Jewish Film Festival Jewish Film Festival

2022 Film Guide

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10 Questions for Henry Ford
10 Questions for Henry Ford
One hundred years after the publication of his notorious antisemitic screed "The International Jew," the ghost of Henry Ford returns to face his legacy in this hybrid film based on archival documents, oral histories, and Ford’s personal notebooks.
Alegría
Alegría
When women of various faiths gather for Yael’s destination wedding at her aunt Alegría’s picturesque family home on the Mediterranean coast, the bonds of family and friendship are tested in this warm, uplifting comedy.
And I Was There
And I Was There
As a young soldier, Eran Paz documented his unit members taking over Palestinian homes in the West Bank. Eighteen years later, he confronts his past and returns to where it all began.
Babi Yar. Context
Babi Yar. Context
Famed Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa creates a stunning document of the 1941 Nazi massacre of 33,771 Jewish men, women, and children over a two-day period in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Freedom of Expression Award: Sergei Loznitsa
Freedom of Expression Award: Sergei Loznitsa
JFI is proud to present the 2022 Freedom of Expression Award to Sergei Loznitsa, the director of "Babi Yar. Context ". Over the past 20 years, Ukrainian-born Loznitsa has produced a powerful body of award-winning documentary and narrative films that explore how “when memory turns into oblivion, when the past overshadows the future, it is the voice of cinema that articulates the truth.”
Bad Nazi, Good Nazi
Bad Nazi, Good Nazi
The residents of a German village must decide whether to construct a memorial honoring the Nazi officer who saved the life of Wladyslaw Szpilman, the renowned Jewish musician featured in the Roman Polanski film "The Pianist."
Bernstein's Wall (Centerpiece Documentary)
Bernstein's Wall (Centerpiece Documentary)
Leonard Bernstein’s life journey defined his role as one of America’s most important musical figures, while fighting to create social change and inspire political activism.
Charm Circle
Charm Circle
Nira Burstein’s documentary is a love song to her eccentric and sometimes mentally challenged family, who live in the gracious chaos of their Charm Circle New York City home in Queens.
Concerned Citizen
Concerned Citizen
Neve Sha’anan, Tel Aviv: Ben and Raz are well-to-do “concerned citizens” planning to have a baby in the refugee neighborhood they live in (and gentrify) in this thorny Israeli satire.

Download the SFJFF42 Program Guide
Special Presentations
SFJFF42's Special Presentations honor stories big and small, illuminate the diversity of Jewish experiences, champion freedom of expression, and delight with their wit and charm. This year’s special screenings feature virtuosic performances, partnerships with fellow arts organizations, untold histories and uncomfortable truths, and more.
JFI Supported Stories
The Jewish Film Institute champions emerging and established filmmakers telling bold stories about Jewish life, culture, and identity through our Filmmaker Residency and Completion Grants programs. SFJFF42 is proud to showcase this dynamic group of films that received JFI support in their creation.
Next Wave Films
JFI Next Wave is a community of Bay Area filmmakers with an eye on the up and coming, and it is a platform for films and filmmakers that challenge and expand our ideas of Jewish storytelling. These films explore modern life and identity through a Jewish lens, often dealing with subjects like art, music, travel, social justice and more.
Take Action Films
Today's national conversation and political moment has inspired a powerful revolution of filmmakers applying their trade to the moment’s most pressing issues. Focusing on issues like climate change, abortion rights, and the fight against white nationalist violence, these films respond to the urgency of our times and embolden us to take concrete action to repair the world.
Awakenings: Stories of Transformation
As we return to the movies, SFJFF42 is highlighting stories that reflect our current moment of personal and societal awakening. What moves us from a space of inertia to action, in our lives and in the world? Who do we become when we pass the point of no return? These films ask those questions, and leave it to the audience to come up with the answers.
Present Tense: Contested Histories
Our current moment is one of grappling with history. Questions of whose stories become the popular narrative, and whose remain hidden from view, are frontline conversations in communities around the world. These films reexamine commonly accepted truths with a fresh lens, unearthing aspects of the past that illuminate our present reality.
Radiant Truths: Seeing Beyond Ourselves
What if, instead of being threatened by perspectives that challenge our own, we embraced the possibility that they have something to teach us? These films embody the idea of “multiple truths” by sharing a multiplicity of (sometimes contradictory) ideas and experiences.
Short Films
Don't miss the thirty-one short films in this year's program, each of which tells a big story. All narrative shorts compete for the SFJFF Film Movement Award and all documentary shorts compete for the juried Best Short Documentary Award, the winner of which is eligible for the Academy Award in Documentary (Short Subject).
Streaming Films
For those who prefer an at-home viewing experience, SFJFF42 offers more than a dozen programs online, available in the JFI Digital Screening Room from August 1–7, 2022. Selected titles include repeat presentations from the in-person Festival and stellar titles only streaming online.