Westchester Jewish Film Festival 2018
Mar. 13–29, 2018
This year we feature 41 engaging, thought-provoking, and entertaining films—a robust mix of documentaries and narratives, along with all 10 episodes of The Writer, one of the latest in Israel’s brilliant streak of dramas made for TV.
The festival kicks off with Itzhak, a cinematic, joyful documentary portrait of the extraordinary artist and man Itzhak Perlman.
Among the films from Israel this year, we have Eitan Anner’s emotionally complex A Quiet Heart and Amichai Greenberg’s The Testament, a provocative drama based on a true story. And, Fauda fans, take note: We’re hosting a sneak preview of the first three episodes of Season 2 of the hit TV series, before it hits Netflix!
Continuing to feature wonderful new films from around the globe, we’re showing, from Hungary, Ferenc Török’s 1945, a complex and highly lauded portrait of a society trying to come to terms with the horrors they’ve experienced; and Nabil Ayouch’s (Horses of God) timely, engrossing narrative Razzia, which explores the forbidden desires and fragile dreams of five Moroccans living in Casablanca today. The festival centerpiece is GI Jews: Jewish Americans in World War II, which tells the truly remarkable story of 550,000 servicemen and women. And this year we’ve tried to schedule more screenings of some of the films that are certain to be extremely popular, such as the fabulous new documentary Bombshell, about the surprising life of Hedy Lamar.
All this plus a very special showcase of the work of iconic actor Alan Arkin!
Please plan to join us—and our wonderful slate of guests—throughout the festival.
—Bruni Burres, festival programmer
SERIES TRAILER
Restoring Tomorrow
Mar. 14–29, 2018
March 29, 7:35: Q&A filmmaker Aaron Wolf
“Spectacular! A wakeup call for a generation.” (The Times of Israel) Director Aaron Wolf’s personal journey of rediscovery dovetails with…
The Invisibles
Mar. 14–29, 2018
Claus Räfle’s emotionally gripping The Invisibles premiered to critical and public acclaim at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. Set in…
Bye Bye Germany
Mar. 14–27, 2018
“An unusual story told with gusto, enlivened by an enjoyable performance from Moritz Bleibtreu as a joker whose way with…
The Testament
Mar. 14–28, 2018
Austria, present day. Yoel (Ori Pfeffer, USA Network’s Dig), a renowned Holocaust researcher, is in the middle of a controversial…
Bobbi Jene
Mar. 14–29, 2018
“Pulses with erotic energy and artistic spirit.” (POV Magazine) A star with Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company—and one of the great…
An Israeli Love Story
Mar. 15–28, 2018
March 15, 7:30 Q&A with AJC Director of Contemporary Jewish Life Steve Bayme and JBFC founder Steve Apkon with RECEPTION
“Dan Wolman’s new film avoids melodrama and sentimentality, and reinforces his stature as the most important independent filmmaker in Israeli…
In the Land of Pomegranates
Mar. 15–26, 2018
March 26, 7:30 Q&A with filmmaker Hava Kohav Beller
“If an honest dialogue is the initial step toward reconciliation, what we are given here could stand as a model.…
Monsieur Mayonnaise
Mar. 15–22, 2018
“An eye-catching, engrossing romp.” (Variety) Philippe Mora, an Australian pop artist and cult-horror filmmaker, plays a kind of film noir…
Glengarry Glen Ross
Mar. 15–22, 2018
Celebrating Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin was born on March 26, 1934, in Brooklyn, into a family of Ukrainian and…
Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me
Mar. 15–28, 2018
March 19, 7:40 Q&A filmmaker Sam Pollard
“This delightful and entertaining documentary looks at the life and career of a musical star you thought you knew. It…
Wait Until Dark
Mar. 16–19, 2018
Celebrating Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin was born on March 26, 1934, in Brooklyn, into a family of Ukrainian and…
Fauda Season 2
Mar. 16–24, 2018
“The grittiest, tightest, most lived-in thrillers come from Israel, and Fauda…is the current standard-bearer.” (New York Times) A sneak preview…
Let Yourself Go
Mar. 16–24, 2018
“The references to films by Woody Allen seem obvious, but young documentary maker turned fictional filmmaker Francesco Amato manages to…
Wrestling Jerusalem
Mar. 16–29, 2018
“A work of deep but unsentimental optimism.” (The Hollywood Reporter) Aaron Davidman’s Wrestling Jerusalem—which toured North America as a one-man…
Beneath the Silence
Mar. 16–18, 2018
When Menashe returned from the Six-Day War, he was a changed man. His former commanders and fellow soldiers explain that…
1945
Mar. 16–27, 2018
March 21, 7:30 Q&A Director of the Hungarian Cultural Center Máté Vincze and Claims Conference Chief of Staff Arie Bucheister with RECEPTION
“Ferenc Torok’s lean, suggestive Hungarian feature, 1945, shot in gorgeous, high-contrast black-and-white, is a Holocaust film built, consciously or not,…
The Last Laugh
Mar. 16, 2018
Q&A filmmaker Ferne Perlstein
A hit from last year’s festival returns for one night only—with filmmaker! They say that comedy is tragedy plus…
Red Trees
Mar. 16–26, 2018
“Not just a story of survival, it is a statement about the values of a family that were not only…
Siege (Matzor)
Mar. 17–20, 2018
“Gila Almagor in Tofano’s Siege is one of the first characters of the ‘modern’ war widows to appear on Israeli…
The Two of Us
Mar. 17–28, 2018
“A lovely, sentimental reminiscence of childhood in wartime.” (New York Times) The re-release of one of the most beloved Jewish-themed…
The Writer: Program 1
Mar. 17–22, 2018
“Beautiful, like only a unique one-time thing can be.” (Haaretz) After Fauda and False Flag, get ready to binge-watch your…
Mr. & Mrs. Adelman
Mar. 17–24, 2018
Mr. & Mrs. Adelman is a poignant comedy-drama that follows Victor and Sarah’s love and marriage—its sweet and bitter chapters…
A Quiet Heart
Mar. 18–28, 2018
“A tense, slow-burn drama about the evils of intolerance that builds into a gripping suspense thriller.” (The Hollywood Reporter) A…
The In-Laws
Mar. 18–26, 2018
March 18, 5:00 Q&A with Alan Arkin via Skype
Celebrating Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin was born on March 26, 1934, in Brooklyn, into a family of Ukrainian and…
Across the Waters
Mar. 18–23, 2018
March 18, 12:00 Q&A Director, Invest in Denmark Mikkel Hagen Hess
“Director Nicolo Donato…masterfully ratchets up the tension, heightening the suspense until the very last frame.” (Film Society of Lincoln Center)…
The Writer: Program 2
Mar. 18–23, 2018
“Beautiful, like only a unique one-time thing can be.” (Haaretz) After Fauda and False Flag, get ready to binge-watch your…
Present/Absent
Mar. 19, 2018
Q&A filmmaker Rozeen Bisharat and JBFC Creative Culture Director Sean Weiner
A work-in-progress screening with inaugural Woman Filmmaker-in-Residence from Israel, Rozeen Bisharat. Rozeen Bisharat’s stunning new documentary follows two women: Theresa…
Heather Booth: Changing the World
Mar. 19–29, 2018
March 18, 3:00 Q&As with filmmaker Lilly Rivlin (after Heather Booth) and with filmmaker Leah Galant (after Death Metal Grandma)
“Exactly the kind of sophisticated and inspiring story we need in these troubling times. Go see this film…a remarkable documentary.”…
One of Us
Mar. 20–24, 2018
March 20, 7:30 Q&A with filmmaker
“A rare window into a highly insular community that is often misunderstood, or tacitly sanctioned for fear of stoking anti-Semitism.”…
Strangers at Home
Mar. 21–28, 2018
March 28, 7:30 Q&A with AJC Chief Executive Officer David Harris with RECEPTION
Strangers at Home shares the voices of young French students, many of them first-, second-, or third-generation immigrants of African…
Muhi: Generally Temporary
Mar. 21–23, 2018
“The words “Israeli-Palestinian conflict” are often wielded broadly, in ways that ignore its impact on daily lives. Anyone unfamiliar with…
The Writer: Program 3
Mar. 21–24, 2018
“Beautiful, like only a unique one-time thing can be.” (Haaretz) After Fauda and False Flag, get ready to binge-watch your…
GI Jews: Jewish Americans in World War II
Mar. 22–25, 2018
3/24: Q&A filmmaker Lisa Ades, producer Amanda Bonavita & historian James Young
Accomplished director Lisa Ades (Miss America) tells the profound and rousing story of 550,000 brave men and women who were…
Little Murders
Mar. 25, 2018
Q&A with Alan Arkin via Skype
Celebrating Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin was born on March 26, 1934, in Brooklyn, into a family of Ukrainian and…
Between Worlds
Mar. 25–26, 2018
“An intriguing film about an unexpected friendship…an eloquent appeal for tolerance.” (Thinking Cinema) Bina and Meir, a religious couple from…
In Between
Mar. 26–27, 2018
JBFC Members’ Pre-Sale is now open! TICKETS GO ON SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC ON FEB. 16 AT NOON. “After…
Persona Non Grata
Mar. 27–29, 2018
March 27, 7:30 Q&A AJC’s Asia Pacific Institute Director Shira Loewenberg and filmmaker Cellin Gluck
“With attention to detail and sweeping, luscious cinematography, [this] is a previously little-known story worth knowing and a film worth…
Razzia
Mar. 27–29, 2018
“A gut punch…. Ayouch brushes aside all nostalgia and exoticism to reveal a city on the verge of a major…
Itzhak
Aug. 1, 2018
Filmmaker Alison Chernick (Matthew Barney: No Restraint) takes us on an intimate cinematic journey through the life of Itzhak Perlman,…
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story
May 19–24, 2023
May 22, 6:00: Q&A with filmmaker Alexandra Dean
Starlet and screen siren Hedy Lamarr was actually so much more. From her 1933 role in an erotic film to…
Little Miss Sunshine
Oct. 5, 2023
Screening followed by class and discussion
Our first JBFC Staff Picks screening is from Kaitlyn Hare, a member of the house staff. Hare will introduce the…
This series is sponsored by:
in association with:
with support from:
Thank you to the following for their generous support:
Anonymous
Froma & Andrew Benerofe
Emily & Richard W. Cohen
Dorian Goldman & Marvin Israelow
Katja Goldman & Michael Sonnenfeldt
Susan & Dr. Elliott Rose
Harriet & Leonard Schleifer
Elisabeth & Gary Schonfeld
