Jewish Federation of Edmonton

Message from Sarah Hoffman, MLA for Edmonton-Glenora and Alberta NDP Deputy Leader

It’s an honour to welcome you to the amazing Edmonton Jewish Film Festival (EJFF).

For 27 years, this festival has given us the opportunity to come together to celebrate the rich Jewish cultural heritage through an impressive lineup of Jewish-themed cinema from around the world.

EJFF gives us all the opportunity to explore Jewish experiences and learn about joys, and challenges through visual storytelling.

I want to thank the organizers of the EJFF for their dedication to making this event possible.

I hope you enjoy the festival, connect with the community and leave feeling inspired and enriched by this unique cinematic experience.

A Message From MLA David Shepherd

It’s my pleasure to welcome you to the 27th annual Edmonton Jewish Film Festival.

Film has always been one of my favorite forms of storytelling – a complex art that mixes the raw emotive power of acting with visual artistry and sound design to create a whole much greater than the sum of its parts. Few media have such a range of possibilities to explore the human story and, in so doing, speak directly to our minds and hearts.

The EJFF celebrates the use of this art by Jewish artists to tell the diverse stories of a community with a deep history across the globe. The many facets of a remarkable story of enduring resilience in the face of centuries of persecution, prejudice and oppression and the complexity, beauty and vibrancy of the culture and identity Jewish people have fought to preserve and continue to explore and evolve.

It’s a rich tapestry in which there is much for all to consider, learn from and enjoy and at a time when we are seeing the resurgence of overt anti-semitism, it’s more important than ever that we do.

Sarah Hoffman

So thank you to everyone who for 27 years has given their time and energy each year to make this festival possible. May this year’s festival and each edition to come be even better than the last. Mazal tov!

David Shepherd MLA, Edmonton-City Centre