SAN FRANCISCO (Press Release)–Now in its 33rd year, The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival returns to the Bay Area July 25-August 12, 2013 at the Castro Theatre and the JCCSF in San Francisco, the CineArts Theatre in Palo Alto, the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael and its new venues in the East Bay: The California Theatre in Berkeley, and the Grand Lake, Piedmont, and the New Parkway Theaters in Oakland.
The first and still the largest of its kind, the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (SFJFF) continues to present a broad range of Jewish media with a full complement of films, festivities, special discussion programs and international guests that highlight 5772 years of culture.
Now in her second year as Executive Director Lexi Leban, together with Program Director Jay Rosenblatt and Associate Programmer Joshua Moore, are pleased to present 25 narrative and 34 documentary feature films from 26 countries. The festival once again explores the expansive and ever changing notion of Jewish Culture.
THE ZIGZAG KID Makes its Bay Area Premiere Opening Night
Director Vincent Bal, and actress Jessica Zeijlmaker will be in attendance Opening Night at the Castro Theater on July 25th for the Bay Area Premiere of THE ZIGZAG KID. Director Vincent Bal’s fast-paced adaptation of David Grossmans’s popular novel tells the tale of Nono, a young Dutch boy, with a rich imagination and a knack for getting into trouble on the brink of his Bar Mitzvah. His father, inspector Jacob Feierberg, is the best police inspector in the world. Zohara, his mother, died when Nono was an infant, and remains a mystery to him. Inspector Feierberg helps Nono hone his powers of observation and deduction, while Gaby—his father’s young, zaftig secretary/girlfriend—fosters Nono’s imagination. Yet Gaby really functions as his second mother telling Nono wild stories about criminals and teaching him to sing along to the songs of famous chanteuse Lola Ciperola (played to perfection by Isabella Rossellini).
After the film the festival hosts the annual Opening Night Party at the Swedish American Hall in San Francisco. Enjoy live music from San Francisco’s own La Peche Quintet, with a great selection of some of the Bay Area’s best food and drink.
The North American Premiere of RUE MANDAR to Close Festival
On Thursday, August 1st the festival closes its San Francisco screenings with the North American Premiere of Idit Cebula’s film RUE MANDAR at 8:30pm at the Castro Theater. Sandrine Kiberlain and Emmanuelle Devos star in this family dramedy about three French-Jewish sibilings coping with their mother’s death. All attendees of the Closing Night film will receive a special gift bag.
Prior to the film, the festival will be hosting a dinner at the Castro Mezzanine with filmmakers and special guests. This event will be catered by Back to Earth Organic Catering. Limited tickets are available on a first come first serve basis. Tickets are $100 each and are good for dinner only. Admission to the film requires a separate ticket. Actor Richard Berry will be attending.
Centerpiece Film: THE ATTACK
Based on Yasmina Khadra’s international bestseller, SFJFF will be showing Ziad Doueiri’s THE ATTACK as its Centerpiece film on Tuesday, July 30th at 6:15pm. The film follows an Israeli-Palestinian surgeon, shocked to discover that his wife was involved in a suicide-bomb attack, who ventures into Palestinian territory to confront the people who recruited her.
After screening at the 2012 Toronto and Telluride Film Festivals, THE ATTACK will screen in San Francisco with Director Ziad Doueiri in person.
Berkeley Big Night: AFTERNOON DELIGHT
On Saturday, August 3rd starting at 6:30pm, AFTERNOON DELIGHT, from director Jill Soloway, will screen as the Berkeley Big Night film. The film follows Rachel, a quick-witted, lovable, thirty-something living in Los Angeles. In an attempt to spice up her marriage, she visits a strip club and adopts one of the strippers to become her live-in nanny.
Winner of the US Dramatic Directing Award at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, director Jill Soloway will be in attendance for the screening and actress Kathryn Hahn is invited. Immediately following the screening, the festival will host an evening of drinks, noshes and conversations at their new party location, the David Brower Center in downtown Berkeley.
Alan Berliner to be Honored with Freedom of Expression Award
The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival will be presenting Brooklyn-born filmmaker Alan Berliner with their annual Freedom of Expression Award on Monday, July 29th at 6:25pm at the Castro Theater in San Francisco. Alan will be on stage to receive the award and talk about his past work prior to a screening of his latest film, FIRST COUSIN ONCE REMOVED, an unflinching look at the steady decline of Alan’s first cousin, Edwin Honig, as he battles Alzheimer’s disease.
Spotlight on Israeli TV
Prisoners of War, Israel’s highest-rated drama series and the basis of ShowTime’s hit TV series Homeland, will be showcased as part of SFJFF’s Spotlight on Israel TV Sunday, July 28th at 4:35pm at the Castro Theater. Gideon Raff, creator of Prisoners of War and executive producer of Homeland will be in person to show clips and discuss the creative process behind both shows.
In addition to this event, on Saturday, July 27th at 5:05pm the SFJFF will be home to the World Premiere for season 4 of ARAB LABOR with actor Norman Issa in person. This hit Israel TV show follows Amjad, a Palestinian journalist and Israeli citizen in search of his identity.
Alex Karpovsky Spotlight
Co-Star of HBO’s hit comedy Girls and Lena Dunham’s feature TINY FURNITURE, Alex Karpovsky is also one of America’s hottest emerging filmmakers and actors. Often blurring the line between his on-screen and off-screen neurotic persona of “his little Jewish engine of anxiety and guilt,” Alex Karpovsky has been called next generation’s Woody Allen.
SFJFF will screen Karpovsky’s biting comedy satire on himself, RED FLAG, followed by a clip reel of his work as a director and actor, with a live on-stage conversation with the man himself at the historic Castro Theater on Saturday, July 27th at 7:15pm.
Music Films Provide a Soundtrack to the Jewish Experience
From Amy Winehouse to Johnny Cash, the 33rd San Francisco Jewish Film Festival features films and performances from talented musicians from all walks of life.
The West Coast Premiere of AWAKE ZION, a documentary from director Monica Haim, explores the relationship between Rastafarians and Orthdox Jews with a soundtrack that includes Burning Spear, Doctor Israel, Rocker T and Ex-Centric Sound. Following the film, a live Dub/Reggae show featuring the Bay Area’s Dub Gabriel and Brooklyn based Doctor Israel will further explore the relationship between Rastafarians ands Jews. This event starts at 7:00pm at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland on Friday, August 9th.
On Wednesday, July 31st at 8:45pm at the Castro Theater, AMY WINEHOUSE: THE DAY SHE CAME TO DINGLE will make its North American premiere, followed by a performance by Crystall Monee Hall, the front woman for the Mickey Hart Band. Crystall will lead a band that explores Amy Winehouse’s influences. The film is a loving portrait of the iconic singer before she rose to international superstardom, which documents a performance she gave in a small remote town in Ireland.
Other music films include BROADWAY MUSICALS: A JEWISH LEGACY, MY FATHER AND THE MAN IN BLACK, and NEIL DIAMOND: SOLITARY MAN.
Sundance: Stories of Change – Repairing the World, One Film at a Time
For the first time ever, the festival will be partnering with the Sundance Institute Documentary Program to show a full day of award winning social action documentaries. The Stories of Change program will take place on July 26th at the Castro Theater. Starting at noon the festival will be showcasing work from around the world that feature active campaigns aimed at making a positive impact. The day is highlighted by a Panel Discussion at 5:20pm: LIGHTS, CAMERA, TAKE ACTION will feature filmmakers and community engagement experts sharing their inspirational success stories. Wendy Levy, The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program Senior Consulate and Director of New Art AXIS, will moderate the panel.
An Evening with Kenny Hotz
Kenny Hotz, a former South Park writer and star of the hit television series KENNY VS. SPENNY will be on hand for the U.S. premiere his newest creation: KENNY HOTZ’S TRIUMPH OF THE WILL on Saturday, August 3rd at 8:45pm at the Jewish Community Center in San Francisco. Winner of the Best Comedy Series in Canada, TRIUMPH OF THE WILL is a bold showcase where Kenny aspires to be a better person by getting his single Jewish mother a boyfriend, organizing Jews to build a mosque for Muslims, and reconciling with the French. SFJFF will screen these three episodes of the series followed by special “fan made” videos exclusively for the festival along with a conversation with Kenny.
Other Festival Highlights
This year’s festival will feature several films focusing on New York. These include: THE ART OF SPIEGELMAN, from co-directors Clara Kuperberg and Joelle Oosterlinck; BLUMENTHAL, from director Seth Fisher; EVERY TUESDAY: A PORTRAIT OF THE NEW YORKER CARTOONISTS, by director Rachel Loube; HANNAH ARENDT, by director Margarethe von Trotta; HERE ONE DAY, from director Kathy Leichter a former San Francisco resident; JOE PAPP IN FIVE ACTS, by directors Karen Thorsen and Tracie Holder; and the North American Premiere of SUKKAH CITY, from director Jason Hutt.
Other highlights of the festival include the World Premiere of AMERICAN JERUSALEM: JEWS AND THE BUILDING OF SAN FRANCISCO from Oakland based director Marc Shaffer; Sundance Film Festival 2013 entry AFTER TILLER, from co-directors Martha Shane and Lana Wilson; LIFE ACCORDING TO SAM, from co-directors Sean and Andrea Fine; MY AWKWARD SEXUAL ADVENTURE, by director Sean Garrity; THE TRIALS OF MUHAMMAD ALI, from director Bill Siegel; THE LAST SENTENCE by legendary Swedish director Jan Troell; and THE STRANGE CASE OF WILHELM REICH starring Oscar-nominated actor Klaus Maria Brandaeur and directed by Antonin Svoboda.
About the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (SFJFF) is a year-round media art’s organization that puts on the world’s first — and still the largest Jewish film festival. SFJFF’s mission is to promote awareness and appreciation of the diversity of the Jewish people, provide a dynamic and inclusive forum for exploration of and dialogue about the Jewish experience, and encourage independent filmmakers working with Jewish themes. The SFJFF’s signature summer Film Festival, monthly screenings, youth mentorship program (New Jewish Filmmaking Project), publications, and online resources have made SFJFF a leader in the use of media arts to foster cultural understanding. Annually attracting more than 30,000 filmgoers, the SFJFF is world-renowned for the diversity and breadth of its audiences and films.
Tickets Information, Festival Dates and Public Contact Numbers
The 33rd San Francisco Jewish Film Festival will take place July 25 – August 12, 2013 at the Castro Theatre San Francisco; Aug 2 – 8 at the California Theatre in Berkeley; August 9-11 Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland, August 3-8 at the CinéArts in Palo Alto Square; August 3-4 at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco; August 10-12 at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael; and Aug 12 at the Piedmont Theater in Oakland. For more information, visit the SFJFF website at www.sfjff.org or contact jewishfilm@sfjff.org.
*
Preceding provided by the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival