2018 CJFF Lineup

Top of the Page ↑

 

Produced by CBN Documentaries and Biblical Productions, “In Our Hands” tells the story of the Battle of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War through the eyes of the IDF’s 55th Paratrooper Brigade, highlighting their role in the liberation of Jerusalem. The docudrama combines dramatic reenactments with interviews of veterans of the Six-Day War and archival footage and photos.

Top of the Page ↑

 

 

Director Sam Hoffman is scheduled to appear
Opening Night Reception following the film

Yossi, a charismatic Kosher butcher, loses his job and cannot find work at other Kosher butchers, so he decides to pretend to be Muslim in order to get work at a Halal butcher.

A heartfelt father-son comedy about a struggling playwright who is forced to move in with his joke-telling dad in an active seniors retirement community and learns, as his father often says, “life’s going to happen,whether you smile or not.” Starring Elliott Gould & Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Concords), written and directed by Sam Hoffman, based on his web series Old Jews Telling Jokes.

Awards:
Over 36 Awards including 10 Audience Awards
4 Best Comedy Short and
4 Grand Jury Prizes.

Top of the Page ↑

 

Jews remaining in Displaced Persons camps in Frankfurt 1946 must make new rules to survive. So, David Bermann recruits some friends to sell linens to the Germans. While his friends are earning the money for their tickets to America, David is meeting with an American investigator who is determined to discover the secret he is hiding.

Awards
Audience Award
Norwegian Film Festival

Top of the Page ↑

 

There will be an Israeli wine tasting and chocolate reception following the film.

Set during the turbulent period of pre-state Israel, this film is based on the true story of the love affair between Pnina Gary and Eli Ben–Zvi, son of Rachel Yanait and Yitzhak Ben-Zvi the Second President of the State of Israel.

Top of the Page ↑

 

On a summer day in 1945, an Orthodox man and his grown son return to a village in Hungary. The townspeople expect the worst and behave accordingly. The town clerk fears the men may be heirs of the village’s deported Jews and expects them to demand their illegally acquired property back. Within a few hours, everything changes.

Awards
Winner of 5 Audience Awards
Jerusalem Film Festival Chairman’s Award
San Francisco Film Critics Award

Top of the Page ↑

 

A broken leg is a blessing in disguise for a young Jewish boy who is taken away by ambulance just as the Jews of Paris are being rounded up by the French police. The chief physician and senior nurse resort to drastic measures to keep the boy and the other Jewish patients safe. Based on a true story, this tender coming-of-age drama is a testament to the resilience and bravery of youth.

Top of the Page ↑

 

There will be a Panel discussion following the film.

This New York romantic comedy portrays two adults on the autistic spectrum in a refreshingly honest way. David desperately wants to be seen as “normal,” but Sarah accepts who she is, and together they navigate their burgeoning relationship. This poignant film is an ode to self-discovery and acceptance that’s as funny as it is sweet. Adult Content.

Awards
Best Narrative feature
Best Narrative Director
Tribeca Film Festival

Top of the Page ↑

 

Israel’s submission to the Foreign Language Film Award of the 90th Annual Academy Awards and the winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival is an allegorical story set around the Israeli Defense Forces. Grieving parents experience the absurd circumstances around death of their son, in this latest critical reflection on Israel’s military culture. Adult Content/Violence.

Awards
8 Israeli Academy Awards
3 Venice Film Festival Awards

Top of the Page ↑

 

Two women, a Lebanese informer and an Israeli Mossad agent charged with protecting her, are trapped in a Hamburg safehouse where nothing is safe and no one can be trusted. The relationship that develops between the two women is exposed to the threat of terror that is engulfing the world today, leading to a suspense laden story with surprising twists and turns.

Top of the Page ↑

 

In this riveting historical drama, 10 political activists, including Nelson Mandela and his inner circle of Black and Jewish supporters, face a possible death sentence for conspiracy to commit sabotage during the summer of 1963 in South Africa. This political thriller combined with courtroom intrigue pays tribute to the legendary figures who fought to end segregation and corruption in their country.

Awards
Best Film
UK Jewish Film Festival

Top of the Page ↑

 

Dan Freilich is 30 and has everything he could ever hope for: the perfect job at his father’s law firm, the perfect loving family and the perfect girlfriend. But a chance encounter with a waitress in Jerusalem makes him realize something was missing after all – true love.

Top of the Page ↑

 

A meticulous historian waging a legal battle against holocaust deniers accidentally discovers that his mother carries a secret about her past. His unshakeable commitment to the truth forces him to continue his investigations, even at the cost of ruining his personal and professional life.

Awards
Best Film, Haifa International Film Festival

Top of the Page ↑

 

Director Rene Balcer is scheduled to appear

At a time when all doors were closed to Jewish refugees from Nazi Europe, they found sanctuary in Shanghai, thanks to the intervention of Chinese diplomat Ho Feng Shan. A story that could have been ripped from today’s headlines, the film vividly celebrates the heroism and humanity of ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances.

Top of the Page ↑

 

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Charlotte is scheduled to perform

David and Khaled are ready to shatter one of the last great taboos of middle-class German society: a same-sex marriage between a Jew and a Muslim. Nothing can stand in their way, except their parents: David’s overbearing mother and Khaled’s homophobic father. A classic screwball romantic comedy with an inclusive multi-cultural worldview. Adult content.

Top of the Page ↑

 

Director Yonatan Nir is scheduled to appear

Wilfrid Israel, the owner of a department store in the center of Berlin, played a key role in the Kindertransport operation, using his great wealth for the rescue of many Jews during the Holocaust. From​ a​ kibbutz in northern Israel to Germany in the 1930’s, we see a fascinating picture of a man who was driven by his determination to save as many lives as possible.

Top of the Page ↑

 

Reception following the film

The first major documentary to examine Davis’ vast talent and his journey for identity, this film features new interviews with many celebrities and never seen before photographs from Davis’ personal collection. Davis strove to achieve the American Dream in a time of racial prejudice and was the most public black figure to embrace Judaism, thereby yoking his identity to another persecuted minority.

Top of the Page ↑

 

 

Yossi, a charismatic Kosher butcher, loses his job and cannot find work at other Kosher butchers, so he decides to pretend to be Muslim in order to get work at a Halal butcher.

A broken leg is a blessing in disguise for a young Jewish boy who is taken away by ambulance just as the Jews of Paris are being rounded up by the French police. The chief physician and senior nurse resort to drastic measures to keep the boy and the other Jewish patients safe. Based on a true story, this tender coming-of-age drama is a testament to the resilience and bravery of youth.

Top of the Page ↑

 

There will be a Panel discussion following the film.

This New York romantic comedy portrays two adults on the autistic spectrum in a refreshingly honest way. David desperately wants to be seen as “normal,” but Sarah accepts who she is, and together they navigate their burgeoning relationship. This poignant film is an ode to self-discovery and acceptance that’s as funny as it is sweet. Adult Content.

Awards
Best Narrative feature
Best Narrative Director
Tribeca Film Festival

Top of the Page ↑

 

Director Yonatan Nir is scheduled to appear

Wilfrid Israel, the owner of a department store in the center of Berlin, played a key role in the Kindertransport operation, using his great wealth for the rescue of many Jews during the Holocaust. From​ a​ kibbutz in northern Israel to Germany in the 1930’s, we see a fascinating picture of a man who was driven by his determination to save as many lives as possible.

Top of the Page ↑

 

 

They are the most improbable teenagers to take up the preppy game of lacrosse, but their story is inspiring, uplifting and memorable: meet the determined young men of Charlotte Secondary School, a predominantly African American charter school in North Carolina. Their prospects change when they encounter Bobby Selkin, a Jewish ophthalmologist, who quickly becomes lacrosse coach, mentor, father figure, and helps transform the kids’ lives—while they transform his—in this powerful documentary.

Post film discussion with Bobby Selkin and athletes from the film.

Top of the Page ↑

 

Itzhak Perlman’s violin playing transcends mere performance to evoke the celebrations and struggles of real life; this enchanting documentary looks beyond the musician to see the polio survivor whose parents emigrated from Poland to Israel, and the young man who struggled to be taken seriously as a music student when schools saw only his disability. Itzhak’s life story is told through conversations with musicians, family, friends, and his devoted wife of 50 years. Itzhak and Toby’s lives are dedicated to their large, loving, Jewish family in NYC and their continual support of young musicians. As charming and entrancing as thefamous violinist himself, ITZHAK is a portrait of musical virtuosity seamlessly enclosed in warmth, humor, and above all, love.

In the award-winning short documentary film Joe’s Violin, a donated musical instrument forges an improbable friendship between 91-year-old Holocaust survivor Joe Feingold and 12-year-old Bronx school girl Brianna Perez, showing how the power of music can bring light in the darkest of times and how a small act can have a great impact. Joe’s Violin was a 2017 Academy Award Nominee for Documentary short film, and the winner of8 film festival Audience Awards and 4 Grand Jury prizes.

Top of the Page ↑

 

A broken leg is a blessing in disguise for a young Jewish boy who is taken away by ambulance just as the Jews of Paris are being rounded up by the French police. The chief physician and senior nurse resort to drastic measures to keep the boy and the other Jewish patients safe. Based on a true story, this tender coming-of-age drama is a testament to the resilience and bravery of youth.

Top of the Page ↑

 

Set in the Hasidic enclave of Borough Park, Brooklyn, 93QUEEN follows a group of tenacious Hasidic women who are smashing the patriarchy in their community by creating the first all-female volunteer ambulance corps in New York City. With unprecedented—and insider—access, 93QUEEN offers up a unique portrayal of a group of religious women who are taking matters into their own hands to change their own community from within.

Top of the Page ↑

 

 

Q & A with Irving Bienstock and Suly Chenkin following the film

Holocaust Survivors Irving Bienstock and Suly Chenkin tell their amazing stories of survival to thousands of students through the Levine JCC Butterfly Project, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Join us to view the documentary films of their remarkable experiences, followed by a Q & A.

Be Brave: from Dortmund to Brooklyn
Irving Bienstock was born in Dortmund, Germany. His childhood of soccer and marbles changed as the Nazi party took control of Germany. For his family, life had been good, but now they faced hate and death or exile. Listen to Irving tell of the harrowing experiences his family endured to survive and move to America.

Holding on to Good: from Kovno to Havana
On June 22, 1941 the Nazis invaded the city of Kovno in Lithuania. Suly Chenkin, then an infant, was interned together with her parents and the rest of the Jewish population in a ghetto/prison concentration camp. After close to three years of evading death , the end became imminent and in desperation to save their only child, Suly’s parents smuggled her out of the ghetto into the hands of strangers. Suly tells the story of her and her parents’ journey of survival and their miraculous reunion in Havana, Cuba.

Top of the Page ↑

 

Movie fans know the work of Harold and Lillian Michelson, even if they don’t recognize the names. Working largely uncredited in the Hollywood system, storyboard artist Harold and film researcher Lillian left an indelible mark on classics by Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Mel Brooks, Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski and many more. Through an engaging mix of love letters, film clips and candid conversations with Harold and Lillian, Danny DeVito, Mel Brooks, Francis Ford Coppola and others, this deeply engaging documentary from Academy Award®-nominated director Daniel Raim offers both a moving portrait of a marriage and a celebration of the unknown talents that help shape the films we love. 

Top of the Page ↑