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Filtered By: 2015 Clear All

The Armor of Light

In her breathtaking directorial debut, Abigail Disney follows evangelical minister Rob Schenck, an anti-abortion activist—and former Jew—as he examines whether it is possible to be pro-gun and pro-life. He teams with Lucy McBath, the mother of Jordan Davis, an unarmed teenager murdered in Florida whose case has become a landmark in the fight against stand-your-ground laws. Disney artfully paces the story to show a polarized topic in a fresh light.

As I AM: The Life and Times of DJ AM

Forget whatever you’ve heard about the life and death of Philadelphia-born DJ AM (born Adam Goldstein), the superstar club deejay who attained rock star status and survived a fiery plane crash only to die a short time later of a drug overdose at the age of 36. Director Kevin Kerslake’s haunting and heartbreaking portrait intimately conveys the brief life of an obsessive sonic genius for whom music, fame and love were tragically not enough.

Autism in Love

About This Film

Baba Joon

Israel’s submission to the 2015 Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film surprises in many ways. For starters, the screenplay is almost entirely in Farsi, not Hebrew. The semi-autobiographical feature film debut from writer/director Yuval Delshad depicts three generations in the Morgian family, Persian immigrants from Iran to Israel eking out a living as rural turkey farmers. Sensitive performances, gentle pacing and refreshing plot twists combine to weave a richly satisfying story. —Emily Kaiser Thelin

Blush

Seventeen-year-old Naama is thoroughly bored with her overbearing family and uneventful suburban school days. That is until bleached-blonde bad girl Dana shows up with her flirtatious smile and a bag of weed. But while Naama is both partying hard and falling hard for Dana, her sister goes missing, and the whole family is deeply rattled. Blush is a portrait of modern Israel through the eyes of the youth who are pushing the boundaries. —Alexis Whitman

Censored Voices

Oral histories recorded by Israeli writer Amos Oz and other young kibbutzniks in the weeks immediately following their experience during the Six Day War are brought to life in this revealing documentary. The censored 1967 recordings, coupled with striking archival images, reveal the moment that Israel’s soldiers, in their own words, went from identifying with David to Goliath. The act of trying to remember is what gives this documentary its profound resonance.

Class Divide

One-hundred-fifteen steps is all that separates a public housing complex from a private school for Manhattan’s elite. Class Divide shines a light on people who live a stone’s throw apart but inhabit completely different worlds. Despite grim statistics about poverty, the film is imbued with optimism as it shares stories from both sides of the street and finds common ground in the hopes and dreams of young people and their families. —Stephanie Rapp

Danny Says

A dazzling trip through the entertaining life of Danny Fields, the little-known Jewish godfather of punk rock and provocative record "company freak" who discovered legendary underground music pioneers the MC5, Iggy Pop, and the Ramones. Drawn from a breathtaking trove of rare footage and audio recordings, this fascinating chronicle is capped by the wry and wistful reminiscence of Fields himself, the tastemaker who just may have been responsible for breaking up the Beatles.

Every Face Has a Name

This beautiful film ponders identity and survival. Concentration camp survivors watch film footage of their arrival into the port of Malmo, Sweden and relive the euphoria of liberation. Their stories are juxtaposed against the plight of refugees today fleeing violence in North Africa. In the process we’re reminded that war is still with us and that compassion demands we extend aid when we can. The question is, will we?

Germans and Jews

This thoughtful documentary is a subtle examination of the history of Germany’s postwar Jewish population and of the fraught and fragile relations between Jews and non-Jews. Structured around a dinner party attended by Germans and Jews—some of whom were born in Germany, some who are “Germans by choice”—the film negotiates sensitive questions of memory, guilt, identity and redemption with grace and aplomb while giving access to both sides of a crucial historical dialogue. —Seth Barron*SJM: Single Jewish Mom Free Screening

Left On Purpose

Justin Schein originally set out to make a standard documentary on former Yippie activist Mayer Vishner. But in the middle of shooting, Vishner made it clear he had a different plan. The film ends with his last political act: his exit from this world. Schein’s dilemma becomes the film’s new narrative, as he goes from documentarian to friend to one of Vishner’s last caretakers, ultimately making him complicit in the death of his subject. —Neha TalrejaWinner of the Audience Award at DOC NYC Festival 2015.

Love & Taxes

Despite his job assisting a high-powered San Francisco corporate tax attorney, Josh Kornbluth hasn’t filed his own taxes in years. When his boss finally convinces him to file, so begins an unexpected and hilarious journey that will change his life. Seamlessly blending scenes from Kornbluthss finally convinces him to file, so begins an unexpected and Love & Taxes will capture your heart and make you never want to do your taxes the same way again.

Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw

WNBA star Chamique Holdsclaw has always defied expectations. In her youth she seemed destined for trouble having been born to alcoholic parents. But she worked out her frustrations on the basketball court and grew up to become an iconic figure in women’s basketball, revered by some as “the female Michael Jordan.” Her struggle and her subsequent advocacy around mental illness issues embody the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, repairing the world through one’s actions.

Natasha

Jewish Canadian writer David Bezmozgis directs his acclaimed short story of forbidden teenage love between Mark, a Toronto slacker and his troubled Russian cousin by marriage. Bezmozgis’s highly provocative and deeply poignant coming-of-age drama features the extraordinarily measured performances of Alex Ozerov as Mark and newcomer Sasha K. Gordon as the sexually precocious Natasha, the dark star who forever alters Mark’s staid, suburban existence. —Thomas Logoreci

A Nazi Legacy: What Our Fathers Did

Can a man’s character be separated from his role in history? From his role in mass murder? With the volume of Holocaust material, these questions have certainly been touched on before. What makes David Evans’ documentary particularly fascinating is how close he brings us to the Nazi men that have become an almost abstract symbol of ultimate evil: He has us meet their sons.

On the Map

Led by the magnetic Tal Brody, the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team, a combination of NBA also-rans and Israeli players, rallied a nation in its David-and-Goliath pursuit of the 1977 European Championship. Director Dani Menkin presents the context for what was a much-needed morale boost amid Israel’s sagging economy, the lingering sorrow of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre and the battle-weariness in the wake of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. —Sara L. Rubin

Partner with the Enemy

This soulful documentary suggests the world might look different if women and mothers were calling the shots. Co-directors Chen Shelach and Duki Dror (Incessant Visions—Letters from an Architect, SFJFF 2011) follow Anat and Rola, entrepreneurs from Kibbutz Mizra and Ramallah who join forces to start a logistics company specializing in the release and transport of Palestinian cargo shipped to Israeli ports. But a hostile environment threatens the women’s partnership.

Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict

Born into great wealth yet emotionally rebellious, American socialite Peggy Guggenheim spent a lifetime—and a fortune—breaking society’s rules to become one of the preeminent art collectors of the 20th century and a tireless champion of the avant- garde. This absorbing documentary profiles the bohemian tastemaker who helped discover such talents as Kandinsky, Cocteau, Dali, and Pollock, while pursuing sexual liaisons with the likes of Samuel Beckett and Paul Bowles.

The People vs. Fritz Bauer

In late 1950s Germany attorney general Fritz Bauer (played by The White Ribbon’s lauded Burghart Klaussner) is intent on bringing the infamous Nazi Adolf Eichmann to trial. This riveting historical thriller chronicles the hindrances and the potentially mortal dangers Bauer faces as a closeted gay Jewish lawyer working alongside men in the government who can bring criminals like Eichmann to justice but who ultimately have the power to conceal their own Nazi pasts. —Zoe PollakScreened at Berlinale 2016

Plastic Man: The Artful Life of Jerry Ross Barrish

This delightful documentary follows Jerry Ross Barrish, an unorthodox sculptor in his 70s, as he struggles to achieve commercial success. Daylighting as a bail bondsman and formally a pioneering independent filmmaker, Barrish now sculpts with found plastic—trash, essentially—which he assembles into works of Picasso-esque humanity. Too often art documentaries treat their subjects with reverent distance. But Barrish’s infectious charm and whimsical art will make you want to pick up a pencil and start drawing.

Projections of America

Hollywood screenwriter Robert Riskin’s Mr. Deeds Goes to Town won him a 1937 Oscar. Less well known is Riskin’s series of short films, produced to aid America’s WWII effort. The films’ American values reflect his own Jewish, left-leaning principles, countering foreigners’ negative stereotypes of United States citizens. With narration by John Lithgow, director Peter Miller skillfully brings this effort to light.

Rabin in His Own Words

This examination of the life and times of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is constructed largely from archival footage, photographs and interviews, from Rabin’s early days to his tragic death. Director Erez Laufer (One Day After Peace, SFJFF 2012) takes us from Rabin’s childhood, through his experience fighting in three wars, to his assassination, and reminds us of the possibility for peace that remains for those who want it. —Seth Barron

In Search of Israeli Cuisine

Renowned chef Michael Solomonov explores a diverse world of food drawn from more than 100 cultures. Chefs, farmers, vintners, cheese makers and home cooks discuss their roots and show specialties that both preserve and update traditional recipes using global inspiration. Uniquely and lovingly prepared shakshuka, boreka, maqluba, couscous and a kugel that challenges expectations are just a few of the irresistible dishes featured. Warning: This movie will make you hungry!

The Tenth Man

Ariel lives in New York, far from the lively Jewish district in Buenos Aires where he grew up. But when his father summons him back home for help, Ariel reluctantly returns. The Tenth Man is a kindhearted comedy with a gentle romantic touch. Director Daniel Burman (All In, SFJFF 2012) joyfully upends the old adage that you can never go home again and instead says, maybe under the right circumstances, you can. —Jay Rosenblatt

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