The 23rd Annual Rutgers Jewish Film Festival kicks off Sunday, October 30, with ten films scheduled to be screened at the Regal Cinema in North Brunswick through November 6, and eight films to be screened virtually from November 6 through 13.
A diverse array of award-winning international feature and documentary films are showcased this year from the United States, Israel, Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Italy, and Belgium, as well as engaging discussions with filmmakers and special guests. Of the seventeen films being shown, one is a U.S. premiere, two are East Coast premieres, and nine are N.J. premieres.
In-theater tickets are $12 and virtual tickets are $14. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit BildnerCenter.Rutgers.edu/film.
The festival kicks-off on Sunday, October 30, with two feature films. “Cinema Sabaya” portrays the experience of eight diverse Arab and Israeli women in a video production workshop who forge unlikely bonds as they begin to document their lives and share their art with one another. The film swept this year’s Israeli Oscars, winning Best Film, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress, among other awards. “Cinema Sabaya” plays at 1 p.m. and will also be available for online viewing from November 6 through 13.
Opening day will also feature the New Jersey premiere of the German rom-com “Love and Mazel Tov” at 3:15 p.m. Award-winning director Wolfgang Murnberger presents a charming look at modern love in this warm-hearted and witty film.
Making its New Jersey premiere at the festival, “Dead Sea Guardians” is a moving and important Israeli documentary about the heroic effort to save the Dead Sea from drying out and disappearing. Three historic enemies who share this wonder of the world — Israelis, Jordanians, and Palestinians — join forces to try to stop this catastrophic loss. Film director Ido Glass will speak about the film in person on Sunday, November 6, after the 1 p.m. screening.
“How Saba Kept Singing” is an uplifting and life-affirming story about 94-year-old David “Saba” Wisnia, who survived Auschwitz by entertaining his Nazi captors with his beautiful singing voice. The documentary follows the journey of David and his grandson Avi Wisnia back to his hometown and to Auschwitz, where long held secrets are revealed.
From executive producers Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, this remarkable film makes its United States premiere at the festival. The screening will also feature Avi Wisnia, in person, for a Q&A and special musical performance on November 6, after the 3:30 p.m. screening.
The Polish film “March 1968” makes its East Coast premiere at the festival on Thursday, November 3, at 7 p.m. A dramatic love story, it offers a heady convergence of romance, history, and politics in a rare cinematic treatment of antisemitism in 1960s communist Poland. Film director Krzysztof Lang will speak about the film in person at the screening.
The festival’s films — both dramas and documentaries — offer a rich exploration of Jewish identity across the globe, the immigrant experience, and efforts to bridge cultural and political divides. This year’s documentaries cover very diverse topics including: world-renowned singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen; the little-known story of the Jewish family that owned and carefully preserved Monticello for nearly a century; the practice of conversion therapy for ultra-Orthodox Gay men in contemporary Israel; the history of the Xueta, a unique group of families in Majorca who trace their heritage back to the Inquisition when they were forced to renounce Judaism; and the fight to include Orthodox women in the Knesset.
Other films with live screening at the festival are:
• “Where Life Begins,” Tuesday, November 1, 2 p.m., followed by speaker Ayala Fader of Fordham University.
• “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song,” Tuesday, November 1, 7 p.m., followed by speaker Marcia Pally, professor of multilingual multicultural studies at New York University.
• “Farewell, Mr. Haffmann,” Thursday, November 3, 2 p.m.
• “Alegría,” Saturday, November 5, 7:15 p.m.
• “The Dinner,” Saturday, November 5, 9:30 p.m.
Virtual screenings include “A Radiant Girl,” “The Levys of Monticello,” “More Than I Deserve,” “Reckonings,” “The Therapy,” “Women of Valor,” and “Xueta Island: A Hidden History.”
