LGBTQ STORIES THROUGH A JEWISH LENS AT THE 38TH SAN FRANCISCO JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL
6/19/2018
SAN FRANCISCO, June 19, 2018 - The 38th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (SFJFF38), presented annually by the Jewish Film Institute (JFI), is pleased to present the following films that showcase LGBTQ stories through a Jewish lens as part of the festival. SFJFF38 returns to the Bay Area July 29th and runs till August 5th.
Winner of the Best Documentary on Cinema at the 2017 Venice Film Festival, THE PRINCE AND THE DYBBUK follows the life of Michał Waszyński, the director of the 1937 classic The Dybbuk, who led a life of many identities and turbulent contradictions. He is credited with igniting the Golden Age of Yiddish cinema, yet converted to Catholicism. He married an Italian countess, yet was openly homosexual. Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosolowski dive into the complex life of the man. The film will makes its West Coast Premiere Sunday, July 22nd at 2:05PM at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, and Saturday, August 4th at 2:00PM at the Piedmont Theatre in Oakland.
Making its North American Premiere at the festival, THE SIGN FOR LOVE follows co-director and subject Elad Cohen as he explores the meaning of family. Growing up deaf and gay in a family of hearing people, Cohen always felt alone until he creates a sense of family with friend including Yaeli, a deaf woman with whom he decides to have a child with. Their journey and the film reveals the challenges of parenting, the bias against deaf individuals and the intricacies of human relationships. The film will screen Friday, July 20th at 12:00PM at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, and Friday, July 27th at 12:00PM at the Albany Twin Theatre in Albany.
Set in East Jerusalem, RED COW follows Benny, an outsider with red hair who is overcome with exciting new feelings when the mysterious new girl Yael arrives at her small community. The film touches on the universal desires of first lust and the feeling of being alive for the first time. RED COW will make its North American Premiere Monday, July 23rd at 11:30AM at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, Tuesday, July 24th at 8:15PM at the CinéArts Theatre in Palo Alto, Tuesday, July 31st at 8:25PM at the Albany Twin Theatre in Albany, and Sunday, August 5th at 8:30PM at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael.
SUMMER, a 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. Screens in the Jews In Shorts: Narrative program on Tuesday, July 24th at 12:00PM at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, and Saturday, August 4th at 12:00PM at the Piedmont Theatre in Oakland.
ON MY WAY OUT: THE SECRET LIFE OF NANI AND POPI tells the love story of director Brandon Gross' grandparents, who after 60 years of what appeared to be the model marriage, revealed that they had been keeping a huge secret from the entire family. Screens in front of the film THE TWINNING REACTION on Friday, July 20th at 1:50PM at the Castro Theatre, Tuesday, July 24th at 3:25PM at the CinéArts Theatre in Palo Alto, and Friday, August 3rd at 2:15PM at the Piedmont Theater in Oakland.
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Entering its 38th year, the Festival is expecting an audience of over 40,000 moviegoers at the following theaters; the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, the Albany Twin Theatre in Albany, the Piedmont Theatre in Oakland, the CinéArts Theatre in Palo Alto, and the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael.
For general and ticket information, visit sfjff.org or email jewishfilm@sfjff.org. To contact the SFJFF Box Office directly, please email boxoffice@sfjff.org or call 415.621.0568. The full program for SFJFF38 will be revealed on June 19, 2018. For Festival logos, photos and press materials, visit jfi.org/press or sfjff.org/press. To request interviews or screeners, contact Larsen Associates.
HASHTAGS: #SFJFF, #SFJFF38 and #SFJewishFilm
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| Website: | www.jfi.org / www.sfjff.org |
About the Jewish Film Institute
The Jewish Film Institute (JFI) is the premier curatorial voice for Jewish film and media and a leading arts and culture organization in the Bay Area. Presenter of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, JFI catalyzes and inspires communities in San Francisco and around the world to expand their understanding of Jewish life and culture through film, media, and dialogue. Year round, the Jewish Film Institute promotes awareness and appreciation of the diversity of the Jewish people through multiple mediums - including original online programming that reaches a global audience of over 2 million views. All of these services, along with artists' support and educational initiatives, give audiences around the world even greater access to Jewish culture and the visionaries who shape it.
About the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (SFJFF), presented by the Jewish Film Institute, is the largest and longest-running festival of its kind and a leader in the curation and presentation of new film and media exploring the complexities of Jewish life around the world. Presenting more than 65 films and 135 individual screenings, performances and events in five Bay Area cities (San Francisco, Palo Alto, San Rafael, Oakland, Berkeley), SFJFF attracts more than 40,000 filmgoers and industry professionals to its 18-day program.
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival 38 Sponsors
The Jewish Film Institute and San Francisco Jewish Film Festival wish to thank the 2018 Premier Festival Sponsors Sterling Bank & Trust and The Seligman Family Foundation.
SFJFF38 wishes to thank its Premier Media Sponsors: the San Francisco Chronicle and SFGATE; its Grand Media Sponsors: J. the Jewish News of Northern California, KQED and The Forward; and its Major Media Sponsors: ABC7/KGO-TV, Berkeleyside.com and the SF Bay Times.
The Festival wishes to thank its Business and Community Sponsors: Berkeley Film Foundation,
Britex Fabrics, the Contemporary Jewish Museum, Craig Harrison's Expressions of ExcellenceTM,GoWatchIt, Ingeniux Web Experience Management, Schoenberg Family Law Group, Sinai Memorial Chapel Chevra Kadisha and Wareham Development and Where the Buffalo Roam.
SFJFF38 also recognizes its Hospitality and Events Sponsors: Leftwich Event Specialists, Inc., Ba-Bite, Catch SF, Hagafen Wineries, the Hotel Carlton, Lagunitas Brewing Co., Landmark Theatres, L'Chaim Sushi, Frena Bakery, Little Star Pizza, Melons Catering & Events, Sullivan & Botello Party Rentals, Poesia, Salt & Honey, Saul's Restaurant and Delicatessen, Taste, Wise Sons and Zaytoon Mediterranean Restaurant & Bar.
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