SFJFF38 is proud to showcase several films from past and present Bay Area filmmakers or which celebrate the vibrancy of local communities and contribute to the strong tradition of independent filmmaking thriving here today.
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT. On a street in Harlem in 1986, a young blond-haired Jewish kid who plays a first-rate blues harmonic struck up a musical friendship with a street musician named Sterling Magee, who calls himself Mr. Satan. The duo puts together an act that leads to music festivals and a successful record. Just as quickly, the act crashes when Satan mysteriously disappears. This documentary captures a fascinating journey of friendship, heartbreak and the transformative power of the blues.
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First-time Bay Area filmmaker Elizabeth Rynecki takes us along on a quest to find her Polish-Jewish great-grandfather Moshe Rynecki’s lost artworks. The art disappeared after he was deported to the Warsaw Ghetto and perished at Majdanek. His more than 800 paintings and sculptures portrayed scenes of everyday Jewish life, and although her family was able to save some of it, Elizabeth knew there were many more pieces out there.
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Summer is short film about two teenage girls in a Hasidic sleep-a-way camp who, despite their every effort to maintain their purity, explore a forbidden book which leads them to a sexual awakening neither of them are prepared to encounter. Featuring Thea Mccartan, Juliet Brett, and Emmy Tanzy, the film is shot in situ in the heart of Hasidic Upstate New York.
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Ethiopian Jews share their personal firsthand accounts of life in the Holy Land. Produced as part of the Jerusalem Film Workshop for young filmmakers that includes Bay Area editor Michelle Blue
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Different backgrounds, lifestyles, and religious views paint vastly different pictures of life for female and male graffiti artists in Jerusalem. Produced as part of the Jerusalem Film Workshop for young filmmakers that includes Bay Area director Rachel Boyoung Kim
Read More$300 Members / $325 General Public
New for 2018! The San Francisco Pass gives you premier entry to all SFJFF38 programs at the Castro Theatre including Big Nights and regular screenings (some exceptions may apply).