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Filtered By: 2016 Clear All

Abortion: Stories Women Tell

Abortion: Stories Women Tell

Award-winning filmmaker and Missouri native Tracy Droz Tragos, director of the Sundance Grand Jury Award–winning documentary Rich Hill and Emmy-winning Be Good Smile Pretty confronts the power of Missouri’s restrictive abortion laws by sensitively telling the intimate stories of women who must surmount every obstacle to access abortion. This timely and relevant film reveals the ultimate connection between the right to choose and the right to live a fully empowered life. —Lexi Leban

Family secrets and lies are revealed in this documentary detective story which begins with World War II and ends with a 21st-century reunion of long lost brothers. With the help of a genealogical search organization, Izak, an Israeli kibbutznik, finally meets the Canadian blind younger brother he did not know he had, when both are in their mid-60s. Embracing one another, they work hard to try to pry secrets loose from their tight-lipped mother Aida. - Sara L. Rubin

Fifteen-year-old Audrie Pott in Saratoga, California, and 14-year-old Daisy Coleman in Maryville, Missouri never met. What connects them is the sexual violence and humiliation they suffered in unrelated incidents from groups of boys who got them drunk, assaulted them and posted their actions on the internet. Thanks to probing interviews with strikingly perceptive subjects, this film provides unflinching insight into the entitlement that leads to the condoning of sexual violence. —Zoe PollakScreened at 2016 Sundance Film Festival

Disturbing The Peace

Disturbing The Peace

This inspiring documentary finds a spirit of compassion and empathy in an unexpected place: among combatants from both sides of the Israeli/Palestinian divide. Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters come together to form Combatants for Peace, a nonviolent group that uses dialogue, theater and art to try to end the conflict. Disturbing the Peace doesn’t shy away from harsh realities and, somehow, still leaves you inspired. —Tamar FoxDirector Stephen Apkon in personPreceded by Hitchhikers, Dir. Yair Agmon

For the Love of Spock

For the Love of Spock

“Live long and prosper.” It’s impossible not to cherish those famous words spoken by the beloved half-human Vulcan. Leonard Nimoy, the man behind the pointy ears, left an indelible mark as an artist and as a mensch. Featuring clips from Nimoy’s career and inspiring interviews with the Star Trek cast, director Adam Nimoy has crafted a loving tribute to not only his father, but also to the man we know as Mr. Spock. —Joshua Moore

The Freedom to Marry

The Freedom to Marry

What’s the definition of a mensch? After watching this inspiring documentary, you’ll have a two-word answer: Evan Wolfson. Founder of the advocacy group Freedom to Marry and the acknowledged “godfather” of the marriage equality movement, Wolfson’s 30-year struggle to bring about justice for millions of gays and lesbians is the heart of this fascinating history that retraces the circuitous path towards legalizing same-sex marriage in the United States. —Peter L. Stein

The award-winning writer and producer James Schamus (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain) crafts a poignant and faithful adaptation of Philip Roth’s Indignation as his directorial debut. Hailed by Roth himself as the best film adaptation of his work, Indignation is a moving portrait of Marcus Messner, the son of a Kosher butcher who sets off for college in 1950’s Ohio and finds his atheist self at odds with its Christian Midwestern culture.- Lexi LebanScreened at 2016 Sundance Film Festival

After his engagement falls apart on the evening of his birthday, Joshy’s (Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley) best buddies rally together to pull off a much-needed guys-only weekend for their grieving friend. As the partying heats up, Joshy and company continue to distract themselves from their troubles until they finally have to confront the elephant in the room: their feelings. Male bonding has never been more complex . . . and comically awkward.

Extreme in his anti-Semitic beliefs and denial of the Holocaust, Csanád Szegedi rose up through the ranks to a leading position in Hungary’s far-right Jobbik Party, and became a member of the European Parliament. At the height of his political career, documentation surfaced showing that Szegedi’s maternal grandparents were Jewish. In a stunning about-face, Szegedi chose to explore his Jewish roots, study Judaism and make a trip to Auschwitz with Holocaust survivors. —Sara L. Rubin

The Last Laugh explores the role of humor and its limitations in confronting tragic events, including the Holocaust. It is a journey across a comedic landscape marked by speed bumps, caution signs and potholes big enough to swallow a clown car. Comedic giants like Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner and Sarah Silverman will leave you laughing and appreciating the importance of humor even in the face of events that make you want to cry. - Mark Valentine

Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You

Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You

Norman Lear wrote, produced, created, and developed more than a hundred television shows. His legendary body of work includes such iconic programs as: All in the Family; Maude; Good Times; The Jeffersons; and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. Now about to turn 94, this Jewish World War II veteran is the focus of the documentary Norman Lear: Another Version of You and the author of an autobiography, Even This I Get to Experience. The Festival is honored to present this year’s Freedom of Expression Award to Norman Lear, the television pioneer and founder of the advocacy organization, People for the American Way, whose passionate, inspiring involvement may be needed now more than ever.—Lexi LebanScreened at Sundance 2016

One Week and a Day

One Week and a Day

When Eyal (Shai Avivi, Sweet Mud, SFJFF 2007) finishes the week of mourning for his late son, his wife (Evgenia Dodina, Invisible, SFJFF 2011) urges him to return to their routine but instead he chooses to gets high with his young slacker neighbor. The two misfits embark on a tragicomical journey to discover that there are still things worth living for in Eyal's life. Director Asaph Polonsky's debut feature offers a humorous and moving depiction of grief and whatever comes next. Winner, International Critic's Week, Cannes Film Festival 2016- Joshua Moore

Robert Klein Still Can't Stop His Leg

Robert Klein Still Can't Stop His Leg

Like Richard Pryor and George Carlin, he influenced a slew of the next generation of comics, and Robert Klein is still really funny! Klein is shown in his daily routines, providing a privileged look at the great comedian as he jokes about everyday life. Klein appeared on the Tonight Show and Letterman more than 100 times and hosted the third Saturday Night Live, appearing in the famous cheeseburger sketch. His spot-on impression of Rodney Dangerfield and his meeting with Don Rickles are some of the many highlights. Interviews with Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart and Bill Maher, as well as clips from some of Klein’s seminal routines, round out this delightful portrait.—Jay Rosenblatt

Layla, a teenager in a Bedouin village in South Israel has a cell phone, drives a car, and has a secret boyfriend at the college she is attending. She watches from a distance as her mother accepts her father’s second wife into their family, prompting questions about her own future. This stunning first feature by Israeli director Elite Zexer sympathetically captures the struggle between tradition and modernity in the beautifully stark Negev desert landscape.-Lexi LebanWinner, World Cinema Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival 2016

The Settlers (2016)

The Settlers (2016)

In a comprehensive and compelling retelling, award-winning Israeli filmmaker, Shimon Dotan (Smile of the Lamb, SJFFF 1986) traces with remarkable access the history of Israeli settlements in the West Bank since Israel’s decisive victory in the 1967 Six Day War. Using archival footage of the religious zealots and interviews with a diverse range of modern-day settlers, Dotan weaves together the story that entangles the destinies of Israel and the Palestinian people. —Janis PlotkinScreened at Sundance Film Festival 2016

Streit's: Matzo and the American Dream

Streit's: Matzo and the American Dream

Just as its iconic pink box has graced Passover seder tables for generations of American Jews, so, too, Streit’s matzo factory has stood for some 80 years on the Lower East Side. For many Jews, a family business has been a way to make a living and a way to ensure that the next generation could do better. This is all challenged by the need for modernity, the pressures of foreign competition and enticing real estate offers. —Sara L. Rubin

Wrestling Jerusalem

Wrestling Jerusalem

Writer/actor Aaron Davidman takes us on a whirlwind journey that presents competing narratives of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. He gracefully embodies 17 characters, moving deftly from male to female, Palestinian to Israeli, American to European. Davidman’s ability to empathize makes him an excellent tour guide. Masterfully shot backstage during a live performance, and in the desert, the film conjures cafes, buses and settlements as well as the deeply human stories they contain. —Stephanie Rapp

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