The Rutgers Jewish Film Festival returns to in-theater screenings with 15 award-winning films from Israel, Poland, Ukraine, Germany, the United States, and France. Running October 26 through November 12, the festival will present mid-Atlantic and New Jersey premieres, as well as discussions with filmmakers, actors, scholars, and other special guests. Screenings will be held in person at the Regal Cinema, North Brunswick, and the Rutgers Business School in Piscataway. Four films will be available in the virtual cinema.
In-theater and virtual tickets are both $14. Discount passes are also available. For information or to purchase tickets, visit bildnercenter.rutgers.edu/film.
The festival kicks off with “Irena’s Vow,” which had its world premiere this September at the Toronto International Film Festival. This powerful drama is based on the true story of Irena Gut Opdyke, a young Christian nurse who risked her life to save Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland while forced to work as a housekeeper in the home of a Nazi commandant. Irena’s daughter, Jeannie Opdyke Smith, will speak at both festival screenings.
The festival will present the mid-Atlantic premiere of the documentary film “Rabbi on the Block,” about Tamar Manasseh, an African American Jewish rabbi and community activist from Chicago who is building bridges in support of a revitalized alliance of African Americans and Jews. Manasseh and the film’s director, Brad Rothschild, will speak at the screening, which is cosponsored by Rutgers’ Tyler Clementi Center for Diversity Education and Bias Prevention.
Producer Nancy Spielberg will speak at the New Jersey premiere of “Closed Circuit,” a film from Tal Inbar that offers a cutting-edge, cinematic use of closed-circuit camera footage. It weaves together raw footage from closed-circuit cameras at the 2016 terrorist attack in Tel Aviv’s Sarona Market with current memories of Arab and Jewish survivors of the incident.
The festival will screen the award-winning animated film “Where Is Anne Frank,” which brings to life Anne’s imaginary friend Kitty, whose quest to find her best friend leads to unexpected adventures with modern day refugees and a deeper understanding of Anne’s legacy.
Lead actor Moshe Lobel will speak at both screenings of the Ukrainian film “SHTTL,” which captures the lives and loves of a Ukrainian Jewish village just before the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Director Maxim Pozdorovkin will speak at the New Jersey premiere of his acclaimed documentary film The Conspiracy, which takes on the age-old myth that Jews are plotting to take over the world.
The full schedule of in-theater screenings is as follows:
“Barren” (Israel, 2022, 108 minutes). Saturday, October 28, 9:30 p.m. and Tuesday, October 31, 3:30 p.m., at Regal Cinema.
“Closed Circuit” (Israel, 2022, 54 minutes). Tuesday, October 31, 7:30 p.m., at Regal Cinema
“The Conspiracy” (USA, 2022, 90 minutes). Sunday, October 29, 3:30 p.m., at Regal Cinema.
The Frisco Kid (USA, 1979, 119 minutes). Sunday, November 5, 12:30 p.m., at Rutgers Business School
“The Good Person” (Israel, 2022, 85 minutes). Wednesday, November 1, 7:30 p.m., at Regal Cinema.
“Irena’s Vow” (Canada, Poland, 2023, 121 minutes). Thursday, October 26, 3 and 7 p.m., at Regal Cinema.
“Matchmaking” (Israel, 2022, 98 minutes). Saturday, October 28, 7:30 p.m., and Tuesday, October 31, 12:30 p.m., at Regal Cinema.
“No Name Restaurant” (Germany, 2022, 120 minutes). Wednesday, November 1, 3:30 p.m., at Regal Cinema; and Sunday, November 5, 6:30 p.m., at Rutgers Business School.
“Rabbi on the Block” (USA, 2023, 88 minutes). Sunday, October 29, 6:30 p.m., at Regal Cinema.
“SHTTL” (Ukraine, 2022, 114 minutes).Sunday, October 29, and Wednesday, November 1, 12:30 p.m., at Regal Cinema.
“Where Is Anne Frank” (Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Netherlands, Israel, 2021, 99 minutes). Sunday, November 5, 3:30 p.m., at Rutgers Business School.
Additional films will be available for virtual viewing:
“Generation 1.5” (Israel, 2022, 80 minutes).
“The Goldman Case” (France, 2023, 115 minutes).
“The Other Widow” (Israel, France, 2022, 83 minutes).
“The Story of Annette Zelman” (France, 2023, 93 minutes).
More information: bildnercenter.rutgers.edu/film.
