A LOOK BACK AT PJFM’S 2024
Another great year for PJFM is in the books! In 2024, PJFM was able to host new, thrilling events, showcase groundbreaking films, and engage with all of you in exciting ways. Let's take a look back at some of the biggest moments of the year.
LINDY SPRINGFEST
10th Spring Film and Media Series
LUZER TWERSKY, STAR OF THE CHOSEN ONE (2023)
DIRECTOR/ACTOR YAHAV WINNER, MURDERED ON OCTOBER 7TH, IN INDIAN GRAVE (2021)
PJFM's annual series, presented by Presenting Sponsor Elaine Lindy and the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, celebrated its 10th year with a diverse selection of films. Features included THE SHADOW OF THE DAY (2022), a gripping love story set against the backdrop of fascist Italy, and NO NAME RESTAURANT (2022), a comedy about an unexpected friendship between an ultra-Orthodox Jew and Bedouin man. PJFM also included a special collection of short films by the late Yahav Winner who was murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023.
And who can forget THE CHOSEN ONE (2023), Elazar Fine's wildly unsettling comedy/horror short about a Hasidic man who begins experiencing a nightmarish transformation one night after shaving off his beard and dreadlocks?!
A LOOK BACK AT PJFM’S 2024
DIGITAL CHUTZPAH 2024
3rd Jewish Digital Media Festival
A FLAWLESS AI SCRIPT GENERATES STUNNING VIRTUAL REALMS IN GENESIS: SEED 913 (2024).
EREZ SHEK, THE CREATOR OF @JEWSICAL101, DIGITAL CONTENT THAT SHARES AND CELEBRATES JEWISH MUSICAL ARTISTS
PJFM's annual Jewish digital media festival returned for a four-day program of interactive media, VR (Virtual Reality), films, music, and more. Attendees experienced GENESIS: SEED 913 (2024) on the big screen, Ariel Leon Azeus and Naama Dashevski's stunning AI short produced by the Jerusalem Film and Television Fund. Erez Shek (@Jewsical101), the winner of Unapologetically Jewish, PJFM's first social media contest, was awarded the $5,000 prize on Opening Night of the festival.
A LOOK BACK AT PJFM’S 2024
In October, PJFM collaborated with the museum, the Israeli Film Festival of Philadelphia, and Kaiserman JCC for a powerful, gut-wrenching screening of WE WILL DANCE AGAIN (2024), Yariv Mozer's documentary follows the survivors of the 10/7 attack on the Nova Music Festival.
In August, PJFM presented BETWEEN THE TEMPLES (2024) at the Film Society Center. This dark comedy from Sundance revolves around a synagogue cantor (Jason Schwartzman) dealing with grief and a crisis of faith.
Finally, in December, PJFM presented its second annual EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS: Latkes & Vodkas Movie Night at Khyber Pass Pub. Guests were treated to delicious latkes, custom drinks, and Adam Sandler trivia. Lucky winners won PJFM tickets and a special goodie bag. Don’t miss it next year!
A LOOK BACK AT PJFM’s 2024
Without your support, PJFM would not be able to offer the kinds of programming that uplifts and enriches Jewish stories and the Jewish experience. With excitement towards next year and the future beyond that, PJFM thanks you for your dedication and support!
THE CURSE
What else could you expect from Benny Sadie - half the team that brought you GOOD TIME (2017) and UNCUT GEMS (2019) - than a mind-bending, anxious, and twisted story that somehow finds a way to be hilarious, endearing, and unmistakably informed by Judaism? In THE CURSE, Showtime’s brilliant dark comedy series heralded by Safdie and the equally brilliant Nathan Fielder, themes of Jewish mysticism, poverty, and anxiety are explored by Asher (Fielder) and Whitney Siegel (Emma Stone) as the newly married couple exploits their New Mexico town in order to score a hit HGTV series. When a young child places a hex on Asher, everything seems to go awry. Watch the show for its plot, and stick around for the most awkward Shabbat scene on TV in years.
As1one: The Israeli-Palestinian Pop Music Journey
In an attempt to use art to unify a divided and broken region, a group of hitmakers in 2020 sought out talented singers from across Israel and the Middle East to form a supergroup. The result is As1one: the world’s first boy band made up of Israeli and Palestinian artists. As they moved to Los Angeles in 2021 to record their debut, their process was filmed and turned into a four-part documentary series, now available to stream on Paramount+. Don’t miss it!
COLLEYVILLE
Co-presented by Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History
Directed by Dani Menkin
Documentary Feature | USA | 2024 | 80 min | English
Marking three years since the harrowing events that shook the quiet town of Colleyville, Texas, join PJFM and The Weitzman for an exclusive screening of COLLEYVILLE, the critically acclaimed documentary that delves into the 11-hour hostage crisis at Congregation Beth Israel. Following the screening, the film’s director, Dani Menkin, and Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, whose courage during the crisis became a global story of heroism and hope, will join the event for a live talkback.
Join PJFM Thursday, January 6, 7 PM, at the museum for a special screening of this vital film.
Judaism’s legacy in comedy is ironclad, boasting legends like Mel Brooks, Larry David, The Three Stooges, and countless others. What shape does the legacy of Jewish comedy take in the digital age?
Enter Adam Friedland, a comedian and podcaster known for his sardonic wit, casual attitude, and willingness to say (or do) just about anything. Similar to his contemporaries, including fellow Jewish alt-comic Eric André, his podcast THE ADAM FRIEDLAND SHOW finds him, typically in oversized suits, eschewing the talk show genre’s typical dimensions in order to make the guests feel uncomfortable, and the audience enraptured.
Listen to THE ADAM FRIEDLAND SHOW on all major streaming platforms and see for yourself what the future of Jewish comedy holds!
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