy sets out from South Africa to explore the family's roots in Ukraine.
MY HERO BROTHER
Dir. Yonatan Nir (Israel, 2016)
A group of remarkable young people with Down syndrome embark on a demanding trip through the Indian Himalayas, accompanied by their brothers and sisters.
OMG, I'M A ROBOT
Dirs. Tal Goldberg and Gal Zelezniak (Israel, 2016)
Dumped by his sweetheart for being too sensitive, Danny is overwhelmed with sadness and decides to cut himself - only to discover that instead of blood, sparks shoot out and spliced wires protrude: turns out he's a robot!
Featured in the Laugh Track strand.
OPERATION WEDDING
Dir. Anat Zalmanson Kuznetsov (Israel/Latvia, 2016)
In 1970, a group of Jewish dissidents plotted to hijack an empty plane and escape the USSR. Caught by the KGB, two were sentenced to death, and the rest were assigned hard labor. 45 years later, this documentary filmmaker reveals the story of her parents, "heroes" in the West and "terrorists" in Russia.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
PARADISE
Dir. Andrei Konchalovsky (Germany/Russia, 2016)
Russia's Oscar submission follows the lives of three souls that intertwine in Nazi Europe: a Russian member of the French resistance; the French collaborator who entraps her; and an idealistic SS officer assigned to root out concentration camp corruption.
PAST LIFE
Dir. Avi Nesher (Israel, 2016)
In what is arguably Avi Nesher's most daring film to date, two sisters, the daughters of Holocaust survivors, investigate a taboo topic in 1977 Jerusalem: the mystery of their father's survival in Poland during WWII.
PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT ME
Dir. Hadas Ben Aroya (Israel, 2016)
Heralded as the Israeli answer to Girls and Frances Ha, Hadas Ben Aroya's assured debut feature is a personal tour-de-force that tackles modern romance in all of its technological confusion, forced aloofness, and loveless sexuality.
THE PULITZER AT 100
Dir. Kirk Simon (United States, 2016)
From Oscar®-winning director Kirk Simon (Strangers No More) comes an illuminating and exhilarating new documentary film about the history and legacy of the Pulitzer Prize.
A QUIET HEART
Dir. Eitan Anner (Israel, 2016)
In present day Jerusalem-where the gulf between the secular and religious communities often seems impossibly large-a secular young woman from Tel Aviv seeks refuge from the pressure of her life as a concert pianist.
RABBI WOLFF - A GENTLEMAN BEFORE GOD
Dir. Britta Wauer (Germany, 2016)
William Wolff is perhaps the world's most unconventional rabbi. The documentary traces Wolff's hectic routine and his eventful past: from fleeing Nazi Germany as a child, to his career as a London-based political correspondent, to becoming a rabbi.
SCARRED HEARTS
Dir. Radu Jude (Germany/Romania, 2016)
Inspired by Jewish-Romanian author Max Blecher's acclaimed autobiographical novel, Scarred Hearts is reminiscent of an intellectually fiery The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
STARS
Dir. Konrad Wolf (Bulgaria/East Germany, 1959)
This gripping drama, based on the personal story of screenwriter Angel Wagenstein during the Holocaust in the Balkans, sheds light on the Sephardic experience of WWII.
STEFAN ZWEIG, FAREWELL TO EUROPE
Dir. Maria Schrader (Austria/France/Germany, 2016)
Actress-turned-director Maria Schrader (the brilliant lead in Aimee & Jaguar) tells the story of the Stefan Zweig's exile years in five lyrical chapters, bringing to light the liminal expatriate existence of one of the century's greatest minds.
STRANGE VICTORY
Dir. Leo Hurwitz (United States, 1948)
Collaging nonfiction materials, newsreel footage, and Leo Hurwitz's brilliantly-shot scenes, Strange Victory powerfully documents the racism and anti-Semitism of post-WWII America.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
SUBTE-POLSKA
Dir. Alejandro Magnone (Argentina, 2015)
Tadeusz was as a young Polish émigré to Argentina, a brigadier in the Spanish Civil War, and a construction worker. Now 90, he hits the road in search of former lovers, friends, and his youthful vigor.
Featured in the Laugh Track strand.
SUPERGIRL
Dir. Jessie Auritt (United States, 2016)
When a nine-year-old girl breaks a powerlifting world record, she turns into an international phenomenon. In this documentary, Naomi Kutin seems like a typical Orthodox Jewish pre-teen, until her extraordinary talent transforms everything.
THANK YOU FOR CALLING
Dir. Pascal Elbé (France, 2015)
This suspenseful comedy-thriller stars Vincent Elbaz (Would I Lie to You) as Gilbert Perez, a brilliant con artist who manages to trick employees of large French businesses into stealing money from their companies.
TO BE OR NOT TO BE
Dir. Ernst Lubitsch (United States, 1942)
75th Anniversary Screening! Carole Lombard's last film is much more highly regarded today than at the time of its release. Cast as the wife of Jack Benny, a hammy Hamlet in an acting troupe stranded in wartime Poland, she was never more alluring or more in control of her craft.
UNCLE HOWARD
Dir. Aaron Brookner (United States, 2016)
25 years after Howard Brookner's premature AIDS-related death, his nephew, documentary filmmaker Aaron, sets out to find the lost negative of Burroughs: The Movie, his uncle's critically-acclaimed portrait of William S. Burroughs.
Featured in the Rated LGBTQ strand.
WONDERFUL KINGDOM OF PAPA ALAEV
Dirs. Tal Barda and Noam Pinchas (Israel, 2016)
Meet Tajikistan's answer to the Jackson family. In this documentary, Allo "Papa" Alaev dominates all aspects of his music clan's lives, on stage and off. All of his children live in a single-family home in Tel Aviv. All but one, that is - an intrepid daughter who breaks from the fold.
THE WRITER (3 episodes)
Dir. Shay Capon (Israel, 2016)
Sayed Kashua centers The Writer on his fictional self, Kateb, who, after achieving runaway success with TV hit Arab Labor, becomes the poster boy for the new age Arab-Israeli, possessing the ability to shift seamlessly between the two cultures.
ZUZANA: MUSIC IS LIFE
Dirs. Peter Getzels and Harriet Gordon Getzels (Czech Republic/United States, 2016)
The triumphant story told of Zuzana Ruzickova, now 90, documents how she became a world-famous harpsichordist and interpreter of Bach under the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, after surviving three concentration camps as a teenager.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
TICKET INFORMATION:
Ticket sales begin in early April, and continue through the festival. Patrons are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance as many shows sell out. In addition to $13 single tickets (for standard events), WJFF offers Festival passes for $175 and All Access VIP Passes for $275. Festival passes for patrons 30 years of age or younger are available for $40. More information is available at www.wjff.org.
ABOUT THE WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL:
The Washington Jewish Film Festival (WJFF) is the centerpiece of the Edlavitch DCJCC's comprehensive year-round film program. One of the largest and most respected Jewish film festivals in North America, WJFF is an international exhibition of cinema that celebrates the diversity of Jewish history, culture and experience through the moving image.
The WJFF serves over 18,000 people annually through 180+ screenings, nearly all of which are world, U.S. or regional premieres.
Follow the Washington Jewish Film Festival on Twitter (@wjff) for updates with the latest information about the festival and filmmakers who will participate in the WJFF. Join the conversation using #wjff on social media.
ABOUT THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC:
The Edlavitch DCJCC - the vibrant home and cultural heart of Jewish Washington - works to preserve and strengthen Jewish identity, tradition and values through a wide variety of social, cultural, recreational and educational programs and services. The EDCJCC is a partner agency of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.
The EDCJCC embraces inclusion in all its programs and activities. We welcome and encourage the participation of all people, regardless of their background, sexual orientation, abilities, or religion, including interfaith couples and families.
The Edlavitch DCJCC is located at 1529 16th Street, NW in Washington, DC, four blocks east of Dupont Circle.
In addition to the main film program, the festival features a series of discussions and screenings to celebrate artists behind the camera, on stage and, even, in the kitchen. Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland will be honored with the WJFF Visionary Award. "As If, A Clueless Night!" is bringing back the '90s with a party and screening of CLUELESS followed by a conversation with filmmaker Amy Heckerling. The 7th Annual Community Day of Education on Arab Citizens of Israel pairs a screening of 77 STEPS with a panel discussion on the daily lives and challenges of Arab citizens of Israel. "An Evening of Yiddish Culture" explores the enduring artistic legacy of Yiddish film and music. The ever-popular "Two Jews Walk into a Bar (and a Deli)" is a one-of-a-kind cinematic bar crawl.
A project of the Edlavitch DCJCC, the Washington Jewish Film Festival (WJFF) is the largest Jewish cultural event in the greater Washington, D.C. area. Films and programs will take place at AFI Silver Theatre, Bethesda Row Cinema, E Street Cinema, the National Gallery of Art, and the Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater at the Edlavitch DCJCC.
A full Festival schedule can be found at www.wjff.org. A list of titles and events is included below.
OPENING NIGHT SELECTION:
THE WOMEN'S BALCONY
Dir. Emil Ben-Shimon (Israel, 2016)
An accident leads to a gender rift in a devout Orthodox community in Jerusalem, in this rousing, gold-hearted tale about women speaking truth to patriarchal power.
Featured in the Laugh Track strand.
CLOSING NIGHT SELECTION:
FANNY'S JOURNEY
Dir. Lola Doillon (Belgium/France, 2016)
It's 1943, and 12-year-old Fanny stays hidden in a home far from her parents. She takes care of her two younger sisters until she is forced to flee. Fanny thereupon leads a group of eight children heading across occupied France.
WJFF VISIONARY AWARD PRESENTED TO AGNIESZKA HOLLAND:
 |
| Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland |
Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland will be honored with the WJFF's Visionary Award, which recognizes creativity and insight in presenting the Jewish experience on film.
Holland's debut feature Provincial Actors (1978), was heralded as a leader of the "cinema of moral disquiet" movement, and won the International Critics Prize at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival. In 1981, after Marshall Law was instituted in Poland, Holland emigrated to France.
Among her impressive and prolific catalog of films made in the west, highlights include Angry Harvest (1985), Europa Europa (1990), and In Darkness (2011)-all of which were nominated for Academy Awards.
Holland is actively involved in TV production, having directed seminal episodes of major US TV series including The Wire, Treme, The Killing, and House of Cards. Her latest film, Spoor, premiered at the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival, where it was awarded the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize.
Agnieszka Holland joins us for a Q&A, Award ceremony, and a screening of her Oscar nominated film Angry Harvest.
SPOTLIGHT SELECTIONS:
THE BLOOM OF YESTERDAY
Dir. Chris Kraus (125 min, Austria/Germany, 2016)
A self-serious German Holocaust researcher is struggling with his complicated family history and flagging career. At the height of his crisis, he's assigned a new intern, who might be his exact opposite.
Featured in the Laugh Track strand.
CLUELESS
Dir. Amy Heckerling (97 min, United States, 1995)
Director Amy Heckerling in person! Special screening of iconic 90s teen comedy starring Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd.
Prior to the show, join us for As If, A Clueless Night for drinks, games, a photo booth, and more.
Featured in the Laugh Track strand.
THE HISTORY OF LOVE
Dir. Radu Mihăileanu / (134 min, Canada/France, 2016)
Based on Nicole Krauss' bestselling novel, The History of Love is a sprawling saga of undaunted ardor and merciless twists of fate. Featuring a brilliant cast including Gemma Arterton, Derek Jacobi, and Elliott Gould.
MENASHE
Dir. Joshua Z. Weinstein (105 min, Israel/United States, 2017)
Deep in the heart of New York's ultra-orthodox Hasidic Jewish community, a grocery store clerk struggles to provide for and responsibly parent his young son following the death of his wife. A major hit of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
ON THE MAP
Dir. Dani Menken (85 min, Israel, 2016)
A fast-moving and emotional documentary about the 1977 Maccabee Tel-Aviv basketball team - a squad that no one believed could win, but ended up toppling the four-time defending European championship Soviet club.
MAIN SLATE:
1945
Dir. Ferenc Török (Hungary, 2017)
It's August 1945 - an uneasy stillness pervades a small Hungarian village longing for a return to normalcy after the war. Two strangers arrive - they are father and son; they are Holocaust survivors.
AND WHEN I DIE, I WON'T STAY DEAD
Dir. Billy Woodberry (United States, 2015)
A contemporary of Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs, African American poet Bob Kaufman is one of the Beat Generation's most overlooked artists. Filmmaker Billy Woodberry - leader of the L.A. Rebellion film movement - offers a cinematic ode to Kaufman's life, work, and legacy.
ANGEL WAGENSTEIN: ART IS A WEAPON
Dir. Andrea Simon (Bulgaria/United States, 2017)
Bulgarian-Jewish filmmaker, partisan hero, screenwriter, and author Angel Wagenstein demonstrates the power of art to act as a revolutionary bulwark against oppressive governments and ideologies.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
BAL EJ: THE HIDDEN JEWS OF ETHIOPIA
Dir. Irene Orleansky (Israel, 2016)
Following a hundred-year-old account of prominent Jewish scholar Jacque Faitlovich, filmmaker and distinguished ethnomusicologist Irene Orleansky travels to Africa to discover and explore a small and secretive group of Ethiopian Jews.
BEN-GURION, EPILOGUE
Dir. Yariv Mozer (France/Israel, 2016)
It is 1968, and Ben-Gurion is 82 years old. He lives in the seclusion of his home in the desert removed from all political discourse, which allows him a unique perspective on the Zionist movement.
BETWEEN WORLDS
Dir. Miya Hatav (Israel, 2016)
Visiting their son in a Jerusalem hospital in the aftermath of a terrorist attack, Orthodox couple Bina and Meir form a surprising bond with Amal, a beautiful young Arab woman, seemingly there to attend to her dying father.
BODY AND SOUL: AN AMERICAN BRIDGE
Dir. Robert Philipson (United States, 2016)
Examining the fascinating history of the titular jazz standard,filmmaker Robert Philipson explores the fraternity and conflict between African American and Jewish American musicians that left an indelible mark on this country's cultural history.
CABARET
Dir. Bob Fosse (United States, 1972)
WJFF Classics - 45th Anniversary Presentation.
In 1930s Berlin, impulsive and morally liberal agent provocateur Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli) meets the scholarly and handsome Bryan (Michael York), and the two develop an intimate relationship.
Featured in the Rated LGBTQ strand.
A CLASSY BROAD
Dir. Anne Goursaud (United States, 2016)
Marcia Nasatir broke through the film industry's glass ceiling back in the 1970s. The Jewish San Antonian became a successful producer and the first woman to serve as vice president of production at a major Hollywood studio (United Artists.)
CLOUDY SUNDAY
Dir. Manoussos Manoussakis (Greece, 2016)
A smash box-office hit in Greece, Cloudy Sunday tracks a tumultuous wartime romance between a Jewish girl and Christian resistance fighter set against the backdrop of Thessaloniki's vibrant Sephardic community.
DAD IN TRAINING
Dir. Cyril Gelblat (France, 2015)
Obsessed with making music, Antoine takes his marriage to Alice, a beautiful, accomplished magistrate and loving mother to their daughters, for granted - until she throws him out, files for divorce, and leaves the girls on his doorstep!
Featured in the Laugh Track strand.
DIMONA TWIST
Dir. Michal Aviad (Israel, 2016)
Michal Aviad (The Women Pioneers) follows the lives of seven North African and Polish women who arrive to Israel by boat in the 1950s and 1960s and are sent straight to Dimona, a newly formed desert town.
DOING JEWISH: A STORY FROM GHANA
Dir. Gabrielle Zilkha (Canada/Ghana/United States, 2016)
When Gabrielle Zilkha, a Canadian filmmaker working in Accra, gets a call from her mother telling her that she's found Jews with whom to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, Zilkha sets off to find the tiny but vibrant Sefwi Jewish community.
THE EXCEPTION
Dir. David Leveaux (United Kingdom, 2016)
A riveting WWII thriller filled with espionage and romance in equal measure, The Exception follows German soldier Stefan Brandt (Jai Courtney) as he investigates exiled German Monarch Kaiser Wilhelm II (Christopher Plummer.)
EXIT: MUSIC
Dir. James Murdoch (Canada/Germany/Israel/United States, 2016)
Exploring the lives and exile of five composers - Paul Ben-Haim, Adolf Busch, Walter Branfels, Erich Korngold, and Mieczyslaw Weinberg - Exit: Music investigates anti-Semitism in the music industry and the Third Reich's hijacking of German music for propaganda purposes.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
FAMILY COMMITMENTS
Dir. Hanno Olderdissen (Germany, 2015)
After two years of dating, David pops the question, and Khaled's answer is unequivocally, "Yes!" Tying the knot proves challenging however, courtesy of a homophobic Arab father and a pseudo-orthodox, overbearing Jewish mother.
Featured in the Laugh Track and Rated LGBTQ strands.
FOG IN AUGUST
Dir. Kai Wessel (Austria/Germany, 2016)
Based on a true story, a harrowing tale of a Roma boy's experiences with the Nazi euthanasia program while he is held in a mental hospital.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
FOREVER PURE
Dir. Maya Zinshtein (Ireland/Israel/Norway/United Kingdom, 2016)
The Beitar football club - the most popular and controversial soccer team in Israel - deals with racist outrage from fans after signing two Muslim players.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
THE FREEDOM TO MARRY
Dir. Eddie Rosenstein (United States, 2016)
An insider's look at the organizers and carefully structured campaign behind the marriage equality movement - now known as one of the most successful civil rights initiatives in modern history.
Featured in the Rated LGBTQ strand.
A GERMAN LIFE
Dirs. Christian Krönes, Florian Weigensamer, Roland Schrotthofer, Olaf S. Müller (Austria, 2016)
Brunhilde Pomsel got closer to Nazi-Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels than anyone else. Aged 105 during filming, she used to work as secretary and stenographer for one of worst criminals in history.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
THE GUYS NEXT DOOR
Dirs. Amy Geller and Allie Humenuk (United States, 2016)
Raised in a Jewish family, Rachel and her husband Tony are a traditional married couple with their three teenage children. Less traditional is Rachel's decision, at 41, to become a surrogate for Erik and his husband Sandro, not once, but twice within two years.
Featured in the Rated LGBTQ strand.
HARMONIA
Dir. Ori Sivan (Israel, 2016)
A contemporary adaptation of the biblical tale of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, set in the world of the Jerusalem Philharmonic Orchestra. Nominated for 4 Ophir (Israeli Academy) Awards.
HOLY ZOO
Dir. Katharina Waisburd (Germany, 2016)
In the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, Israelis & Palestinians and Jews & Muslims encounter each other every day. They meet as visitors or work as animal attendants side-by-side −something quite ordinary in other countries, but a telling exception here.
THE HOURGLASS SANATORIUM
Dir. Wojciech Jerzy Has (Poland, 1973)
Wojciech Jerzy Has' restored art-house masterpiece conjures a surrealist dreamscape in which past and present - from the Three Wise Men to the Holocaust - collide in a mind-bending phantasmagoria.
Followed by a talk by Columbia professor Annette Insdorf, and a signing of her new book, Intimations: The Cinema of Wojciech Has.
IN BETWEEN
Dir. Maysaloun Hamoud (France/Israel, 2016)
In Maysaloun Hamoud's remarkable feature debut, three Palestinian women sharing an apartment in the vibrant heart of Tel Aviv find themselves in a complicated balancing act between tradition & modernity, citizenship & culture, and fealty & freedom.
Featured in the Rated LGBTQ strand.
A JEW MUST DIE
Dir. Jacob Berger (Switzerland, 2016)
Popular myth holds that Switzerland remained an innocent bystander during WWII. Famed writer Jacques Chessex powerfully repudiates this notion when, after a lengthy period of silence, he shares what he witnessed as a young boy. Starring Bruno Ganz.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
JERRY LEWIS: THE MAN BEHIND THE CLOWN
Dir. Gregory Monro (France/United States, 2016)
Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Rosenbaum, and other film luminaries examine Jerry Lewis' groundbreaking and controversial career - from film credits such as The Bellboy and The Nutty Professor to his edgy standup material.
Featured in the Laugh Track strand.
KEEP QUIET
Dirs. Sam Blair and Joseph Martin (Hungary/United Kingdom, 2016)
As vice-president of Hungary's far-right extremist party, Csanad Szegedi espoused anti-Semitic rhetoric and Holocaust denials, but found his life upended when his own Jewish roots were revealed. Keep Quiet depicts Szegedi's three-year journey to embrace his newfound religion.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
LET YOURSELF GO
Dir. Francesco Amato (Italy, 2016)
Elia (Toni Servillo, The Great Beauty) is a distinguished psychoanalyst who has little patience for physical exertion of any kind. When fate pairs him with Claudia-a personal trainer obsessed with the cult of the body-the circumstances threaten to drive him right out of his celebrated mind.
A LETTER TO MOTHER
Dir. Joseph Green (Poland, 1939)
Restored 35mm presentation courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film. Released in the US two weeks after the German blitzkrieg over Poland, this tale of family disintegration and poverty serves as a metaphor for the displacement facing European Jews in 1939.
LOVE IS THICKER THAN WATER
Dirs. Ate de Jong and Emily Harris (United Kingdom, 2016)
Opposites attract when Vida, an urbane Jewish cellist from London, falls in love with Arthur, a working class bike courier from Wales. Their class and cultural differences - not to mention disapproving families - quickly test the relationship.
Featured in the Laugh Track strand.
MOOS
Dir. Job Gosschalk (Netherlands, 2016)
In this charming, Amsterdam-set comedy, Moos has put her life on hold long enough; she's finally set to pursue her dream of going to acting school. Not actually having been accepted is only a minor hiccup...
Featured in the Laugh Track strand.
MURDER IN POLNA (Parts 1 and 2)
Dirs. Viktor Polesný and Vaclav Jester (Czech Republic, 2016)
A riveting, timely, and chilling historical drama that explores the Hilsner affair, a criminal investigation that veered dangerously off course due to a simmering anti-Semitism in 1899 Czechoslovakia.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
MY DEAR CHILDREN: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE POGROMS (Work-in-Progress)
Dirs. LeeAnn Dance and Cliff Hackel (United States, 2017)
WJFF is partnering with Docs In Progress® to present this workshop screening. Years after her father's death, using a letter written by her grandmother as a guide, Judy sets out from South Africa to explore the family's roots in Ukraine.
MY HERO BROTHER
Dir. Yonatan Nir (Israel, 2016)
A group of remarkable young people with Down syndrome embark on a demanding trip through the Indian Himalayas, accompanied by their brothers and sisters.
OMG, I'M A ROBOT
Dirs. Tal Goldberg and Gal Zelezniak (Israel, 2016)
Dumped by his sweetheart for being too sensitive, Danny is overwhelmed with sadness and decides to cut himself - only to discover that instead of blood, sparks shoot out and spliced wires protrude: turns out he's a robot!
Featured in the Laugh Track strand.
OPERATION WEDDING
Dir. Anat Zalmanson Kuznetsov (Israel/Latvia, 2016)
In 1970, a group of Jewish dissidents plotted to hijack an empty plane and escape the USSR. Caught by the KGB, two were sentenced to death, and the rest were assigned hard labor. 45 years later, this documentary filmmaker reveals the story of her parents, "heroes" in the West and "terrorists" in Russia.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
PARADISE
Dir. Andrei Konchalovsky (Germany/Russia, 2016)
Russia's Oscar submission follows the lives of three souls that intertwine in Nazi Europe: a Russian member of the French resistance; the French collaborator who entraps her; and an idealistic SS officer assigned to root out concentration camp corruption.
PAST LIFE
Dir. Avi Nesher (Israel, 2016)
In what is arguably Avi Nesher's most daring film to date, two sisters, the daughters of Holocaust survivors, investigate a taboo topic in 1977 Jerusalem: the mystery of their father's survival in Poland during WWII.
PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT ME
Dir. Hadas Ben Aroya (Israel, 2016)
Heralded as the Israeli answer to Girls and Frances Ha, Hadas Ben Aroya's assured debut feature is a personal tour-de-force that tackles modern romance in all of its technological confusion, forced aloofness, and loveless sexuality.
THE PULITZER AT 100
Dir. Kirk Simon (United States, 2016)
From Oscar®-winning director Kirk Simon (Strangers No More) comes an illuminating and exhilarating new documentary film about the history and legacy of the Pulitzer Prize.
A QUIET HEART
Dir. Eitan Anner (Israel, 2016)
In present day Jerusalem-where the gulf between the secular and religious communities often seems impossibly large-a secular young woman from Tel Aviv seeks refuge from the pressure of her life as a concert pianist.
RABBI WOLFF - A GENTLEMAN BEFORE GOD
Dir. Britta Wauer (Germany, 2016)
William Wolff is perhaps the world's most unconventional rabbi. The documentary traces Wolff's hectic routine and his eventful past: from fleeing Nazi Germany as a child, to his career as a London-based political correspondent, to becoming a rabbi.
SCARRED HEARTS
Dir. Radu Jude (Germany/Romania, 2016)
Inspired by Jewish-Romanian author Max Blecher's acclaimed autobiographical novel, Scarred Hearts is reminiscent of an intellectually fiery The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
STARS
Dir. Konrad Wolf (Bulgaria/East Germany, 1959)
This gripping drama, based on the personal story of screenwriter Angel Wagenstein during the Holocaust in the Balkans, sheds light on the Sephardic experience of WWII.
STEFAN ZWEIG, FAREWELL TO EUROPE
Dir. Maria Schrader (Austria/France/Germany, 2016)
Actress-turned-director Maria Schrader (the brilliant lead in Aimee & Jaguar) tells the story of the Stefan Zweig's exile years in five lyrical chapters, bringing to light the liminal expatriate existence of one of the century's greatest minds.
STRANGE VICTORY
Dir. Leo Hurwitz (United States, 1948)
Collaging nonfiction materials, newsreel footage, and Leo Hurwitz's brilliantly-shot scenes, Strange Victory powerfully documents the racism and anti-Semitism of post-WWII America.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
SUBTE-POLSKA
Dir. Alejandro Magnone (Argentina, 2015)
Tadeusz was as a young Polish émigré to Argentina, a brigadier in the Spanish Civil War, and a construction worker. Now 90, he hits the road in search of former lovers, friends, and his youthful vigor.
Featured in the Laugh Track strand.
SUPERGIRL
Dir. Jessie Auritt (United States, 2016)
When a nine-year-old girl breaks a powerlifting world record, she turns into an international phenomenon. In this documentary, Naomi Kutin seems like a typical Orthodox Jewish pre-teen, until her extraordinary talent transforms everything.
THANK YOU FOR CALLING
Dir. Pascal Elbé (France, 2015)
This suspenseful comedy-thriller stars Vincent Elbaz (Would I Lie to You) as Gilbert Perez, a brilliant con artist who manages to trick employees of large French businesses into stealing money from their companies.
TO BE OR NOT TO BE
Dir. Ernst Lubitsch (United States, 1942)
75th Anniversary Screening! Carole Lombard's last film is much more highly regarded today than at the time of its release. Cast as the wife of Jack Benny, a hammy Hamlet in an acting troupe stranded in wartime Poland, she was never more alluring or more in control of her craft.
UNCLE HOWARD
Dir. Aaron Brookner (United States, 2016)
25 years after Howard Brookner's premature AIDS-related death, his nephew, documentary filmmaker Aaron, sets out to find the lost negative of Burroughs: The Movie, his uncle's critically-acclaimed portrait of William S. Burroughs.
Featured in the Rated LGBTQ strand.
WONDERFUL KINGDOM OF PAPA ALAEV
Dirs. Tal Barda and Noam Pinchas (Israel, 2016)
Meet Tajikistan's answer to the Jackson family. In this documentary, Allo "Papa" Alaev dominates all aspects of his music clan's lives, on stage and off. All of his children live in a single-family home in Tel Aviv. All but one, that is - an intrepid daughter who breaks from the fold.
THE WRITER (3 episodes)
Dir. Shay Capon (Israel, 2016)
Sayed Kashua centers The Writer on his fictional self, Kateb, who, after achieving runaway success with TV hit Arab Labor, becomes the poster boy for the new age Arab-Israeli, possessing the ability to shift seamlessly between the two cultures.
ZUZANA: MUSIC IS LIFE
Dirs. Peter Getzels and Harriet Gordon Getzels (Czech Republic/United States, 2016)
The triumphant story told of Zuzana Ruzickova, now 90, documents how she became a world-famous harpsichordist and interpreter of Bach under the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, after surviving three concentration camps as a teenager.
Featured in the Mechanisms of Extremism strand.
TICKET INFORMATION:
Ticket sales begin in early April, and continue through the festival. Patrons are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance as many shows sell out. In addition to $13 single tickets (for standard events), WJFF offers Festival passes for $175 and All Access VIP Passes for $275. Festival passes for patrons 30 years of age or younger are available for $40. More information is available at www.wjff.org.
ABOUT THE WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL:
The Washington Jewish Film Festival (WJFF) is the centerpiece of the Edlavitch DCJCC's comprehensive year-round film program. One of the largest and most respected Jewish film festivals in North America, WJFF is an international exhibition of cinema that celebrates the diversity of Jewish history, culture and experience through the moving image.
The WJFF serves over 18,000 people annually through 180+ screenings, nearly all of which are world, U.S. or regional premieres.
Follow the Washington Jewish Film Festival on Twitter (@wjff) for updates with the latest information about the festival and filmmakers who will participate in the WJFF. Join the conversation using #wjff on social media.
ABOUT THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC:
The Edlavitch DCJCC - the vibrant home and cultural heart of Jewish Washington - works to preserve and strengthen Jewish identity, tradition and values through a wide variety of social, cultural, recreational and educational programs and services. The EDCJCC is a partner agency of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.
The EDCJCC embraces inclusion in all its programs and activities. We welcome and encourage the participation of all people, regardless of their background, sexual orientation, abilities, or religion, including interfaith couples and families.
The Edlavitch DCJCC is located at 1529 16th Street, NW in Washington, DC, four blocks east of Dupont Circle.
