SAN FRANCISCO JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL

Welcome! A Message from SFJFF

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SFJFF30: TALK ABOUT IT

Our first 30 years have been quite a ride—sometimes a rollercoaster, sometimes a rocketship—as the world’s first and largest Jewish film festival. As we enter our thirties we feel a little wiser, but no less adventurous. In fact, we are proud to have been named this year one of the 50 most innovative Jewish organizations in the U.S. (by the Slingshot Fund) and one of the top 50 film festivals in the world (by IndieWire). You’ll see from this year’s lineup we’re not resting on our laurels, forging ahead with the very best in Jewish cinema.

No single film, no single program defines us. We are a festival that celebrates diversity, albeit in a Jewish context. Diversity of voices, of expression and of opinion. There is something here for every interest—whether it is a film celebrating the relationship between Jews and America’s national pastime (Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story) or the discovery of missing reels of Nazi propaganda footage of the Warsaw Ghetto (A Film Unfinished). Search through the 57 films and you will find something new to learn, marvel at, and certainly to talk about.

We kick things off with a masterful drama about moral courage in desperate times: Saviors in the Night, set during World War II, promises to be a memorable opener with special guests arriving from around the world and a terrific new Saturday night party. And what is an anniversary celebration without music? We present three music films/events and a “live documentary.” Hungry Hearts, a 1922 silent Lower East Side melodrama, gets a contemporary treatment with an original folk–psychedelic score performed live. The “Socalled” Movie, an extremely entertaining portrait of the Canadian Jewish rapper Socalled, will culminate in a live performance following the Castro screening. Our music–filled closing night film is the Northern California premiere of The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground, and local treasure Sam Green will “perform” his live documentary Utopia in Four Movements one time only in Berkeley. Unique events for a unique festival.

This year’s SFJFF Freedom of Expression Award goes to Israel’s most prominent satirist Sayed Kashua. In tribute, we present the American premiere of new episodes from Arab Labor: Season 2 and a documentary about our honoree (Sayed Kashua – Forever Scared), part of a sidebar of five films examining writers’ lives (People of the Book).

Former SFJFF Program Director Nancy K. Fishman returns as guest curator of a marvelous archival series, Tough Guys: Images of Jewish Gangsters in Film, with four genre classics and a panel discussion illuminating the myths and realities of a complex underworld.

We continue our tradition of presenting work that provides a catalyst for discussion with a film about a nonviolent movement protesting the route of Israel’s security barrier (Budrus), the story of six Israeli and Palestinian teenage girls searching for peaceful coexistence (My So Called Enemy), and a free discussion, Is Dialogue Possible? How Films Help Us Talk About Israel (….Or Not). The breathtaking range of Israeli filmmaking is strongly represented again this year in features (Bena, Jaffa, Mrs. Moscowitz and the Cats among others) and an entire program of exquisite shorts (Jews in Shorts).

To all the filmmakers, supporters, sponsors and audience members who have helped build this remarkable festival over thirty years—thank you! We welcome you to your festival. And do talk about it. Just wait till the lights come back on...