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2024-25 EVENTS

WHO WE ARE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Debbie Fleischman CO-CHAIR

Larry Rappoport CO-CHAIR

Phyllis Fischer CHAIR EMERITA

Judy Golden CHAIR EMERITA

Ruth Perlmutter CHAIR EMERITA

Jacob Cohen

TREASURER

Cathy Kaufman SECRETARY

Barbara Black

Elaine Culbertson

Betsy Filton

Libby S. Harwitz

Edward Hoffman

Julie Jaffe

Cathy Kaufman

Nadine Liez-Weiner

Elaine Lindy

Nathan Relles

Jordan Rosenberg

Francyn Sacks

Francine Tabas

SCREENING COMMITTEE

Sid Amster

Adrienne Berger

Randi Boyette

Bob Epstein

Tammy Forstater

Elaine Gelb

Abby Gilbert

Marc Goldberg

Darcy Grabenstein

Beverly Haas

Libby S. Harwitz

Edward Hoffman

Caren Hosansky

Phyllis Jacobs

Mary Kahn

Cathy Kaufman

Kate Kelsen

Eva Kernis

Florence Golum Klein

Ronald H. Levine

Joseph W. Moser

Nathan Relles

Michael Riccardi

Patricia Saddier-Dana

Robert Schloss

Tali Segal

DIGITAL MEDIA COMMITTEE

Meorah Ha-Me’ir

Caroline Hawthorne

Ariel Herrlich

Lon Fredric Palitz

Rabbi Eric Yanoff

STAFF

Kristen Arter EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Matthew Bussy PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Beth Ilyssa Becker ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

SPECIAL THANKS TO PRESENTING SPONSORS

ELAINE LINDY AND WEITZMAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORY FOR THEIR GENEROSITY IN SUPPORTING THE FUTURE OF JEWISH STORYTELLING AT PJFM.

EVENT CALENDAR

NOVEMBER

11/12 A REAL PAIN

7 PM at Film Society East

11/14 THE BLOND BOY FROM THE CASBAH

7 PM at The Weitzman

11/15 OUT IN THE DARK

2 PM at The Weitzman

11/16 BAD SHABBOS

7:30 PM at The Weitzman

11/17 THE EMPEROR’S NEW GROOVE

11 AM at The Weitzman

11/17 SHOSHANA

7 PM at Ambler Theater

11/18 VISHNIAC

7 PM at Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel

11/19 THE SECRET SABBATH

2 PM at Gratz College (Mandell Education Campus)

11/19 ALL ABOUT THE LEVKOVICHES

7 PM at The Weitzman

11/20 JEWISH SHORTS

7 PM at The Weitzman

11/21 COMEDY NIGHT WITH JUDY GOLD

7 PM at The Weitzman

11/22 LIBERTY HEIGHTS

11 AM at Kaiserman JCC

11/22 MASTER CLASS WITH DIRECTOR TOM NESHER

1-3 PM at Penn Hillel

11/23 LEGEND OF DESTRUCTION

7:30 PM at The Weitzman

11/24 TELLING NONIE

1:30 PM at The Weitzman

11/24 THE CATSKILLS

4 PM at The Weitzman

DECEMBER

12/19 EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS

7 PM at Khyber Pass Pub

JANUARY

1/16 COLLEYVILLE

7 PM at The Weitzman

FEBRUARY

2/20 THE ABAYUDAYA JEWISH COMMUNITIES OF UGANDA

6 PM at The Weitzman

MAY

5/7 CENTERED: JOE LIEBERMAN

7 PM at The Weitzman

GENERAL TICKETING

Check website and PJFM mobile app for most up-to-date schedule.

EVENT GUIDE

PRE-FEST SNEAK PREVIEW

A REAL PAIN

Tuesday, November 12

7 PM at Film Society East

Official Selection of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival

A REAL PAIN follows mismatched cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) as they reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the oddcouple’s old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.

THE BLOND BOY FROM THE CASBAH

Opening Night

Thursday, November 14

7 PM at Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

Directed by Alexandre Arcady

OUT IN THE DARK

Flashback Friday Cinema

Friday, November 15

2 PM at Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

Passionate filmmaker Antoine travels to his birthplace, Algiers, with his young son to present his new film: an account of his childhood in mid-20th century Algeria during the country’s civil war. As he wanders through the city, Antoine immerses viewers in the moments of happiness, laughter, and tears of his childhood – spent between school, friends, and his Jewish family.

OUT IN THE DARK is as much a political and societal commentary as it is an original romantic story. Compelling and intimate, Michael Mayer’s taut first feature follows a border-crossing relationship between an Israeli lawyer (Michael Aloni) and an increasingly desperate Palestinian student (Nicholas Jacob).

BAD SHABBOS

Centerpiece Film

Saturday, November 16

7:30 PM at Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

Winner of the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival

Audience Award

When two couples, Abby and Benjamin and David and recently-converted-to-Judaism Meg, return home for Shabbat dinner, an unexpected shadow looms over their night — an accidental death (or is it murder?) threatens to unravel the whole evening. Over the course of one night during this anything-but-typical New York City shabbos, their family get-together takes a turn for the worse…

Co-Presented by

Directed by Daniel Robbins | Narrative Feature | USA | 2024 | 84 min | English

THE EMPEROR’S NEW GROOVE

Sunday, November 17

11 AM at Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

Emperor Kuzco thought he had it all: a devoted populace to rule over, a wardrobe of glamorous garb, and his unwavering “groove.” But his world is ﬂipped upside down when he’s turned into a llama by his devious adviser, Yzma, and her hunky henchman, Kronk. Now the once-mighty ruler is forced into an unlikely alliance with pleasant peasant Pacha. Together, they must overcome their differences as they embark on a groovy adventure.

All kids are welcome to this “groovy” movie where they can make their own challah cover and take home Kronk’s own challah recipe!

SHOSHANA

Sunday, November 17

7 PM at Ambler Theater

Official Selection of the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival

Harry Melling (Harry Potter), Irina Starshenbaum, and Douglas Booth (Loving Vincent) star in a troubled love story set against the British Mandate just before the founding of the state of Israel. Prolific writer-director Michael Winterbottom (The Trip series)’s passion project, 15 years in the making and based on real people and events, tells the story of a cross-cultural relationship between a ranking member of the British Palestine Police Force and a young Jewish woman.

VISHNIAC

Monday, November 18

7 PM at Reform Congregation

Keneseth Israel

Co-Presented by

Though his pioneering microscopy transformed the nature of science photography, Roman Vishniac is best known for his iconic images of Jewish life in Eastern Europe from 1935 through 1938. Few predicted that less than a decade later, these communities would be wiped out, and Vishniac’s photographs would provide the last visual records of an entire world. VISHNIAC follows the artist from his early years in tsarist Russia to his emergence as a modernist photographer in Weimar Berlin, his journeys across Eastern Europe before the war, and his family’s dramatic escape to America in 1940.

Directed by Laura Bialis | Docudrama Feature | USA | 2023 | 90 min | English

THE SECRET SABBATH

Tuesday, November 19

2 PM at Gratz College (Mandell Education Campus)

ALL ABOUT THE LEVKOVICHES

Tuesday, November 19

7 PM at Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

This fascinating film explores the journeys undertaken by diverse Jewish people in Mexico and America to uncover long-hidden family secrets passed down through generations. As they delve deeper, they discover a compelling fusion of their Hispanic and Jewish cultural heritage, a less explored and often marginalized facet of their identities. Rejecting strict identity categories, they embrace who they are instead, drawing inspiration from the life and experiences of Luis de Carvajal the Younger, a historical figure who met a tragic end in 16th-century Inquisitorial Mexico.

Co-Presented by

The generous but stubborn boxing coach, Tamás, gets along well with everyone but his own son. They have not spoken since the boy, Iván, moved to Israel and became religious in an orthodox community. When Tamás’ beloved wife, Zsuzsa, dies unexpectedly, he agrees with his son that he can come and sit shiva in his house as long as he brings his grandson, Ariel, with him. As past conﬂicts resurface, they embark on an unexpected journey of self-reﬂection and reconciliation.

JEWISH SHORTS

Wednesday, November 20

7 PM at Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

I SEE YOU

A poignant portrait of Danny Layani, who, after 25 years of total blindness, regains his sight and sees his wife and four children for the very first time.

HOW TO MAKE CHALLAH

Directed by Sarah Rosen | Documentary Short | USA | 2024 | 12 min | English

Over the course of two days – one in 1975 and one in 2022 – two older Jewish women bake bread in New York City.

SEVAP/MITZVAH

In Nazi-occupied Bosnia, a Muslim woman risks her life to save her Jewish friends and is saved by them in turn 50 years later.

WAVES APART

Directed by Josh Greene | Documentary Short | USA | 2023 | 25 min | English

A Jewish surfer confronts the dark, antisemitic history of the sport he once found solace in.

HERITAGE DAY

Directed by Lara Everly | Narrative Short | USA | 2023 | 20 min | English

After Evie dresses up like her estranged grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, on “Heritage Day” at school, she becomes increasingly obsessed with this dark part of her family history.

Thursday, November 21

7 PM at Weitman National Museum of American Jewish History

Join PJFM and the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History for an unforgettable evening of comedy with the legendary Judy Gold for a night of much needed laughter! Known for her bold, unapologetic humor, Judy’s sharp wit tackles everything from family and relationships to her experiences as a Jewish gay woman.

LIBERTY HEIGHTS

Flashback Friday Cinema

Friday, November 22

11 AM at Kaiserman JCC

Directed by Barry Levinson | Narrative Feature

MASTER CLASS WITH DIRECTOR TOM NESHER

Friday, November 22

1-3 PM at Penn Hillel

The year is 1954, a season of dramatic social ﬂux that Academy Award winning director Barry Levinson explores through the eyes of a Jewish family, the Kurtzmans (Adrien Brody, Ben Foster, Joe Mantegna, Bebe Neuwirth). Friendship, romance, rock-n- roll, courage, racism, Cadillacs, Halloween (should a nice Jewish boy dress up as Hitler?): the times are indeed changing. The Kurtzmans and America will never be the same.

The daughter of Avi Nesher, considered by many to be Israel’s most acclaimed filmmaker, director Tom Nesher has made waves in Israel this year with the release of her critically acclaimed, first feature film, Come Closer (2024), Israel’s Oscar selection for Best International Feature Film. The winner of four Ophir Awards (Israeli Academy Awards), including Best Picture and Best Director, Come Closer’s personal story of familial loss and stunning cinematography has catapulted the young filmmaker into one of the most promising directors this year. In this interactive workshop, Tom discusses Israeli cinema and the ins and outs of filmmaking in the 21st century.

LEGEND OF DESTRUCTION

Closing Night

Saturday, November 23

7:30 PM at Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

Winner of four Ophir Awards (Israeli Academy Awards)

The Land of Israel is under Roman rule. When the rebellion against the Roman oppressor breaks out, it swiftly escalates into a full-blown vicious civil war. A devastating famine, fueled by a quest for justice and revenge, cripples the city. When the Roman legions eventually unleash their wrath on emaciated Jerusalem, disaster is inevitable. LEGEND OF DESTRUCTION’s visual style was created with 1,500 original paintings by David Polonsky and Michael Faust, the artists behind the Oscar-nominated Waltz with Bashir (2008). These events took place some 2,000 years ago, yet the timeliness of this seminal story to the Jewish people is shocking.

TELLING NONIE

Sunday, November 24

1:30 PM at Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

THE CATSKILLS

Sunday, November 24

4 PM at Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

Tormented by his role in a 1950s Gaza assassination, Geizi Tsafrir, an elderly Israeli agent, seeks redemption. Reﬂecting on his time with Shin Bet (Israeli Secret Service) and the killing of an Egyptian lieutenant colonel, he decides to confront his past and contacts the colonel’s daughter, Nonie Darwish, once intent on avenging her father’s death but now a prominent voice against radical Islam and a supporter of Israel.

THE CATSKILLS is a feature-length documentary on the rise and fall of the Borscht Belt. With a trove of lost-and-found archival footage and a cast of characters endowed with the gift of gab, Lex Gillespie’s charming film journeys into the storied mountain getaway north of New York City that served as refuge for Jewish immigrants ﬂeeing poverty, as well as a lavish playground for affluent Jewish families.

TICKETS & BADGES

GENERAL TICKETING

$15 General Admission

$13 Senior

$10 Student (I.D. required at check-in)

SPECIAL PRICES

$36 General Admission

11/21 COMEDY NIGHT WITH JUDY GOLD

$20 Big Nights (Opening, Centerpiece, Closing)

11/14 THE BLOND BOY FROM THE CASBAH

11/16 BAD SHABBOS

11/23 LEGEND OF DESTRUCTION

$20 Family Ticket

11/17 THE EMPEROR’S NEW GROOVE

$20 General Admission

1/16 COLLEYVILLE

$18 General Admission

2/20 THE ABAYUDAYA JEWISH COMMUNITIES OF UGANDA

$15 General Admission

12/19 EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS

$12 Flashback Friday Cinema

11/15 OUT IN THE DARK

11/22 LIBERTY HEIGHTS

FREE ADMISSION

11/12 A REAL PAIN

11/22 MASTER CLASS WITH DIRECTOR TOM NESHER

VENUES

AMBLER THEATER

108 E Butler Ave, Ambler, PA 19002 (215) 345-7855 | AmblerTheater.org

FILM SOCIETY EAST

125 S 2nd St, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (215) 488-3278 | Filmadelphia.org

GRATZ COLLEGE

Mandell Education Campus 7605 Old York Rd, Melrose Park, PA 19026 (215) 635-7300 | Gratz.edu

KAISERMAN JCC

45 Haverford Rd, Wynnewood, PA 19096 (610) 896-7770 | PhillyJCC.com

KHYBER PASS PUB

56 S 2nd St, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (215) 238-5888 | KhyberPassPub.com

PENN HILLEL

215 S 39th St, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (215) 898-7391 | PennHillel.org

REFORM CONGREGATION

$220 | FALL FEST BADGE

KENESETH ISRAEL

8339 Old York Rd, Elkins Park, PA 19027 (215) 887-8700 | KenesethIsrael.org

WEITZMAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORY

101 S Independence Mall E Philadelphia, PA 19106 (215) 923-3811 | TheWeitzman.org

TICKETING POLICY

All tickets, badges, and sponsor allaccess badge sales are final. Attendees must be in their seats 15 minutes before showtime. To see PJFM’s full ticketing policy, visit PhillyJFM.org.

Fall Fest 2024 Badges come with admission and early access to all film screenings and events during the festival from November 14-24, 2024. Badge and Sponsor All-Access Badge Holders must be seated no later than 15 minutes before showtime for guaranteed seating.

EVENT GUIDE

EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS

Latkes & Vodkas Movie Night

Thursday, December 19

DOORS OPEN: 7 PM

FILM: 8 PM

Khyber Pass Pub

MORE EVENTS 2024-25

It’s time to “latke and vodka” with Adam Sandler’s Hanukkah musical extravaganza! This Festival of Lights, join PJFM for drinks, latkes, and laughter galore with this animated classic. Sandler’s animated adult comedy from the early 2000s follows Davey Stone, a 33-year-old Jewish alcoholic living in a snowy, fictionalized town of New Hampshire. After getting arrested, he is ordered community service as the assistant referee for the town’s youth basketball league where he is forced to work alongside elderly, little Whitey Duvall (also voiced by Sandler), the head referee. Hilarity ensues, plus plenty of spontaneous, outrageous musical numbers.

Directed by Seth Kearsley | Animation Feature |

COLLEYVILLE

Thursday, January 16

7 PM at Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

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.

THE ABAYUDAYA JEWISH COMMUNITIES OF UGANDA

Pop-UpPhotographyExhibit+FilmScreening

Thursday, February 20

6 PM at The Weitzman

Peter Decherney’s recent photographs and films of the Abayudaya Jewish community in Uganda are exhibited, followed by a panel of experts discussing Abayudaya history, religion, and culture. The photographs and films explore the intersection of being African and Jewish. What does it mean to be Jewish in Uganda, connected to Jewish communities in the United States and Israel, and also, increasingly, to the growing Jewish communities across Africa?

Co-Presented by

CENTERED: JOE LIEBERMAN

JAHM Film Screening

Wednesday, May 7

7 PM at Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

Joe Lieberman. The man who nearly became the first Jewish Vice President of the United States. The politician who put principles above party. And the Founding Chairman of No Labels, whose quest for a bipartisan ticket nearly upended the 2024 presidential election.

CENTERED chronicles Lieberman’s remarkable journey and more than 40 years of public service, providing invaluable insights into this iconoclastic politician.

Directed by Jonathan Gruber