At the Castro Theatre and Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
Jewish culture and life is a rich swath of material from which many, many talented minds have spun stories reflecting the diversity and depth of experience unique to its people. The first (started in 1980) and still the largest of its kind (with some 30,000 attendees), the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival continues to search the world (this year 16 countries) for the best stories told on film (38 features, 19 shorts), presenting them as a starting point for discovery and discussion and celebration that highlight 5771 years of culture. This film festival is not for Jews only. Films from around the world are showcased, with documentaries, narratives, love stories, comedies, family dramas, and all the human interest stories all people can relate to and enjoy.
Don't miss the Parties
Pre-Festival Kick-off free outdoor screening of 'When Harry Met Sally' (1989)
Opening Night Post-Film Bash
Closing Night Celebration
Panels and Workshops
The Special Programs
On Sunday, July 24, the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival will present its Freedom of Expression Award to Hollywood icon Kirk Douglas on the stage of the Castro Theatre in celebration of the 50th anniversary of SPARTACUS and Douglas' proudest professional achievement: breaking the Hollywood blacklist. Douglas -who is Jewish (born Issur Danielovitch) - bravely broke the Hollywood blacklist when he insisted on giving a screen credit to blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo for SPARTACUS, which Douglas starred in and produced. Though the decision was widely criticized at the time, Douglas is now celebrated as having helped put an end to the legacy of the McCarthy era in Hollywood. At 94 years old, with over 87 films, 10 plays and 9 books to his credit, Douglas continues to regard breaking the blacklist to be his proudest career achievement.
Meet some of the many Special Guests attending the festival .
And movies, movies, movies.
For movie info and tickets.
Festival calendar.
Films I have seen:
Mabul - opening night
Yoni is looking forward to his Bar Mitzvah. Of course, he wishes he was taller and his voice was deeper, but he's doing what he can to mature as quickly as possible. The irony is he is already old beyond his years due to circumstances. To say he has a dysfunctional family is to understate the situation. Dad has lost his job, Mom is painfully unhappy; only teaching the pre-schoolers in her charge gives her joy and that situation is becoming tenuous. Their severely autistic son, Yoni's older brother, has been brought back home after a lifetime of being institutionalized, which throws the whole family into added turmoil. Yoni also has problems at school. The burdens of life are weighing far too heavily on this 12 year old, and he has run out of solutions.
Yoni is studying a section of the Torah to recite during his bar mitzvah. It's about Noah and the flood (Mabul in Hebrew), and it symbolizes the overwhelming situation which threatens to drown Yoni and his whole family. But it can also cleanse the earth, so they may start anew. Yoav Rotman gives a riveting performance as the serious man-child with the weight of the world on his shoulders. The rest of the family as well as supporting characters all paint a realistic portrait of life in a small coastal town where everybody knows everything about everybody else and compassion is in very short supply. This story is not endemic to Israel, but a reflection of universal problems we all face, foremost being parents and children not communicating honestly and openly with each other.
Bobby Fischer Against The World
Who doesn't want to see a documentary about Bobby Fischer? You don't have to love chess or even know how to play to appreciate this World Chess Champion's rise and downfall. If you weren't around in 1972, when Fischer and Spassky fought for the title in Iceland, you might not remember that news on the matches between them was always the first headline, preceding the latest on the Vietnam War or other catastrophes around the world. Fischer was described as brilliant, arrogant, obsessed, eccentric, a prima donna, tedious, inconsiderate. Later in his life, he became an exiled fugitive, an anti-semite with paranoid delusions, alone, but never forgotten. Like many geniuses, especially in the field of chess, his career reads like that of a Greek hero's -- the meteoric rise from unlikely beginnings (in this instance, a Brooklyn Jewish boy from a single-mother's small apartment) with what seems to be a God-bestowed gift, and then a tragic fall into the depths of despair, loneliness and defeat in a distant barren, icy, remote land. There's lots of newsreel footage, interviews with Bobby and then-associates, all building a detailed and even sympathetic portrait of this pained genius.
Connected: An Autoblogograpy About Love, Death and Technology
One of the first theories discussed in this film is that with the invention of writing, men became dominant over women since writing changed the course of civilization and it is left brain activity and men are more left brain oriented than women. Right brain activity, which is more prominent in women, generally, concerns imagery. It is only appropriate that this film, directed and co-written by a woman, Tiffany Shlain, would be rampant with images, visuals demonstrating almost every word of dialogue. And the scientific explanations are narrated by a man, Peter Coyote. It is a colorful, fast-paced, philosophical treatise on where humans came from and where they're going -- especially in terms of being connected. Communication, starting with grunts, to language and writing, to telephonic communications and all realms of exchange of ideas is explored. But as the dire ecological situation the earth is now facing shows (through numerous examples), the more connectivity, the greater the consequences. Related to this, Shlain states growth for growth's sake is cancer. This strikes a very personal chord for Shlain because throughout this scientific and sociological probe of today's connectedness, she relates her own life: her childhood, what her father taught her, her pregnancy which takes place during the production of the film, and the impending death of her beloved father by cancer. Just about everything in the world and a little beyond is fodder for discussion since the theme is connectedness and everything is connected to everything else -- from bees to DeVinci, from dopamine to the Texas-sized island of plastic waste floating in the Pacific. 'Connectedness' takes an optimistic view of the impending resolution of the Earth's situation, a left brain conclusion, if you will, based on advances in technology coupled with the human need to love, hug, and twitter.
Eichmann's End: Love, Betrayal, Death
This docu-drama was based on interviews of Eichmann by journalist Willem Sassen in 1957. Eichmann had already been living in Buenos Aires for several years. He felt comfortable discussing his role in the extermination of 6 million Jews because Sassen was a Nazi sympathizer and had promised to write Eichmann's biography for all posterity to remember his important German Nationalist role, especially after the establishment of the Fourth Reich. Actors recreate these interviews and it is disturbing to listen to Eichmann unabashedly and systematically recall with pride his part in the Holocaust, stating he only regrets he didn't 'transport' the hoped-for 10 million count of 'enemies.' It is almost equally disturbing watching Sassen's deadpan response, never being swayed by Eichmann's cold-bloodied descriptions of the atrocities to take a more humanistic response or to change his own political viewpoint. Also re-enacted are the budding romance between Eichmann's son and Holocaust survivor Hermann's daughter (which ultimately led to Eichmann's capture), both of their home situations, and the men involved with Eichmann's capture. The scenes are interspersed with interviews of many people who were present at the time. Since many Jews fled to South American to escape the Holocaust, many also re-established themselves there after the war, and war criminals hid in the same countries, it was startling to see them all figuratively brushing against each other on the streets thousands of miles away from the actual cause of their migration.
An Encounter with Simone Weil
Simone was a French-Jewish writer and philosopher of the 1930's and 40's. Her underlying tenant was that to truly empathize with an individual, class or nationality, one must suffer as they do. She said 'attention is the rarest and purest for of generosity.' How she actualized this attention is demonstrated in the film through historic photographs and interviews with family members and followers. She quit her position as a teacher to work in a factory, she refused costly medical care that would be out of reach to the working class, and she paid the ultimate price for it. She would sacrifice everything for her beliefs which included political solutions to human oppression, rights and humane conditions for the workers, the cause of the Spanish Civil, often butting philosophies with the Communist Party, which she never joined. She was a deeply committed, brilliant woman one might also suspect was a clinically depressed masochist. Filmmaker Julia Haslett investigates this obscure political philosopher and activist not just to keep her from being completely forgotten or because of admiration for her, but because Haslett believes she can find vital answers to her own life. The quest to 'speak with' or encounter Weil seems desperate and doomed. It's tragic to see this documentarian try to solve her own personal problems through the investigation of an historic figure who may not have even been equipped with the answers .
Five Weddings and a Felony
Josh Freed got his degree in filmmaking 5 years earlier and still hadn't made a movie. It was bothering him, so he decided to make a documentary based on his relationships with his girlfriends. An auto-biopic is always a dangerous proposition. You don't want to look good or you're accused of blatant egotistical self-promotion. You have to take the low road, and Josh's self deprecating, self-loathing approach seems to be the only approach he could use anyway based on testimonials about him given by the ex-girlfriends.. Only Ross McElwee's 'Sherman's March' (1986) was successful in this genre. He not only allowed us to follow his many train wreck relationships with women, but he taught us valuable lessons about Sherman's destructive path through the South that helped vanquish the Rebels and end the Civil War. Note that not one of McElwee's women stutter the use the word 'like' interminably and giggle as Josh's women are wont to do. Also, McElwee's women are varied in background, career, looks and attitude; Josh obviously has a type. Josh opens the film with his bar mitzvah video, referring to the girls who were friends and a girl who broke his heart. For the duration of the film he introduces the many women he disappoints through the time frame of the film and explains the aberrant strategy he uses to foil each potential match. He says that, like Groucho Marx who won't to join any club that would have him as a member, Josh questions any woman who would want him. Over the course of his short relationships, we see that, actually, he just rationalizes how they feel about him so he can have sex with them and then move one. He's cute, so it's not terribly difficult for him to start relationships. But he does eventually run out of victims. Thus, he resorts to recording the five weddings of his friends, one of whom has a fiance with a legal problem, so he has enough footage for a feature. We probably know more about Josh than he is willing to know about himself. This film may be a public service to all the women who might otherwise hook up with Josh in the future.
In Another Lifetime
A small band of Germans soldiers is marching a group of Jews from Budapest, Hungary, to Auschwitz for extermination. I expect this is historically correct, but I wonder why they don't just kill the Jews where they find them and take a transport truck home. In any case, it's nearing the end of the war, and the soldiers realize their situation is futile. They drop off the Jewish prisoners in a barn, bar the barn door and pretty much leave them. The farmer, his wife and young servant girl and stuck with them, not knowing what to do. Since the war isn't over yet and people only get propaganda on the radio, no one knows the actual situation. What will the farmer and family do with the captives? For how long are they stuck with the? The Jews also have no idea if they will be killed, marched on the Auschwitz or die of starvation where they sit in the locked barn. As one of the prisoner says, 'The world out there wants to kill us. That's why we have to pretend we are in another one.' They decide to put on a little Strauss operetta to amuse the farmer and other locals, thereby prolonging their lives. This is a situation in which people's emotions can be explored -- the warming of the German peasants to the destitute and desperate Jews, the Jews' wavering emotions between despair and hope. The tension never lessons since the German presence is not completely gone, various locals have unsympathetic attitudes towards the Jewish prisoners, and the situation need change by only a hair to cause annihilation. The wavering emotions of the farmers in this community whose lives were also devastated by the war, the humor, madness, and fortitude of the Jews -- all are subtly and convincingly portrayed by the excellent cast. The only annoyance is the constant repetition of one waltz, 'Viennese Blood,' by Strauss, ad infinitum. If only these wandering Jews knew more than one song.
In Heaven Underground: The Weissmansee Jewish Cemetery
This is the first I've ever heard of the Weissmansee Jewish Cemetery, a vast, 100 acre woodland holding over 115,000 Jewish graves in the middle of Berlin. How could this be? Untouched by the Nazis during the Reich, untouched for the 130 years of operation and still going, it is called a captivating necropolis. The visitors to this strange and hallowed place range from mourners to bird watchers to veterans honoring their fallen, to historians and more. This is a fascinating place, photographed lovingly, artistically, and beautifully through all the seasons. We follow the stories of several of its inhabitants retold generations after their deaths, we meet a man looking forward to eventually being interred there, we learn how the cemetery survives to this day and the significance it has to Jews and non-Jews alike. An eternal story of respect for the dead.
Incessant Visions: Letters from an Architect
Erich Mendelsohn was a German Jewish Expressionist architect, having found it difficult to choose between art and architecture. He drew countless designs, sometimes as small as postage stamps, of his visions of buildings. How many could have actually been constructed is a question I could not help but ask, though the film never posed or answered it. He did build an observatory for personal friend Albert Einstein in Pottsdam, called Einstein's Tower, which still stands. He also designed buildings in Leningrad, Berlin, Breslau, and Stuttgart. Though a World War I veteran, he was forced to leave Germany with the rise of the Third Reich, but continued his career in England and America. It is interesting to follow the career of this almost forgotten, groundbreaking architect who faced problems other than being Jewish during the time of Nazi upheaval and after. We get to see the few buildings that still stand, as well as many of his drawings. To help us understand his vision and obstacles, we are introduced to the ghostly voice of his wife who responds in interview fashion to the questions posed by director Duki Dror -- a novel approach for a documentary. But why not conjure the spirit of Mendelsohn himself?
Joanna
It's World War II and Poland is occupied by the Nazi Army. These are hard times, particularly for Joanna. Already humbled by the vagaries of war, this once upper class woman has just lost her job as a waitress in a cafe because the Germans have shut it down, she can't find another job, she is being pressured to take in a border in her sprawling apartment or it will be given to others and she will have to relocate, and her husband hasn't contacted her since shortly after enlisting in the Polish Army. She goes to church often and prays for his safe return. On day, she finds a child sleeping on the floor between the pews. It's easy to figure out that the child is Jewish and has no one else. Without a second thought, Joanna takes this 7 year old, Rose, home with her only adding to her problems. Now Joanna is in mortal danger for harboring a Jew, but as the situation worsens, Joanna is even more resolved to protect Rose. Through circumstances related indirectly to her secret, she suffers indignities, humiliations and alienation. Never does she question whether what she has done is right or if she made a mistake in saving Rose. This is an heroic tale scaled down to one woman trying to maintain the burden she willingly accepts. It's a beautiful story of selfless sacrifice and bravery. It is a poetic story of grace.
Life is Too Long
This film is a German interpretation of the Woody Allen genre, with all the requisite attributes: a nervous little man who is unloved and paranoid, in a troubled marriage, with bratty kids. and women throwing themselves at him (as in Allen films, this last item is self-fulfilling fantasy, whereas the rest of the film is an exercise in self-loathing). Alfred is a screenwriter/director who has written a comedy about the crisis that occurred five years ago with the publication of caricatures of Mohammad. The name of his screenplay is 'Mohahammed' -- get it? The Muslim community was outraged at the time threatening death to the artist of the caricature and the publisher of the magazine it appeared in. Alfred goes through the process of pitching his screenplay about the incident at a party, taking a meeting, signing a contract, hunting for lead actors, getting waylaid by monetary, sexual, marital, paternal, health and psychiatric problems. It's not terribly original, but it's interesting to see the German perspective of this iconic American comedian. Unsettling, though, are the many negative remarks made to him about being a Jew by the Germans he deals with. Is this a telling commentary on anti-Semitism in German today? Hopefully, it's just the screenwriter's paranoid delusion....
Mary Lou
As a child, Meir Levi had a very close relationship with his mother. They cooked, housecleaned, danced and sang together -- perhaps not typical boys' activities, but Meir is not a typical boy. They were each other's closest friends. Then she calmly, though sadly, walked out during his birthday party, having the presence of mind to lock the door behind her so she couldn't be followed. (Doors are different in Israel -- one can be locked in.) In any case, well into adulthood, Meir longs to find his mother. His search takes him to Tel Aviv where he is introduced to the world of transvestite entertainment, and he fits right in. He takes the stage name, Mary Lou, from his initials and because it was the name of his and his mother's favorite song. Meir still has to figure out his place in life, even though he's got a place to live and work, friends and even a creative outlet. During Meir's search for self and mother, we get to enjoy as many musical numbers as any episode of 'Glee' or 'High School Musical,' all set to the music of Israeli 70's pop star Svika Pick. The music and choreography may not be up to American television standards, the club stage is certainly smaller, and most of the singing is lip synched from the original hits. But it's an entertaining romp, nonetheless, in a city not previously exposing it's tranny community. This was a 4 episode series on Israeli television. If the first three episodes move a bit slowly and seem redundant, the fourth pays off for the audience's patience with great pacing, increased action and gratifying resolutions to the many of Meir's problems, as well as those of his family and friends.
The Matchmaker
A very charming coming-of-age film akin to 'Cinema Paradiso' (1988) in many ways. Through a series of humorous events, Arik gets a summer job helping Yankele, the matchmaker, by checking out some of his clients in a private investigator/undercover capacity. In the process, Arik learns many lessons directly from Yankele in his philosophical discourses with the boy. Yankele, a Holocaust survivor, is not free with his memories and experiences, even rather secretive, not only about his past, but his activities in the present. This is partly due to his fear of being trackable, as the Nazis once before tracked him, but also because some of his present dealings are illegal. Thus, he is a man of mystery and even more intriguing to the impressionable boy. Arik also learns more direct and applicable lessons from the people he gets in contact with in his job. At the same time, a cousin of one of his friends moves in for the summer. She's a wild child with a restless spirit and is not averse to making trouble for herself and others. Arik starts applying his new wisdom and makes decisions in terms of his work for Yankele and his relationships with his old and new friends. This is a sensitively drawn drama about life in the coastal town of Haifa during in 1968. As a subtle background that influences the whole environment is the 6 Days War, which continues to cause repercussions to this day.
The Names of Love
His name is Arthur Martin, the most common name in France. Her name is Baya Benmahmoud, and she's the only person in France with that name. His mother is a Holocaust survivor, the daughter of immigrant Greek Jews who were deported to Auschwitz and killed. His father was in the French army fighting to quell the Algerian revolt for independence. Her father is an Algerian immigrant, much of whose family was killed during the Algerian War. Her mother was a hippie and political activist who loved her father for his immigrant innocence, Both Arthur and Baya consider themselves half breeds who practice neither Judaism or Islam. They are quirky on opposite ends of the pole of propriety. Such serious subjects, yet so much authentic humor in this love story. Neither can deny the mutual attraction even in the face of her whorish political practices or his respect for taboos and letting sleeping family dogs lie. Much is revealed in this love story about self-identity, stereotypes, prejudice, painful family histories and how to live with them. Albert and Baya represent the generation the world has been waiting for -- a true blending of race, religious and national backgrounds. A recipe for the end of wars. This is one of my favorites in the festival.
Next Year in Bombay
It is said that 2000 years ago there was a shipwreck near Bombay on the southwest coast of India. The survivors started businesses, intermingled with the locals, but maintained their faith. They are the Bene Israel of India. Leaders of various Jewish communities in India have gone to Israel to study, not only the Torah, but traditional practices so the culture is maintained, allowing for divergence within these community. There are now 5000 Jews in India by recent count. But the population is shrinking fast due to immigration to Israel. As in so many Jewish cultures around the world, the Jewish Indian community may soon dwindle to insignificant numbers. Therefore, it is all the more important to document and exhibit this community. One of my favorite features of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival is finding out where Jews have not only gone to or passed through, but built and maintained communities throughout the world because of the need to escape pogroms or the Holocaust, or to trade and establish posts, or are the original Lost Tribe finding a new home. Lest we forget -- it is a culture of wandering while maintaining tradition.
Otto Frank: Father of Anne
Little has been said about the father of Anne Frank, Otto. Were it not for his dedication to his young daughter and obsession with getting her diary published, the world would not have known about the 8 people who hid in the attic of the Frank business for much of World War II, hoping to someday be free of the Nazi threat. As we all know, this was not to be. Thus, the diary held even more importance. Otto devoted the rest of his life to being the guardian and caretaker of Anne's legacy. Some antisemitic critics of Otto Frank accused him of getting rich of his daughter's corpse. Others pay tribute to her published legacy by visiting the attic, now a museum. This documentary shows that he actually may have had a selfish motive, but not for financial gain. Without the constant reminder of Anne's spirit giving Otto purpose, he may well have been swallowed up by the despair which always enshrouded him. having been a Holocaust survivor himself who lost both daughters and wife to the death camps. Certainly not a cheerful film, as Anne herself often seemed to be in her diary (along with angry, frustrated, lovelorn, contrite and all emotions suffered by any adolescent), but illuminating into the process which turned a father's last tangible remains of his beloved child into a world changing classic of literature, stage and screen.
Polish Bar
Reuben (Vincent Piazza), who works at his uncle's (Judd Hirsch) jewelry store, seems to be a pretty good guy. He visits his mom and her family every shabbat, and puts up his visiting Orthodox cousin in his warehouse apartment, he loves music and wants to be a DJ in a classy club. But to get to that point, there's a lot he has to do first. He has to earn that position with experience and continue good contacts with club owners. Reuben decides to take shortcuts to reach his goal. He works at night in a seedy strip joint providing the background music, he sells drugs, he sleeps with Shicksa strippers. He says, 'If my family saw me now, it would kill them.' He gets deeper and deeper into the seedy life which inevitably leads him on a path from which there may be no redemption and no forgiveness. 'Polish Bar' is a moral tale, much like 'Holy Rollers' (2010), in which another Jewish young man is lured away from traditional Jewish family values by quick money and what seems a more exciting life. This film shows the harsh realities of the underbelly of New York life. Other actors of note in 'Polish Bar' are Richard Belzer and Meatloaf.
Sarah's Key
There are 8 million stories about the Holocaust, with only a small fraction having been portrayed on film. As 'Sarah's Key' demonstrates, each story is not about just one person, but a large number of people, a circle of friends and relatives, as well as people who never met or even knew about the particular victim, and whose lives are influenced for generations to come. The ripple effect caused by anti semitism and genocide has not yet settled. For instance, Sarah (Melusine Mayance) was among the 13,000 Jews rounded up by French police, not German soldiers (a fact that should not be forgotten) in 1942, and corralled in the Velodrome d'Hiver, a sports arena, for several days without food, water, or sanitation facilities. They were then moved to the Dancy internment camp, from which Sarah escaped, then onward to Auschwitz for eventual extermination. Six decades later an American journalist, Julia (Kristen Scott Thomas), with her architect husband, is preparing to move into the apartment his father and grandfather lived in. Julia follows lead after lead for a story about the 60th anniversary of the Roundup she is writing, and eventually finds out the whole story of the apartment's previous tenants and how it came into her husband's family's possession. Should she have upset the present to uncover the past is a relevant question she is asked by many she interviews in her search for the truth. But being a dedicated journalist and truth seeker, she is a slave to her profession and can't stop probing. To say we lost great minds who could have bettered the world in innumerable ways, such as writers, doctors, scientists, artists, is one thing. To enlarge upon that idea to include the children they didn't have is only scratching the surface of the damage caused, the losses incurred by the Holocaust. We can never calculate the effects to generations since that time and into the future in unimagined ways. 'Sarah's Key' is an instrument by which we can start to fathom hate and genocide's effects. The unraveling of the past through flashbacks and present day interviews and documentary leads, makes for a taut mystery, not spine tingling, but heart wrenching. The recreation of Sarah's experiences looks and feels authentic (thankfully, we have no first hand knowledge of it). 'Sarah's Key' opens new ground -- the experience of a survivor and the echoes of that experience that last decades into future.
Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness
It's easy to think of storyteller Sholem Aleichem as a mythic figure. When I studied Spanish in Junior High School, I thought of Anonymo as a fable writer imparting wisdom from under an olive tree, much as I imagined Aesop did in Greece millennium earlier. Obviously, I was a neophyte Spanish student or I would have known Anonymo means anonymous and the stories had no accredited writer at all. This documentary gives a face, a character, a history to the great Yiddish writer, most famous for creating Tevya of 'Fiddler on the Roof.' Tevya was only one of a plethora of characters developed in countless stories Aleichem penned. Importantly, Aleichem brought Yiddish to the written medium for the first time, raising the language to the station it had deserved for centuries -- the respected language of Jews throughout a vast stretch of Europe -- the vernacular spoken by millions, not the revered, respected language of Hebrew which was reserved for temple, study and ceremony. Since his controversial step of publishing in Yiddish, thousands of books have followed. Hopefully, the language will always have readers and speakers to enjoy its richness and cultural history. There is so much more to this man than one famous play; he depicted a time in history for the Jews of Eastern Europe with wit, charm, and compassion.
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