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SFJFF is honored to present this year's Freedom of Expression Award to Joe Berlinger, Jewish-American filmmaker and fervent believer in the documentary form as an instrument of change. Berlinger will accept the award and sit for an onstage interview at the Castro Theatre following a screening of his newest film Intent to Destroy.
Original and inventive on every level, this story about the legendary filmmaker looks at the emotional truth behind the tales told by the man with the outsize personality and the arch monocle at the moment that he moved away from his epic extravaganzas (Metropolis) to morbid tales of depraved individuals (M). The result is not a reality-based biopic, but rather an attempt to show that the darkest insights into the human psyche originated in the filmmaker himself.
The high-stakes world of futures trading is the backdrop for this moving documentary of a son who returns home to better understand his famous and inscrutable father. Defeated and divorced, filmmaker Jordan Melamed, pursues his father Leo, who is reluctant to discuss his life and tragic WWII childhood. They share painful truths, which will echo with many parents and children, as they struggle to move beyond their fraught past toward forgiveness.
If you think you know Gilbert Gottfried, the brash, shrill-voiced (“Aflac!”), boundary-pushing comic, think again. In this surprisingly candid documentary portrait, director Neil Berkeley reveals the foul-mouthed comedian in a whole new light as a loving husband and father of two young children. Featuring interviews with comics like Whoopi Goldberg and behind-the-scenes glimpses of Gottfried’s performances, Gilbert separates the man from the act, and what emerges is unexpectedly tender.
Golyam Dervent, Bulgaria: When gentle village postman Ivan runs for mayor on the platform of welcoming Syrian refugees, the outcome of this humble election (to be decided by fewer than 50 voters) soon takes on all the trappings of a high drama campaign. This often funny, always absorbing documentary that screened at the Sundance Film Festival shows the uneasy confrontation of a small village with the wider world during a time of humanitarian crisis.
The proverbial “girl next door” in The Guys Next Door is anything but a familiar cliché. Rachel is over 40, grew up Jewish and is married with three biological kids of her own when she decides to become a gestational surrogate for her gay best friend and his Italian émigré husband. Not just once but twice! This documentary follows the blended, extended family for three years as they navigate 21st century questions about parenting, identity, intimacy and connection.
Writer/director Ori Sivan’s elegant, understated backstage musical drama is a modern-day adaptation of the Book of Genesis. Sarah is a talented harpist performing in the Jerusalem orchestra of her conductor and husband, the obsessed, Abraham (Alon Aboutboul). Into their childless marriage enters the enigmatic Hagar, a Palestinian horn player who offers to provide the Israeli couple with a child. The film’s finale is an unforgettable and emotional call for harmony between Arabs and Jews.
“The most influential person you never heard of” Heather Booth is an organizer who has been at the center of almost every social movement of the past 50 years. From registering Mississippi voters during the 1964 Freedom Summer to joining Elizabeth Warren in the fight against Wall Street banks, Booth has been a formidable force for change. Filmmaker Lilly Rivlin (Grace Paley: Collected Shorts, SFJFF 2010) creates a compelling portrait of an inspiring activist.
After 30 years at sea, veteran seaman Aharon drops anchor in his old hometown to head up the Marine Department at Ashdod Port. Principled Aharon immediately butts heads with the port strongman, Azulay, a respected but unscrupulous local who defends the surly and lazy tugboat crew. As the battle escalates, it threatens Aharon’s safety and loved ones, and he must weigh the importance of his standards against questions of loyalty, love, and family.
This chronicle of the fascinating career of fashion designer Zac Posen, known to many as a celebrity judge on Project Runway, shows how Posen began designing as a teen. With his family’s support, he enjoyed a meteoric rise. Friendships with famous women (Claire Danes and Natalie Portman) helped catapult him to fame. But when his career stalls, Posen struggles with depression. His plans for a comeback will have audiences cheering for the likeable and talented artist.