From its exhibition calendar to its suite of artist development services, the Jewish Film Institute creates a community of filmmakers exploring and expanding thoughtful consideration of Jewish history, life, culture, and identity. JFI supports projects at all stages of the creative process, from development and production through finishing and exhibition.
HOLY SILENCE, a documentary film from Emmy-nominated director Steven Pressman, takes a fresh look at a topic that has sparked controversy for decades. During the years leading up to World War II, what was the Vatican's reaction to the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany? And after the war began, how did the pope respond to the horrors of the Holocaust?
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ONE FAMILY is about the wildly divergent views on Israel that exist within the filmmaker's own Jewish family. A hybrid of fiction and nonfiction, it is a meditation on the meaning of home and belonging.
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Peter Freuchen may have looked upon himself as a vagrant, but the world will once again know him for what he really was: an indomitable Viking, who spoke his mind and fought for the betterment of humanity.
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THE LONELY CHILD is a feature documentary that tells the story of a little-known Yiddish lullaby “Dos Elnte Kind” written inside the Vilna Ghetto during the Holocaust.
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Watch the journey unfold in this short comedic docuseries about one queer couple's journey to parenthood through the foster-to-adoption process. Along the way they seek out advice from other fost-adopt families and expand their search in ways they never imagined.
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Finding an old suitcase, filmmaker, daughter Melinda Hess looks inside and finds an unopened letter from the piles of her Jewish family’s ephemeral materials. The discovery of the 1946 letter inspires her journey to uncover an American Space Race story as seen through a daughter and Father story lens, revealing the true story of how we got to the moon from the rocket slave camps of the Holocaust.
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MY PEEPS ARE WHITEYS is an exploration of identity and how we become who we are. Meika Rouda was adopted as a newborn and never knew her biological background until she was in her thirties and trying to make a family of her own. Because she has exotic looks, she often had people tell her what ethnicity they thought she might be, and in turn sometimes took on those identities to see if they fit.
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A film about filmmaker David Santamaria's Aunt Harriet, who was one of New York City’s first female cab drivers.
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Yael Luttwak (SFJFF 2012 Filmmaker in Residence) returns home and turns her camera on her father, famed Department of Defense military strategist Edward Luttwak. The film offers a rare and complex glimpse of beltway politics through these political polar opposites.
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The JFI Completion Grants Program provides finishing funds to emerging and established filmmakers for original stories that promote thoughtful consideration of Jewish history, life, culture, memory, and identity. Established in 2020, JFI has awarded more than $325,000 since the program's inception. Projects eligible for consideration include narratives, documentaries, shorts, episodic programs, or web series. Learn more about JFI's supported projects, the application process, and other updates here. Applications for the 2024 cycle of JFI Completion Grants are open through March 1.
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Do you have a film that the world needs to see? Submit your film to one of the Jewish Film Institute exhibition series, including the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, WinterFest, and more year-round screening programs. The current Call for Entries and submission criteria are available here.
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The JFI Filmmakers in Residence Program is a year-long, community-driven artist residency that provides creative, marketing, and production support for emerging and established filmmakers whose documentary projects explore and expand thoughtful consideration of Jewish history, life, culture, and identity. Learn more about current and former Residents and upcoming application opportunities here.
Read MoreTax Deductible Amount: $35
Applicants to the JFI Completion Grants Program will receive a one-year Flmmaker Membership via their FilmFreeway submission fee.
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