US PREMIERE Filmmaker Danae Elon grew up in Jerusalem as the daughter of writer Amos Elon, then relocated to New York City. In this film, she chronicles what happens when she and her husband Philip, a French-Algerian Jew who never lived in Israel, move their family to Jerusalem. Shot over three years, the film captures […]
WORLD PREMIERE In the age of social media, outrage has become commonplace. While individuals have always found something to be offended by, their ability to organize a groundswell of opposition to – and public censure of – their offender has never been more powerful. Can We Take A Joke? offers a thought-provoking and wry exploration […]
NYC PREMIERE Growing up transgender in rural North Carolina, Cole has remained remarkably upbeat despite rejection from his family, school and church. With religion deeply ingrained as part of his identity, Cole longs to find acceptance within a community of faith, but doesn’t want to hide who he is or who he loves. Can the […]
WORLD PREMIERE Batman, Homer Simpson, a New York Yankees logo – you’re likely to see any of these logos on the yarmulke of a Jewish boy in modern Jewish communities today. “Reverence” dissects the meaning and context behind branded kippahs and the concept of faith in a modern world while exploring the societal and religious […]
NORTH AMERICAN Shortly after World War II, over 1,000 paintings were found in a cellar in southern France. The paintings were created by a young Jewish woman named Charlotte Salomon. She painted her turbulent life story in a unique creation called: ‘Life? Or Theater? – A tri color Operetta.’ This is playing as part of […]
In Willison, ND, where the natural-gas industry is booming, the population is growing so quickly that housing is in critically short supply. Pastor Jay Reinke offers newcomers the chance to sleep in his church, setting off a controversy with the town and his congregation. Director Jesse Moss gains intimate access to events as they unfold. […]
NYC PREMIERE How did you first learn about sex? Before the Internet put a shocking amount of sexually explicit information at our fingertips, generations of Americans first encountered the birds and the bees at school, usually through educational films. Brenda Goodman assembles an eye-opening array of these well-intentioned but often funny teaching tools to reveal […]
How does one claim an identity in a vacuum? Living in Poland, the four young women in Adam Zucker’s engaging film learned of their Jewish roots after growing up Catholic. Defining themselves through their difference, they feel like pioneers in a country that was once the epicenter of the Jewish world. But as life takes […]
2013 SHORT DOCUMENTARY WINNER Jewish Israeli grandparents are challenged by their grandchild to compose an agreed-upon version of the untold story of a large crystal mirror, taken from the Palestinian village of Zarnuqa during the Nakba – the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians by the new Israeli state in the 1948 war. Filmmaker […]
NYC PREMIERE Growing up in an upper-middle-class Jewish household, Lacey Schwartz knew she looked different from the rest of her family, but her darker complexion and curly hair were brushed off as traits inherited from her Sicilian grandfather. When she finally begins to dig deeper, Lacey uncovers unspoken family secrets and willful denial that cuts […]