27th ANNUAL
WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL MAY 17 – 28
TICKETS
*Ticket prices are subject to online service charges. REGULAR SCREENINGS
$13 ONLINE*, $15 AT THE DOOR
SPOTLIGHT EVENINGS
$20 ONLINE*, $25 AT THE DOOR
OPENING/CLOSING EVENINGS FESTIVAL PASS
FESTIVAL PASS (30 YRS & UNDER) ALL-ACCESS VIP PASS
$30 ONLINE*, $35 AT THE DOOR $175
$40
$275
Purchase Tickets
WJFF.org, 202-777-3250, Monday-Friday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Tickets purchased by phone are subject to an additional processing fee of $3 per order. WJFF Venue Box Offices: Same-day sales when inventory remains—open 1 hour before the first screening of the day.
Details
All ticket sales are final. No refunds or exchanges. All Saturday daytime screenings are presale only. Each night, advance online sales will end at midnight for the events on the following day. Day of tickets will be available for purchase onsite. If an event sells out, tickets will be released through a Rush Line on a first-come, firstserved basis as tickets become available. Ticket and pass-holders must be seated 15 minutes prior to start time to guarantee admittance. All filmmaker guests are expected and their attendance is subject to change with or without notice.
Passes
Having trouble choosing what to see? Pass-holders save money, gain access to all our programs, and get seated first! Pass inventory is limited and expected to sell out. Details at wjff.org/passes. Questions? Email boxoffice@wjff.org
VENUES
EDLAVITCH DCJCC Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater 1529 Sixteenth Street, NW Washington, DC AFI SILVER THEATRE 8633 Colesville Road Silver Spring, MD BETHESDA ROW CINEMA 7235 Woodmont Avenue Bethesda, MD E STREET CINEMA 555 11th Street, NW Washington, DC NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 6th & Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC
WJFF.ORG
Join the conversation on social media using #WJFF! We’ll share exclusive film updates, festival information, ticket giveaways, and more.
/WashingtonJewishFilmFestival @wjff
The EDCJCC embraces inclusion in all its programs and activities. We welcome and encourage the participation of all people, regardless of their background, sexual orientation, abilities, or religion, including interfaith couples and families.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 17
Sponsored by The Jacob and Charlotte Lehrman Foundation 7:00pm
Opening Night: The Women’s Balcony (AFI)
THURSDAY, MAY 18
Sponsored by Scott Eric Dreyer and Ellen Clare Gillespie Dreyer 6:15pm 6:15pm 6:30pm 6:30pm
7:00pm 7:00pm
8:00pm 8:30pm 8:30pm 8:45pm
9:20pm
A Jew Must Die (Bethesda Row) Bal Ej: The Hidden Jews of Ethiopia (E Street) Operation Wedding (Bethesda Row) Moos (E Street)
Angel Wagenstein: Art is a Weapon (AFI) Harmonia (EDCJCC)
Scarred Hearts (Bethesda Row) People That Are Not Me (E Street)
Fog in August (Bethesda Row) A Quiet Heart (E Street) OMG, I'm A Robot (AFI)
SATURDAY, MAY 20
2:15pm
1945 (E Street)
Dimona Twist (E Street)
2:45pm
OMG, I'm A Robot (E Street)
Doing Jewish: A Story From Ghana (E Street)
4:15pm
Sponsored by Melanie and Larry Nussdorf 12:00pm
Stars (AFI)
12:00pm
Thank You For Calling (Bethesda Row)
12:00pm
12:15pm 12:15pm 12:15pm 2:00pm 2:00pm
Rabbi Wolff-Gentleman Befor God (Bethesda Row) Murder in Polna (Part 1 & 2) (EDCJCC)
A Classy Broad (Bethesda Row) Cloudy Sunday (AFI)
SUNDAY, MAY 21
Sponsored by Susie and Michael Gelman, The Morningstar Foundation 11:30am 11:45am 12:00pm 12:00pm 12:00pm 12:00pm 12:15pm
Bal Ej: The Hidden Jews of Ethiopia (AFI) My Hero Brother (Bethesda Row)
2:15pm
3:45pm
4:15pm
4:30pm 4:30pm 4:30pm
Past Life (Bethesda Row)
Body and Soul: An American Bridge (Bethesda Row)
Spotlight: The History of Love (AFI) Operation Wedding (E Street)
2:15pm
The Hourglass Sanatorium (AFI)
2:15pm
2:30pm 2:45pm
My Dear Children–Docs in Progress (E Street)
4:15pm
Keep Quiet (E Street)
Supergirl (E Street)
Exit: Music (Bethesda Row)
3:45pm
A German Life (Bethesda Row)
Love is Thicker Than Water (EDCJCC)
2:00pm
Angel Wagenstein: Art is a Weapon (National Gallery of Art) Body and Soul: An American Bridge (EDCJCC)
The Pulitzer at 100 (Bethesda Row)
4:00pm
5:00pm 5:15pm
The Writer (EDCJCC)
Walk A Mile In My Shoes (E Street)
Between Worlds (E Street)
Subte-Polska (Bethesda Row) Day of Education on Arab Citizens of Israel: 77 Steps (EDCJCC)
Uncle Howard (Bethesda Row) Memory's Flight (E Street)
The Freedom to Marry (AFI)
6:00pm 6:15pm
6:30pm 6:30pm 6:30pm
7:00pm 8:15pm
8:30pm 8:45pm 8:45pm 9:15pm
Let Yourself Go (EDCJCC) Between Worlds (Bethesda Row)
Subte-Polska (E Street)
Dad in Training (Bethesda Row) Forever Pure (E Street) The Exception (AFI)
The Women's Balcony (EDCJCC)
MONDAY, MAY 22
Sponsored by Rory and Shelton Zuckerman 6:15pm 6:15pm 6:15pm 6:30pm
Paradise (Bethesda Row)
6:30pm
Moos (Bethesda Row)
7:00pm
Family Commitments (E Street) Harmonia (AFI)
8:15pm
8:30pm 5:15pm
A Classy Broad (E Street)
6:00pm
The Guys Next Door (Bethesda Row)
6:20pm 7:15pm
7:30pm 7:45pm 7:45pm 8:15pm
8:45pm
Zuzana: Music is Life (Bethesda Row)
Passing the Baton (E Street) Cabaret (EDCJCC)
Spotlight: Menashe (AFI)
The Pulitzer at 100 (E Street) Love is Thicker than Water (Bethesda Row) The Exception (E Street)
8:30pm 8:30pm 8:45pm
The Guys Next Door (E Street)
Memory's Flight (Bethesda Row) A Letter to Mother (EDCJCC) Part of the Evening of Yiddish Culture Wonderful Kingdom of Papa Alaev (Bethesda Row) And When I Die I Won't Stay Dead (E Street) Doing Jewish: A Story From Ghana (AFI)
Cloudy Sunday (Bethesda Row) Nikitov (EDCJCC) Part of the Evening of Yiddish Culture Holy Zoo (Bethesda Row) Dad in Training (E Street) Uncle Howard (E Street)
TUESDAY, MAY 23
Sponsored by The Jacob and Charlotte Lehrman Foundation 6:15pm
Forever Pure (Bethesda Row)
6:30pm
Strange Victory (E Street)
6:15pm
6:30pm 7:00pm 7:15pm
8:30pm 8:30pm 8:45pm
Zuzana: Music is Life (E Street) Murder in Polna (Part 1 & 2) (Bethesda Row) Paradise (AFI)
Spotlight: On the Map (EDCJCC)
Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe (Bethesda Row) Past Life (E Street)
Exit: Music (E Street)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 24
Sponsored by Linda and Sid Moskowitz 6:15pm
Ben-Gurion, Epilogue (E Street)
6:30pm
Passing the Baton (E Street)
6:15pm
6:30pm
7:00pm 7:15pm
8:15pm
8:30pm 8:30pm 8:45pm
Spotlight: On The Map (Bethesda Row)
Strange Victory (Bethesda Row) Spotlight: The Bloom of Yesterday (AFI)
The Freedom to Marry (EDCJCC) In Between (E Street)
People That Are Not Me (Bethesda Row) Holy Zoo (E Street)
Let Yourself Go (Bethesda Row)
THURSDAY, MAY 25
Sponsored by Deborah Ratner Salzberg and Michael Salzberg 6:15pm 6:15pm 6:30pm 6:30pm
7:00pm 7:30pm
8:00pm 8:20pm 8:30pm
8:40pm
Supergirl (Bethesda Row)
Jerry Lewis: The Man Behind the Clown (E Street) Ben-Gurion, Epilogue (Bethesda Row)
Spotlight: Menashe (E Street) Fog in August (AFI)
Spotlight: Clueless (EDCJCC)
Rabbi Wolff-Gentleman Before God (E Street) Dimona Twist (Bethesda Row)
Thank You For Calling (E Street) A Quiet Heart (Bethesda Row)
SATURDAY, MAY 27
Sponsored by The Dweck Family 11:00am
12:00pm 12:30pm 2:15pm
3:00pm
4:00pm 4:40pm 6:30pm
7:00pm 8:30pm
Jerry Lewis: The Man Behind the Clown (AFI) And When I Die I Won't Stay Dead (EDCJCC) Cabaret (AFI)
The Writer (EDCJCC)
A Jew Must Die (AFI)
Keep Quiet (EDCJCC) 1945 (AFI)
Family Commitments (EDCJCC) WJFF Visionary Award: Agnieszka Holland, Screening of Angry Harvest (AFI) Spotlight: The Bloom of Yesterday (EDCJCC)
SUNDAY, MAY 28
Sponsored by Elise and Marc Lefkowitz 11:30am
To Be or Not To Be (AFI)
1:45pm
In Between (AFI)
12:30pm 2:00pm 2:45pm 4:00pm 5:30pm 6:15pm 7:15pm
My Hero Brother (EDCJCC) Two Jews Walk into a Bar (On Rye, Bar Deco)
Spotlight: The History of Love (EDCJCC)
Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe (AFI) Wonderful Kingdom of Papa Alaev (EDCJCC) Scarred Hearts (AFI)
Closing Night: Fanny’s Journey (EDCJCC)
KEY EDCJCC
E Street Cinema
Bethesda Row Cinema AFI Silver Cinema
Other • National Gallery of Art • Bar Crawl Venues
OPENING NIGHT Sponsored by The Jacob and Charlotte Lehrman Foundation
DC PREMIERE Narrative
THE WOMEN’S BALCONY Dir. Emil Ben-Shimon (96min, Israel, 2016) Hebrew with English subtitles Israel’s Top Box Office Hit of the Year!
An accident during a bar mitzvah celebration leads to a gender rift in a devout Orthodox community in Jerusalem in this rousing, gold-hearted tale about women speaking truth to patriarchal power.
When the women’s balcony in an Orthodox synagogue collapses leaving the current Rabbi in shock and his wife in a coma, the congregation falls into crisis. Charismatic newcomer Rabbi David appears to be a savior after the accident, but slowly starts pushing his fundamentalist ways much to the outrage of the female congregants. These changes test the women’s friendships and create an almost Lysistrata-type rift between the community’s women and men. Opening Night Party to be held at the AFI Silver Theatre immediately following the screening. Catering by Provisions. 7 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
OPENING NIGHT
Wednesday, May 17, 7:00 pm AFI Silver Theatre
ADDITIONAL SCREENING
Saturday, May 20, 8:15 pm EDCJCC
CLOSING NIGHT
Sponsored by the Melvin and Estelle Gelman Foundation – Elise and Marc Lefkowitz
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Narrative
FANNY’S JOURNEY Dir. Lola Doillon (94min, France/Belgium, 2016) French with English subtitles
Based on a true story, Fanny’s Journey is an incredible tale of bravery, strength, and survival, centered on a daring young girl who will stop at nothing and fears no one. In 1943, 13-year-old Fanny and her younger sisters were sent from their home in France to a foster home for Jewish children in Italy. When the Nazis arrive in Italy, their caretakers desperately organize the departure of the children to Switzerland. Suddenly left on their own, these eleven children will do the impossible to reach the Swiss border in order to survive.
CLOSING NIGHT
Sunday, May 28, 7:15 pm EDCJCC
Join us for a pre-screening champagne toast to celebrate the Festival.
WJFF: A PROGRAM OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC | 8
WJFF VISIONARY AWARD Sponsored by The Dweck Family
AGNIESZKA HOLLAND
is a Polish film director and scriptwriter. She began her career working with Krzysztof Zanussi as an assistant director, and with Andrzej Wajda as her mentor. Her debut feature Provincial Actors (1978), was heralded as a leader of the “cinema of moral disquiet” movement, and won the International Critics Prize at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival. In 1981, after Marshall Law was instituted in Poland, Holland emigrated to France. Among her impressive and prolific catalog of films made in the west, highlights include Angry Harvest (1985), Europa Europa (1990), and In Darkness (2011)—all of which were nominated for Academy Awards. Holland is actively involved in TV production, having directed seminal episodes of major US TV series including The Wire, Treme, The Killing, and House of Cards. Her latest film, Spoor, premiered at the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival, where it was awarded the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize. The WJFF’s Annual Visionary Award recognizes creativity and insight in presenting the full diversity of the Jewish experience through moving image. The 2017 honoree is Agnieszka Holland, who will join us for a special extended Q&A and Award ceremony. The award will be presented alongside a screening of her Oscar nominated film Angry Harvest.
ANGRY HARVEST
Dir. Agnieszka Holland (105min, Poland, 1985) Polish with English subtitles This remarkable Academy Award-nominated film tells a compelling story of love and desire during World War II. Middle-aged, lonely farmer Leon (Armin Mueller-Stahl, Avalon) rescues Rosa, a young upper-class Jewish refugee, as she is fleeing the Nazis. While he nurses her back to health, their relationship gradually grows more intimate, but disintegrates into a cat-and-mouse power struggle as Leon’s mixed motives for hiding Rosa emerge. 9 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
Saturday, May 27, 7:00 pm AFI Silver Theatre
WJFF CLASSIC Narrative
FILMS
This year’s WJFF has two programmatic focuses:
KEY EDCJCC
E Street Cinema
Bethesda Row Cinema AFI Silver Theatre
Other • National Gallery of Art • Bar Crawl Venues Filmmaker Guest Expected*
WJFF Classics – Bringing film classics back to the screen. Rated LGBTQ – Queer cinema series. Presented with GLOE – The Kurlander Program for GLBT Outreach & Engagement. Spotlight Events – Backgrounds highlighted in blue *Guests are subject to change with or without notice. See website for updates.
MECHANISM OF EXTREMISM An examination of extremists governments, societies and movements Angel Wagenstein: Art is a Weapon (p.12) Exit: Music (p.19) Fog in August (p.20) Forever Pure (p.20) A German Life (p.21) A Jew Must Die (p.25) Keep Quiet (p.26) Murder in Polna (parts 1 & 2) (p.29) Operation Wedding (p.31) Strange Victory (p.36) Zuzana: Music is Life (p.40) LAUGH TRACK Comedies of all stripes—Romantic, dark, edgy, and satirical The Bloom of Yesterday (p.14) Clueless (p.16) Dad in Training (p.17) Family Commitments (p.19) Jerry Lewis: The Man Behind the Clown (p.25) Let Yourself Go (p.26) Love is Thicker Than Water (p.28) Moos (p.29) OMG, I’m A Robot (p.30) People That Are Not Me (p.33) Subte-Polska (p.37) The Women’s Balcony (p.7)
WJFF: A PROGRAM OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC | 10
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Narrative
DC PREMIERE Documentary
1945
AND WHEN I DIE, I WON’T STAY DEAD
Dir. Ferenc Török (91min, Hungary, 2017) Hungarian with English subtitles It’s August 1945 — the war is over, and an uneasy, humid stillness pervades a small Hungarian village longing for a return to normalcy. The young pharmacist prepares to marry; train station workers busy themselves with a changeover; and men huddle in pubs, gruffly drinking away petty disputes. Two strangers arrive—they wear serious, withdrawn expressions and thick, black clothes. They are father and son; they are Holocaust survivors. The town eyes them with immediate suspicion: are they here to reclaim stolen land? To open a competing pharmacy? Will they expose the villagers’ wartime crimes and complicit silence?
Dir. Billy Woodberry (89min, USA, 2015)
A contemporary of Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs, African American poet Bob Kaufman is one of the Beat Generation’s most overlooked artists. Lovingly assembled from photo montages, insightful interviews, and set against the cool, angry rhythms of Kaufman’s poetry, celebrated filmmaker Billy Woodberry’s powerful biography refuses to shy away from the darker periods of the poet’s life—a decade spent under a vow of silence, battles with drug addiction, and the isolation that followed his abandonment of his familial responsibilities. -Note adapted from MoMA
Saturday, May 20, 2:15 pm – E Street Cinema
Monday, May 22, 6:30 pm – E Street Cinema
Saturday, May 27, 4:40 pm – AFI Silver Theatre
Saturday, May 27, 12:00 pm – EDCJCC
11 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Documentary
ANGEL WAGENSTEIN: ART IS A WEAPON
Dir. Andrea Simon (84min, USA/Bulgaria, 2017) Bulgarian, English, German and Russian with English subtitles Free To Attend!
A series of intimate conversations with Bulgarian-Jewish filmmaker, partisan hero, screenwriter, and author Angel Wagenstein revolve around the power of art to act as a revolutionary bulwark against oppressive governments and ideologies. A brilliant and innovative auteur, Wagenstein was active in political and cultural discourse around Eastern Europe for seven decades with much of his work fixated on bringing to screen the harsh realities of Eastern Europe during the Cold War. Get better acquainted with Wagenstein’s major artistic contributions with the WJFF Classics screening of Stars (p.36).
DC PREMIERE Documentary
BAL EJ: THE HIDDEN JEWS OF ETHIOPIA Dir. Irene Orleansky (96min, Israel, 2016) English, Amharic, and Hebrew with English subtitles
Following a hundred-year-old account of the prominent Jewish scholar Jacque Faitlovich, filmmaker and distinguished ethnomusicologist Irene Orleansky travels to Africa to explore a small and secretive group of Ethiopian Jews known as Bal Ej (craftsmen). Frequently persecuted by their neighbors and deprived of land ownership rights, they outwardly disguise themselves as Christians and practice Judaism in strict secrecy. A fascinating investigation of the history, religious practice, and cultural (especially musical) contributions of this previously unrecorded African Jewish community.
Thursday, May 18, 7:00 pm – AFI Silver Theatre
Thursday, May 18, 6:15 pm – E Street Cinema
Sunday, May 21, 12:00 pm – National Gallery of Art
Sunday, May 21, 11:30 am – AFI Silver Theatre WJFF: A PROGRAM OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC | 12
DC PREMIERE Documentary
DC PREMIERE Narrative
BEN-GURION, EPILOGUE
BETWEEN WORLDS
An in-depth interview with David Ben-Gurion, one of modern history’s greatest leaders, emerges from the obscurity of an archive where it lay unrecognized for decades. It is 1968, and Ben-Gurion is 82 years old. He lives in the seclusion of his home in the desert, removed from all political discourse, which allows him a unique perspective on the Zionist movement.
Visiting their son in a Jerusalem hospital in the aftermath of a terrorist attack, Orthodox couple Bina and Meir form a surprising bond with Amal, a beautiful young Arab woman, seemingly there to attend to her dying father.
Dir. Yariv Mozer (55min, Israel/France, 2016) Hebrew with English subtitles
His introspective soul-searching is the focus of this film, and his reflections provide a surprising vision for today’s crucial decisions and for the future of Israel.
Dir. Miya Hatav (84min, Israel, 2016) Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles
As the surprising truth slowly unfolds, they all struggle to accept the unlikely circumstances that have brought them together. Along the way, questions about the nature of faith, acceptance, and understanding loom large.
Sponsored by American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Wednesday, May 24, 6:15 pm – E Street Cinema
Saturday, May 20, 6:15 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Thursday, May 25, 6:30 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Sunday, May 21, 2:45 pm – E Street Cinema
13 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
SPOTLIGHT
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Narrative
THE BLOOM OF YESTERDAY Dir. Chris Kraus (125min, Germany/Austria, 2016) German with English subtitles
A self-serious, dour, German Holocaust researcher—and grandson of a prominent Nazi war criminal—is struggling with his family history, career, and a general state of misanthropy. At the height of his personal and professional crisis, he’s assigned a new intern who might be his exact opposite. She’s young, passionate, Jewish, and eccentric. As she mows down the measured academic’s staid defenses, both of them begin to reveal long-kept secrets, and a surprising, dubious, and audacious romance emerges (albeit one with a serious message).
DC PREMIERE Documentary
BODY AND SOUL: AN AMERICAN BRIDGE Dir. Robert Philipson (58min, USA, 2016)
Examining the fascinating history of the titular jazz standard, Body and Soul: An American Bridge explores the fraternity and conflict between African American and Jewish American musicians that left an indelible mark on this country’s cultural history. Created by Jewish composer Johnny Green in 1929, the song was introduced on Broadway by Jewish torch singer Libby Holman and popularized by Louis Armstrong. A successful recording by the Benny Goodman Trio led to the historic smashing of the color barrier in popular music. Sponsored by the Arthur Tracy “The Street Singer” Endowment Fund honoring the memory and musical legacy of Arthur Tracy
Wednesday, May 24, 7:00 pm – AFI Silver Theatre
Saturday, May 20, 4:30 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Saturday, May 27, 8:30 pm – EDCJCC
Sunday, May 21, 12:00 pm – EDCJCC WJFF: A PROGRAM OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC | 14
WJFF CLASSIC Narrative
DC PREMIERE Documentary
CABARET
A CLASSY BROAD
Special 45th Anniversary presentation! Winner of eight Oscars, including Best Director, Actress, and Supporting Actor (Joel Grey, as the Kit Kat Klub’s reptilian Master of Ceremonies).
Trailblazing Hollywood executive Marcia Nasatir broke through the film industry’s glass ceiling back in the 1970s. Gender inequality in Hollywood remains a sadly relevant topic, but just imagine the obstacles Nasatir, a Jewish San Antonian, had to overcome!
Dir. Bob Fosse (123min, USA, 1972)
In decadent 1930s Berlin, impulsive and morally liberal agent provocateur Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli) meets the scholarly and handsome Bryan (Michael York), and the two develop an intimate relationship while unknowingly sharing a bisexual lover.
Dir. Anne Goursaud (93min, USA, 2016)
Against all odds, she became a successful producer and the first woman to serve as vice president of production at a major Hollywood studio (United Artists). She championed films that have become American classics, including One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Rocky, Apocalypse Now, and The Big Chill.
Sunday, May 21, 7:30 pm – EDCJCC
Saturday, May 20, 2:00 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Saturday, May 27, 12:30 pm – AFI Silver Theatre
Sunday, May 21, 5:15 pm – E Street Cinema
15 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
SPOTLIGHT
DC PREMIERE Narrative
CLOUDY SUNDAY
Dir. Manoussos Manoussakis (118min, Greece, 2016) Greek with English subtitles A smash box-office hit in Greece, Cloudy Sunday tracks a tumultuous wartime romance between a Jewish girl and Christian resistance fighter. The sweeping epic brings to screen the untold story of Thessaloniki’s Sephardic community; the drama of a love torn asunder by the cruel realities of war; and acts as a testament to the indomitability of the human spirit. Set to the haunting music of legendary Sephardic composer Vassilis Tsitsanis.
WJFF CLASSIC Narrative
CLUELESS
Dir. Amy Heckerling (97min, USA, 1995) Pampered Beverly Hills do-gooder Cher Horowitz plays matchmaker to her fellow high schoolers in Amy Heckerling’s iconic 90s teen comedy starring Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd. As If, A Clueless Night! Dress to the nine(ties), and join us for trivia, photo booths, specialty cocktails, and a rockin’ 90s soundtrack preceding the screening (6:00pm-7:30pm), and be sure to stay after the film for a special Q&A with legendary filmmaker Amy Heckerling (Clueless, Fast Times at Ridgemont High). Presented with Entrypoint DC
Saturday, May 20, 2:00 pm – AFI Silver Theatre
Thursday, May 25, 7:30 pm – EDCJCC
Monday, May 22, 8:15 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema WJFF: A PROGRAM OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC | 16
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE Narrative
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Documentary
DAD IN TRAINING
DIMONA TWIST
Obsessed with producing a hit album, Antoine takes for granted his marriage to Alice, a beautiful, accomplished magistrate and loving mother to their daughters, until she throws him out, files for divorce, and leaves the girls on his doorstep for two weeks!
Acclaimed documentarian Michal Aviad (The Women Pioneers) continues her exploration of the early Israeli state through the tales of the women who forged it.
Dir. Cyril Gelblat (98min, France, 2015) French with English subtitles
Frazzled by ordinary parental duties he’s routinely avoided up until now, Antoine sees this forced custody as a chore. As he gets to truly know his daughters for the first time, he discovers the joys of fatherhood, and in the process learns to fully live—and love.
Dir. Michal Aviad (70min, Israel, 2016) Hebrew with English subtitles
Aviad follows the lives of seven North African and Polish women who arrive by boat in the 1950s and 1960s and are sent straight to Dimona, a newly formed desert town. They open up about the pain of leaving home, their newfound poverty, and the stark adjustment to their new homeland. The interviews are interwoven with stunning archival footage, much of which appears on screen for the first time.
Saturday, May 20, 6:30 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Saturday, May 20, 12:00 pm – E Street Cinema
Monday, May 22, 8:30 pm – E Street Cinema
Thursday, May 25, 8:20 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
17 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Documentary
DOING JEWISH: A STORY FROM GHANA
Dir. Gabrielle Zilkha (84min, Canada/Ghana, 2016) English, Sefwi, and Twi with English subtitles When Gabrielle Zilkha, a Canadian filmmaker working in Accra, Ghana, gets a call from her mother telling her that she’s found Jewish people to celebrate Rosh Hashanah with, Zilkha sets off to find the tiny but vibrant Sefwi Jewish community. Filming for five years, she observes this small African Jewish community, and through this warm, personal, and often humorous documentary, offers a fascinating investigation of identity and connection— shedding light on what it means to belong to the Jewish people.
DC PREMIERE Narrative
THE EXCEPTION
Dir. David Leveaux (107min, UK, 2016) A riveting WWII thriller filled with espionage and romance in equal measure, The Exception follows German soldier Stefan Brandt (Jai Courtney) as he investigates exiled German Monarch Kaiser Wilhelm II (Christopher Plummer). The Kaiser lives in a secluded mansion in The Netherlands, and as Germany invades Holland, there’s concern that Dutch spies are watching him. As Brandt infiltrates the Kaiser’s life, he finds himself drawn into a passionate romance with Mieke (Lily James), one of the Kaiser’s maids, whom he soon discovers is secretly Jewish.
Sponsored by Richard Solloway
Saturday, May 20, 12:15 pm – E Street Cinema
Saturday, May 20, 7:00 pm – AFI Silver Theatre
Monday, May 22, 7:00 pm – AFI Silver Theatre
Sunday, May 21, 8:45 pm – E Street Cinema WJFF: A PROGRAM OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC | 18
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Documentary
EXIT: MUSIC
Dir. James Murdoch (82min, Canada/Germany/Israel/USA, 2016) Before 1933, Germany was the center of the music world. Within five years, thousands of musicians fled as the Nazi regime tightened its race laws. Exit: Music examines how anti-Semitism manifested in the music industry and the Third Reich’s insidious hijacking of German music for propaganda purposes. It explores the lives and exile of five composers—Paul Ben-Haim, Adolf Busch, Walter Branfels, Erich Korngold, and Mieczyslaw Weinberg—contrasting the stories of their escape, exile, and artistic output, and finally, resurrecting their all-but-disappeared music.
Sunday, May 21, 2:00 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema Tuesday, May 23, 8:45 pm – E Street Cinema
19 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Narrative
FAMILY COMMITMENTS Dir. Hanno Olderdissen (85min, Germany, 2015) German and Arabic with English subtitles
After two blissful years of dating, David pops the question, and Khaled’s answer is unequivocal—“Yes, yes, yes!” Tying the knot proves just a touch challenging however, courtesy of a homophobic Arab father and a pseudo-orthodox, overbearing Jewish mother. When 19-year-old Sarah shows up pregnant, claiming the baby is David’s, the whole delicate house of cards threatens to crumble. An outrageously fun comedy that layers a quirky soundtrack, bright sets, and edgy dialogue with genuine, touching insights about the true meaning of family and love.
Saturday, May 20, 8:45 pm – E Street Cinema Saturday, May 27, 6:30 pm – EDCJCC
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Narrative
FOG IN AUGUST
Dir. Kai Wessel (126min, Germany/Austria, 2016) German with English subtitles Director Kai Wessel’s first feature film addresses one of the greatest taboos of German history—the Nazis’ euthanasia program. Based on Robert Domes’ 2008 historical novel, Fog in August concerns the fate of 13-year-old Ernst Lossa, who is committed to a mental hospital in 1942 because of his Roma origins (and not due to actual illness). He soon discovers the truth behind the hospital’s façade and sets about sabotaging its euthanasia program with the help of other patients, at great personal risk.
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Documentary
FOREVER PURE
Dir. Maya Zinshtein (85min, Israel/UK/Ireland/Norway, 2016) Hebrew, Russian and Chechen with English subtitles Beitar Jerusalem F.C. is the most popular and controversial soccer team in Israel. Loyal fans take pride in the club’s stature as the only Israeli team never to have signed an Arab player, and gleefully chant, “we are the most racist team,” from the stands. When owner and Russian-Israeli oligarch Arcadi Gaydamak brings on two Chechen Muslim players in 2012, bedlam breaks loose. Scary and eerily timely, this documentary uses sport to examine a rampant xenophobia and nationalism threatening to migrate from the soccer pitch to mainstream Israeli politics and society.
Thursday, May 18, 8:30 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Saturday, May 20, 6:30 pm – E Street Cinema
Thursday, May 25, 7:00 pm – AFI Silver Theatre
Tuesday, May 23, 6:15 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema WJFF: A PROGRAM OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC | 20
DC PREMIERE Documentary
THE FREEDOM TO MARRY Dir. Eddie Rosenstein (86min, USA, 2016)
Over the last four decades, the concept of same-sex marriage went from a ‘preposterous notion’ to the national law. The Freedom to Marry movement is now known as one of the most successful civil rights campaigns in the modern history—a victory which was carefully coordinated over decades. The Freedom to Marry takes us on a riveting ride alongside Evan Wolfson and Mary Bonauto, the architect and the main litigator of the movement, and key colleagues from the earliest days of their journey, to their final frenetic dash to the US Supreme Court.
Sunday, May 21, 5:15 pm – AFI Silver Theatre Wednesday, May 24, 7:15 pm – EDCJCC 21 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
EAST COAST PREMIERE Documentary
A GERMAN LIFE
Dir. Christian Krönes, Florian Weigensamer, Roland Schrotthofer and Olaf S. Müller (113min, Austria, 2016) German with English subtitles Although Brunhilde Pomsel described herself as a minor figure disinterested in politics, she got closer to one of the worst criminals in history than anyone else. Aged 105 during filming, she worked as secretary and stenographer for the Nazi-Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. Her life mirrors the major historical ruptures of the 20th century. While the dangers of fascism are tempting to consider as a past concern, Pomsel’s story makes it clear that history is never all that far from repeating itself.
Sunday, May 21, 12:00 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
DC PREMIERE Documentary
THE GUYS NEXT DOOR
Dir. Amy Geller and Allie Humenuk (74min, USA, 2016) An intimate portrait of a real “Modern Family:” meet Erik and Sandro, a gay married couple whose friend Rachel is a surrogate for their two daughters. Rachel, who is in her 40s, is married to Tony and they have three children. Together, they form a unique extended family. This lyrical documentary tackles some of the most pertinent issues of our time: gay marriage and parenting, surrogacy as a path for members of the LGBTQ community to have children, and the extension and redefinition of family.
DC PREMIERE Narrative
HARMONIA
Dir. Ori Sivan (98min, Israel, 2016) Hebrew with English subtitles A contemporary adaptation of the biblical tale of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, set in the world of the Jerusalem Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor Abraham, and his wife Sarah, the orchestra’s harpist, cannot have children. Hagar, a beautiful, young horn player from East Jerusalem, offers to have a baby with Abraham for the couple, but eventually the child grows estranged from Sarah. Through this ancient story, Harmonia presents a poignant metaphor to the modern day challenges facing Israel’s sibling religions. Nominated for 4 Ophir (Israeli Academy) Awards.
Sunday, May 21, 6:00 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Thursday, May 18, 7:00 pm – EDCJCC
Monday, May 22, 6:15 pm – E Street Cinema
Saturday, May 20, 9:15 pm – AFI Silver Theatre WJFF: A PROGRAM OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC | 22
SPOTLIGHT
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Narrative
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Documentary
THE HISTORY OF LOVE
HOLY ZOO
Dir. Radu Mihăileanu (134min, Canada/France, 2016) Based on Nicole Krauss’ bestseller, The History of Love is a sprawling saga of undaunted ardor and merciless twists of fate. Spanning decades and continents, the film begins in pre-war Poland and follows Leo and Alma, neighbors and sweethearts whose romance is thwarted by the rise of fascism. Aided by a brilliant cast that includes Gemma Arterton, Derek Jacobi, and Elliott Gould, director Radu Mihăileanu deftly weaves the many threads of Krauss’ novel into a soaring epic that touches on the duties of Jewishness, literature, and love. -Note adapted from the Miami International Film Festival
Dir. Katharina Waisburd (60min, Germany, 2016) Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles In Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo, Israelis and Palestinians work hand in hand. The staff casually discusses politics and recent terrorist incidents while cleaning rhino horns, feeding giraffes, and tracking down an escaped monkey. They lead separate tours for the area’s Muslim and Jewish students, with each group focusing on different aspects of the animals’ anatomy and biblical relevance. Holy Zoo is an observational documentary that gently shifts our perspective on the seemingly intractable realities of the Middle East conflict.
Saturday, May 20, 4:30 pm – AFI Silver Theatre
Monday, May 22, 8:30 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Sunday, May 28, 2:45 pm – EDCJCC
Wednesday, May 24, 8:30 pm – E Street Cinema
23 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
WJFF CLASSIC Narrative
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Narrative
THE HOURGLASS SANATORIUM
IN BETWEEN
A special presentation of Polish director Wojciech Jerzy Has’ restored art-house masterpiece and winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes.
In Maysaloun Hamoud’s remarkable feature debut, three Palestinian women sharing an apartment in the vibrant heart of Tel Aviv find themselves in a complicated balancing act between tradition and modernity, citizenship and culture, fealty and freedom.
Dir. Wojciech Jerzy Has (125min, Poland, 1973) Polish, Yiddish, Hebrew and Latin with English subtitles
A young man (Nowicki) visits his ailing father in a crumbling sanatorium where time collapses and death never comes. The Hourglass Sanatorium conjures a surrealist fantasia in which past and present—from the Three Wise Men to the Holocaust—collide in a mind-bending phantasmagoria. Screening followed by a talk and book signing with Columbia professor Annette Insdorf, author of Intimations: The Cinema of Wojciech Has. Sponsored by the Milton and Helen Covensky Fund
Dir. Maysaloun Hamoud (102min, Israel/France, 2016) Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles
Arab-Israeli women often live in a country that considers them not Israeli enough, and yet are part of a culture that views them as not Palestinian enough. Layered onto their citizenship conundrum are the inevitable gendered tensions between contemporary and traditional family life. -Note adapted from the Toronto International Film Festival Wednesday, May 24, 8:15 pm – E Street Cinema
Sunday, May 21, 2:15 pm – AFI Silver Theatre
Sunday, May 28, 1:45 pm – AFI Silver Theatre WJFF: A PROGRAM OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC | 24
DC PREMIERE Documentary
JERRY LEWIS: THE MAN BEHIND THE CLOWN Dir. Gregory Monro (61min, France/USA, 2016) English and French with English subtitles
Since his early days, Jerry Lewis (in the grand tradition of Chaplin, Keaton, and Laurel) had the masses laughing with visual gags, pantomime sketches, and his signature slapstick humor, yet American critics typically derided his output as simple and abrasive. His groundbreaking and controversial career—with film credits such as The Bellboy and The Nutty Professor in addition to edgy standup material—is considered here in interviews with film luminaries such as Martin Scorsese and Jonathan Rosenbaum, alongside appearances by Jean-Luc Godard and Louis Malle.
EAST COAST PREMIERE Narrative
A JEW MUST DIE
Dir. Jacob Berger (73min, Switzerland, 2016) French with English subtitles Popular myth holds that Switzerland remained an innocent bystander during WWII. Famed writer Jacques Chessex powerfully repudiates this notion when—after a lengthy period of silence—he shares what he witnessed as a young boy. In the small Swiss town of Payerne, Nazi sympathizers singled out a Jewish scapegoat—a wealthy livestock dealer (Bruno Ganz) —to serve as an “example” in honor of Hitler’s birthday. The film boldly conflates past and present (don’t be surprised to see a modern car on 1942 roads) suggesting that the two are, and always will be, dangerously intertwined. -Note adapted from the Palm Springs International Film Festival
Thursday, May 25, 6:15 pm – E Street Cinema
Thursday, May 18, 6:15 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Saturday, May 27, 11:00 am – AFI Silver Theatre
Saturday, May 27, 3:00 pm – AFI Silver Theatre
25 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
DC PREMIERE Documentary
US PREMIERE Narrative
KEEP QUIET
LET YOURSELF GO
As vice president of Hungary’s far-right extremist party, Csanad Szegedi espoused anti-Semitic rhetoric and Holocaust denial, and founded the Hungarian Guard, a now-banned militia inspired by a pro-Nazi group complicit in the murder of thousands of Jews during WWII.
Elia (Toni Servillo, The Great Beauty) is a distinguished psychoanalyst who fits the mold to a tee. He’s weary, self-serious, and plainly disdainful of all pursuits except for those of the mind; he has little patience for physical exertion of any kind, a splendid irony considering his patients include the greatest sportsmen in Italy.
But his life is upended when Szegedi’s maternal grandmother is revealed to be Jewish, and an Auschwitz survivor, who had hidden her faith. Keep Quiet depicts Szegedi’s three-year journey to embrace his newfound religion. But is his transformation genuine or does he simply have nowhere else to turn?
After a series of health problems, his physician puts him on a strict gym regimen which leads him to Claudia, a personal trainer obsessed with the cult of the body, and his diametrical opposite in just about every way.
Dir. Sam Blair and Joseph Martin (90min, UK/Hungary, 2016) Hungarian with English subtitles
Dir. Francesco Amato (99min, Italy, 2016) Italian with English Subtitles
Sunday, May 21, 12:15 pm – E Street Cinema
Saturday, May 20, 6:00 pm – EDCJCC
Saturday, May 27, 4:00 pm – EDCJCC
Wednesday, May 24, 8:45 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema WJFF: A PROGRAM OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC | 26
AN EVENING OF YIDDISH CULTURE
WJFF CLASSIC Narrative
A LETTER TO MOTHER Dir. Joseph Green (106min, Poland, 1939) Yiddish with English subtitles
Restored 35mm presentation courtesy of the National Center for Jewish Film. While her husband lives in America, Dobrish struggles to care for her three children in pre-WWI Polish Ukraine. After enduring severe poverty and the turmoil of war, Dobrish and her family make their way to New York and turn to HIAS (formerly the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) in search of a brighter future. Released two weeks after the German Blitzkrieg over Poland, this tale of family disintegration and poverty serves as a poignant metaphor for the displacements facing European Jews in 1939.
NIKITOV (Concert)
Niki Jacobs, the Netherlands-based singer, recording artist, and founder of Nikitov, has been at the cutting edge of Yiddish music for over fifteen years. Widely acclaimed for her outstanding interpretations of traditional Yiddish songs as well as innovative Yiddish reinterpretations of hits from artists such as Leonard Cohen, Dolly Parton, and the Rolling Stones, Jacobs proves that Yiddish music is very much alive and thriving. Fresh off the release of their new album Mameloshn, Nikitov is setting off on a US tour with Jacobs backed by a powerhouse acoustic band.
An Evening of Yiddish Culture is Sponsored by Rena Gordon Co-sponsored by the Esther Saks Abelman Yiddish Culture Fund Monday, May 22, 6:15 pm – EDCJCC 27 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
Monday, May 22, 8:30 pm – EDCJCC
SPOTLIGHT
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Narrative
LOVE IS THICKER THAN WATER Dir. Ate de Jong and Emily Harris (105min, UK, 2016)
In the latest from Ate de Jong (Drop Dead Fred), opposites attract when Vida, an urbane Jewish cellist from London, falls in love with Arthur, a working class bike courier from Wales. Their class and cultural differences—not to mention disapproving families—quickly test the relationship. Beautifully rendered with earnest comic touches and quirky animated sequences, Love Is Thicker Than Water offers a modern update on Romeo and Juliet, replete with dysfunctional parents, unexpected tragedy, and a love that refuses to die.
Saturday, May 20, 3:45 pm – EDCJCC Sunday, May 21, 8:15 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
DC PREMIERE Narrative
MENASHE
Dir. Joshua Z. Weinstein (105min, USA/Israel, 2017) Yiddish with English subtitles In this runaway hit from the recent Sundance and Berlin film festivals, Menashe is a kind, hapless grocery store clerk living in the heart of New York’s Ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jewish community. He struggles to make ends meet and responsibly raise his young son, Rieven, following the death of his wife Leah. Tradition prohibits Menashe from raising his son alone, so Rieven’s strict uncle adopts him leaving Menashe heartbroken. Meanwhile, though Menashe seems to bungle every challenge in his path, his Rabbi grants him one special week with Rieven before Leah’s memorial.
Sunday, May 21, 7:45 pm – AFI Silver Theater Thursday, May 25, 6:30 pm – E Street Cinema WJFF: A PROGRAM OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC | 28
DC PREMIERE Narrative
EAST COAST PREMIERE TV Narrative
MOOS
MURDER IN POLNA (parts 1 and 2)
In this charming, Amsterdam-ready comedy, Moos is young girl who’s put her life on hold long enough—she’s finally ready to pursue her dream of going to acting school. Not actually having been accepted is only a minor hiccup, and she won’t let that, her offbeat family, or a distracting newfound crush get in the way.
A riveting, timely and chilling historical drama that explores the Hilsner affair, a criminal investigation that veered dangerously off course due to simmering anti-Semitism in 1899 Czechoslovakia.
Dir. Job Gosschalk (91min, Netherlands, 2016) Dutch with English subtitles
A whimsical tale of love, laughter, and the true value of friendship, Moos is a coming-of-age story that wears its beating heart on its fashionably tattered sleeve.
Thursday, May 18, 6:30 pm – E Street Cinema Saturday, May 20, 8:45 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema 29 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
Dir. Viktor Polesný and Vaclav Jester (180min including an intermission, Czech Republic, 2016) Czech with English subtitles
Local police, stumped by the brutal murder of a young girl, attach ritual motivations to her killing, which occurred around Passover. Despite significant holes in this theory, the finger is pointed at young Jewish local Leopold Hilsner, and anti-Jewish rioting commences. Luckily, Tomáš G. Masaryk—a tempered sociologist who would eventually become Czechoslovakia’s first President— intervenes. Saturday, May 20, 12:15 pm – EDCJCC Tuesday, May 23, 6:30 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
DC PREMIERE Documentary
EAST COAST PREMIERE Narrative
MY HERO BROTHER
OMG, I’M A ROBOT
A group of remarkable young people with Down syndrome embark on a demanding trip through the Indian Himalayas, accompanied by their brothers and sisters. Unresolved familial conflicts boil up occasionally, but a heartwarming closeness develops among the siblings as they deal with formidable physical and emotional challenges.
Dumped by his sweetheart on account of being too sensitive, Danny is overwhelmed with sadness and decides to cut himself—only to discover that instead of blood, sparks shoot out and spliced wires protrude: turns out he’s a robot!
Dir. Yonatan Nir (77min, Israel, 2016) Hebrew with English subtitles
These difficult trials are set against the richly colorful Indian backdrop and deepen our understanding of the disability community, while affirming the vast potential for resilience and perseverance lying dormant in all of us.
Dir. Tal Goldberg and Gal Zelezniak (75min, Israel, 2016) Hebrew with English subtitles
Newly armed with the self-confidence of an indestructible killing machine, he sets about winning back his love, who meanwhile appears to have been kidnapped. The “way-out-there” sci-fi plot makes for pure giddy entertainment and escapism with surprising depth to boot.
Sunday, May 21, 11:45 am – Bethesda Row Cinema
Thursday, May 18, 9:20 pm – AFI Silver Theatre
Sunday, May 28, 12:30 pm – EDCJCC
Saturday, May 20, 2:45 pm – E Street Cinema WJFF: A PROGRAM OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC | 30
SPOTLIGHT
DC PREMIERE Documentary
DC PREMIERE Documentary
ON THE MAP
OPERATION WEDDING
A fast-moving and emotional documentary about the 1977 Maccabee Tel-Aviv basketball team—a squad that no one believed could win, but which ended up toppling the four-time defending European championship Soviet club.
Leningrad, 1970. A group of young Jewish dissidents plots to hijack an empty plane and escape the USSR. Caught by the KGB, two were sentenced to death, and the rest assigned hard labor in the gulag.
Dir. Dani Menken (85min, Israel, 2016) English and Hebrew with English subtitles
Featuring interviews with the Jewish American athletes who joined the team and made history, On the Map masterfully blends the pulsing action of the game with the political context of a raging Cold War. The film celebrates Israeli heroes, mesmerizes fans, and captures the spirit of a nation triumphant against all odds. Co-Sponsored by The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (Chairman, Alan Sherman)
Dir. Anat Zalmanson Kuznetsov (62min, Israel/Latvia, 2016) Hebrew, English and Russian with English subtitles
45 years later, filmmaker Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov reveals the compelling story of her parents, “heroes” in the West, and “terrorists” in Russia. Through a masterful collage of archival footage, reenactment, and intimate interviews, the film teases out the daring escape attempt, while revealing the legacy of those brave souls who cracked the Iron Curtain.
Tuesday, May 23, 7:15 pm – EDCJCC
Thursday, May 18, 6:30 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Wednesday, May 24, 6:15 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Saturday, May 20, 4:30 pm – E Street Cinema
31 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
DC PREMIERE Narrative
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Narrative
PARADISE
PAST LIFE
Shot with a classic film elegance in luminous black-and-white, Russia’s Oscar® submission, Paradise, follows the lives of three souls that intertwine in Nazi Europe: a Russian member of the French resistance arrested for hiding Jews; the French collaborator who entraps her; and an idealistic, if naïve, SS officer assigned to root out corruption in the concentration camps.
In 1977 Jerusalem, two sisters, the daughters of Holocaust survivors, investigate a taboo topic: the mystery of their father’s survival in Poland during World War II. In arguably his most daring film yet, 2015 WJFF Visionary Award honoree Avi Nesher confronts a trauma that weighs heavily on Nana, a combative liberal journalist, and younger sister Sephi, an introverted but ambitious classical music composer.
Dir. Andrei Konchalovsky (131min, Russia/Germany, 2016) French, German and Russian with English subtitles
Each recounts their story as we flash back to the moments when their lives fatefully intersected. -Note adapted from the Chicago International Film Festival
Dir. Avi Nesher (103min, Israel, 2016) Hebrew, English, German and Polish with English subtitles
As they slowly unravel a disturbing wartime mystery, they realize that freedom from the shackles of the past often requires painful sacrifice. Sponsored by the Milton and Helen Covensky Fund
Saturday, May 20, 8:30 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Saturday, May 20, 4:15 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Tuesday, May 23, 7:00 pm – AFI Silver Theatre
Tuesday, May 23, 8:30 pm – E Street Cinema WJFF: A PROGRAM OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC | 32
SNEAK PREVIEW Narrative
PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT ME Dir. Hadas Ben Aroya (80min, Israel, 2016) Hebrew with English subtitles
Hadas Ben Aroya’s assured debut feature is a personal tour-deforce that tackles modern romance in all of its technological confusion, forced aloofness, and loveless sexuality. Heralded as the Israeli answer to Girls and Frances Ha, the narrative features Aroya (who directs, writes, and stars) as a twentysomething video artist who’s set adrift after a tough breakup. Floating through the streets of Tel Aviv with headphones blaring, she finds that human contact is hard to cash in for meaningful (but ever-elusive) personal connection.
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Documentary
THE PULITZER AT 100 Dir. Kirk Simon (91min, USA, 2016)
From Oscar®-winning director Kirk Simon (Strangers No More) comes an illuminating and exhilarating new film about the history and legacy of the Pulitzer Prize. Filled with former recipients including Martin Scorsese, The New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof, Natalie Portman, Helen Mirren, Michael Chabon, Toni Morrison, and Wynton Marsalis, this documentary explores the history of the coveted award and the transformative effect it has on the select few who have been bestowed with this highest honor. Sponsored by the Chaim Kempner Fund
Thursday, May 18, 8:30 pm – E Street Cinema
Saturday, May 20, 2:15 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Wednesday, May 24, 8:30 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Sunday, May 21, 7:45 pm – E Street Cinema
33 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
EAST COAST PREMIERE Narrative
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE Documentary
A QUIET HEART
RABBI WOLFF – A GENTLEMAN BEFORE GOD
Dir. Eitan Anner (92min, Israel, 2016) Hebrew with English subtitles In present day Jerusalem where the gulf between the secular and religious communities often seems impossibly large, a secular young woman from Tel Aviv seeks refuge from the pressure of her life as a concert pianist. Intent on solitude, Naomi nonetheless forges two new connections: one with a musically gifted and mute ultra-Orthodox boy, and the other with a charismatic Italian monk who is also an organist. Naomi reconnects with her love of music through these relationships, but they also make her a target in her new neighborhood.
Dir. Britta Wauer (91min, Germany, 2016) English, Dutch, German, Hebrew, and Russian with English subtitles Nearly 90, William Wolff is perhaps the most unconventional Rabbi in the world. With his free-spirited flair and heart-warming laugh, the State Rabbi of North-East Germany won audience hearts in Britta Wauer’s smash hit In Heaven, Underground. Wauer’s new film traces Wolff’s hectic daily routine as well his eventful past: from fleeing Nazi Germany as a child, to leaving behind his career as a London-based political correspondent, to becoming a Rabbi. A beautifully realized portrait of a deeply religious man who, blessed with a tremendous joie de vivre, defies all conventions.
Thursday, May 18, 8:45 pm – E Street Cinema
Saturday, May 20, 12:15 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Thursday, May 25, 8:40 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Thursday, May 25, 8:00 pm – E Street Cinema WJFF: A PROGRAM OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC | 34
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Narrative
WJFF CLASSIC Narrative
SCARRED HEARTS
STARS
Inspired by Jewish-Romanian author Max Blecher’s acclaimed autobiographical novel, Scarred Hearts is reminiscent of an intellectually fiery The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
This gripping drama, based on the personal story of screenwriter Angel Wagenstein during the Holocaust in the Balkans, sheds light on the Sephardic experience of WWII.
During the summer of 1937—as Romania rapidly descends into a far-right society—a man in his early 20s develops bone tuberculosis, and is committed to a sanatorium on the Black Sea coast. Despite being confined to a hospital stretcher bed, he continues to read, smoke, drink, and even flirt, refusing to let his physical condition snuff out his desire to live life to the fullest.
Stationed in a secluded Bulgarian village in 1943, Walter, an artist and sergeant in the Wehrmacht, lives an almost idyllic life far away from the war. Soon, a transit camp is set up for Jews arriving from Greece. When Ruth, one of the Greek Jews, asks Walter to help a pregnant woman in the camp, the two form an unlikely bond.
Dir. Radu Jude (141min, Romania/Germany, 2016) Romanian with English subtitles
Thursday, May 18, 8:00 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema Sunday, May 28, 6:15 pm – AFI Silver Theatre 35 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
Dir. Konrad Wolf (88min, East Germany/Bulgaria, 1959) German, Bulgarian, Yiddish and Ladino with English subtitles
Saturday, May 20, 12:00 pm – AFI Silver Theatre
DC PREMIERE Narrative
STEFAN ZWEIG, FAREWELL TO EUROPE
Dir. Maria Schrader (106min, Austria/France/Germany, 2016) German, English, Spanish, Portuguese, French with English subtitles Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, New York, Petrópolis: stages in Stefan Zweig’s life that could not replace his homeland despite hospitable receptions at each stop. The Austrian Jewish intellectual foresaw Europe’s decline earlier than most, fleeing his native land in 1934, never to return from exile. Actress-turned-director Maria Schrader (the brilliant lead in Aimee & Jaguar) tells the story of Zweig’s exile years in five lyrical chapters, bringing to light the liminal expatriate existence of one of the century’s greatest minds.
WJFF CLASSIC Documentary
STRANGE VICTORY Dir. Leo Hurwitz (64min, USA, 1948)
Leo Hurwitz’s Strange Victory was made during a time a when a critique of American society was seen as bordering on treason, and today, almost 70 years after the film premiered, it has lost none of its topicality. Collaging nonfiction materials, newsreel footage, and Hurwitz’s brilliantly shot scenes, Strange Victory powerfully documents the racism and anti-Semitism of postwar America. Images of signage reading “Save America—Don’t Buy from Jews,” and “For Whites Only,” and photos of Ku Klux Klan lynchings are juxtaposed with footage of Nazi rallies and concentration camp inmates.
Tuesday, May 23, 8:30 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Tuesday, May 23, 6:30 pm – E Street Cinema
Sunday, May 28, 4:00 pm – AFI Silver Theatre
Wednesday, May 24, 6:30 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema WJFF: A PROGRAM OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC | 36
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Narrative
SUBTE-POLSKA
Dir. Alejandro Magnone (99min, Argentina, 2015) Spanish with English subtitles Tadeusz has lived many lives: as a young Polish émigré to Argentina; a brigadier in the Spanish Civil War; and a construction worker building Buenos Aires’ subway system. Now 90 and eager to shed his meds-induced sluggishness, he abruptly cuts short his pills regimen and hits the road in search of former lovers, friends, and the faint residue of his youthful vigor. As past and present swirl into one, he is aided in his memorylaced adventure by a bellicose cast of Argentine sidekicks in this charming crowd-pleaser.
DC PREMIERE Documentary
SUPERGIRL
Dir. Jessie Auritt (80min, USA, 2016) When a nine-year-old girl breaks a powerlifting world record, she turns into an international phenomenon, and “Supergirl” is born. Naomi Kutin seems like a typical Orthodox Jewish pre-teen until her extraordinary talent transforms the lives of her family and thrusts her into news headlines. Supergirl follows Naomi’s unique coming-of-age story as she fights to hold on to her title while navigating the perils of adolescence —from strict religious obligations to cyber-bullying and health concerns that could jeopardize her future in powerlifting.
Saturday, May 20, 6:30 pm – E Street Cinema
Saturday, May 20, 4:15 pm – E Street Cinema
Sunday, May 21, 3:45 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Thursday, May 25, 6:15 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
37 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Narrative
WJFF CLASSICS Narrative
THANK YOU FOR CALLING
TO BE OR NOT TO BE
Inspired by the real life story of Gilbert Chikli, this suspenseful comedy-thriller stars Vincent Elbaz (Would I Lie To You) as Gilbert Perez, a brilliant con artist who manages to trick employees of large French businesses into stealing money from their companies.
Special 75th Anniversary Screening! Carole Lombard’s last film is much more highly regarded today than at the time of its release. Cast as the wife of Jack Benny, a hammy Hamlet in an acting troupe stranded in wartime Poland, she was never more alluring or more in control of her craft.
Fleeing the law, he finds refuge in Tel Aviv, where he is still addicted to the adrenaline and risk of the grift, leading him to partner with the Israeli mafia.
“The finest picture of her career...like most Lubitschean masterworks, [the film] is both hilarious and provocative and has aged like good vintage wine” —Larry Swindell.
Dir. Pascal Elbé (80min, France, 2015) French and Hebrew with English subtitles
Dir. Ernst Lubitsch (99min, USA, 1942)
-Note adapted from the Toronto Jewish Film Festival
Saturday, May 20, 12:00 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Sunday, May 28, 11:30 am – AFI Silver Theatre
Thursday, May 25, 8:30 pm – E Street Cinema WJFF: A PROGRAM OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC | 38
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Documentary
UNCLE HOWARD
Dir. Aaron Brookner (96min, USA, 2016) 25 years after Howard Brookner’s premature AIDS-related death, his nephew, Aaron, sets out to find the lost negatives of Burroughs: The Movie, his uncle’s critically-acclaimed portrait of William S. Burroughs. Aaron uncovers Howard’s extensive archive in Burroughs’ bunker, reviving the film and opening a vibrant window onto New York City’s 70s and 80s counterculture. Connecting with Howard’s friends, lovers, and collaborators (like Jim Jarmusch), Aaron constructs at once a paean and an elegy to a complex, creative man. -Note adapted from the Sundance Film Festival
Sunday, May 21, 4:15 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema Monday, May 22, 8:45 pm – E Street Cinema 39 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
DC PREMIERE Documentary
WONDERFUL KINGDOM OF PAPA ALAEV
Dir. Tal Barda and Noam Pinchas (74min, Israel, 2016) Hebrew, Russian, and Tajik with English subtitles Meet Tajikistan’s answer to the Jackson family. Nearly 80, Allo “Papa” Alaev is a headstrong patriarch who dominates all aspects of his folk music clan’s lives—on stage and off—picking out their meals, instruments, and futures. The children live in their singlefamily house in Tel Aviv. All but one, that is. His only daughter, Ada, chose her own way in life, a transgression her father will not forgive. Set to a blazing soundtrack, drama, and drumbeats sing out from every entertaining exchange in this grand family affair. Monday, May 22, 6:30 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema Sunday, May 28, 5:30 pm – EDCJCC
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE TV Narrative
THE WRITER (3 episodes) Dir. Shay Capon (75min, Israel, 2016) Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles
Sayed Kashua centers The Writer on his fictional self, Kateb, who, after achieving runaway success with TV hit Arab Labor, becomes the poster boy for the new age Arab-Israeli, able to shift seamlessly between the two cultures. Rather than bask in the glory of his rarefied status in Israeli society, he increasingly feels trapped in the gilded cage he has created by living through his alter ego. The series offers an exploration of the hybrid Israeli-Palestinian existence and the personal and political toll it can take.
MID-ATLANTIC PREMIERE Documentary
ZUZANA: MUSIC IS LIFE Dir. Peter Getzels and Harriet Gordon Getzels (83min, USA/Czech Republic, 2016) Czech and English with English subtitles
The triumphant story told of Zuzana Ruzickova, now 90, and how she became a world-famous harpsichordist and interpreter of Bach under the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia after surviving three concentration camps as a teenager. Ruzickova’s return to Czechoslovakia after the war is remarkable, as is her fearless navigation of Communist and anti-Semitic persecution at home. After the fall of Communism in 1989, Ruzickova and her husband, famed Czech composer Viktor Kalabis, worked tirelessly to bring musical education to people throughout the Czech Republic.
Sunday, May 21, 2:15 pm – EDCJCC
Sunday, May 21, 6:20 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
Saturday, May 27, 2:15 pm – EDCJCC
Tuesday, May 23, 6:15 pm – E Street Cinema WJFF: A PROGRAM OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC | 40
MY DEAR CHILDREN
Dir. LeeAnn Dance and Cliff Hackel (70min, USA, 2017) WJFF is partnering with Docs In Progress® to present this workshop screening. The audience is invited to participate in a moderated feedback session after the screening. This honest and constructive feedback is aimed at helping the filmmaker get to the next stage of completing and distributing the film.
Judy Favish’s father would never talk about his past. Twice she saw him cry when stirred to remember. Years after his death, using a letter written by her grandmother as her guide, Judy sets out from South Africa to explore the family’s roots in Ukraine. She finds a world virtually erased of its Jewish past—an erasure that began during her father’s childhood with a humanitarian tragedy that was a harbinger of the Holocaust. The tragedy tore apart her father’s family but made Judy the civil rights activist she is today. Sunday, May 21, 12:00 pm – E Street Cinema 41 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
SHORTS PROGRAMS
WORK IN PROGRESS
Documentary
MEMORY’S FLIGHT
(74 min, Austria/Denmark/France/Germany/Italy/Israel/ Tunisia/USA, 2016-17) Memory and history are close relatives—they are family members that share much in common, but they aren’t the same. These six short works glide between the two and take a bird’s eye view of our shared past; our collective remembrances; and the deeply rooted and multifaceted identities forged in the wake of history’s passing. Featured films: El Hara, How Long, Not Long, Journey Birds; Klasse, The Margaret Lambert Story, Spring Chicken.
Sunday, May 21, 5:00 pm – E Street Cinema Monday, May 22, 6:15 pm – Bethesda Row Cinema
PASSING THE BATON
WALK A MILE IN MY SHOES
A compilation of short films that revolves around our legacies—big and small. What do we leave to the next generation, to our friends and family members? If, in service of bettering the world around us, we could gift one skill, one hard-earned piece of knowledge, or one item, what would it be?
Have you ever woken up and found that you’re living someone else’s life? That you’ve traded places, for good or for ill? This collection of comedic short films centers on this key moment of transformation.
(71 min, Israel/USA, 2015-16)
Featured films: Blessed, Curpigeon, Daughter of the Bride, In Other Words, Joe’s Violin.
Sunday, May 21, 7:15 pm – E Street Cinema Wednesday, May 24, 6:30 pm – E Street Cinema
(98 min, Canada/Israel/Switzerland/UK/USA, 2015-17)
Featured films: An Average Story, Bacon & God’s Wrath, The Chop, Cowlick, Jewish Blind Date, The Postman in Underwear, Mordechai. The 2nd screening of this shorts program is part of our back-bypopular-demand event, Two Jews Walk into a Bar (and a Deli). Join us for a cinematic pub crawl in Chinatown, stopping at On Rye and Bar Deco. $30 gets you 3 drinks and admission to the shorts film program. Sunday, May 21, 2:30 pm – E Street Cinema Sunday, May 28, 2:00 pm – Two Jews Walk into a Bar (On Rye, Bar Deco) WJFF: A PROGRAM OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC | 42
DAY OF EDUCATION
7th ANNUAL COMMUNITY EDUCATION DAY ON ARAB CITIZENS OF ISRAEL Sunday, May 21, 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm at the Edlavitch DCJCC
Sponsored by the Greater Washington Forum on Israeli Arab Issues and the Edlavitch DCJCC Lead Support provided by the Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation and the Lois and Richard England Family Foundation
Join us for an in-depth exploration of the daily lives and challenges of Arab citizens of Israel.
The program starts with a screening of the moving and insightful documentary 77 Steps, which is followed by a high-level panel discussion featuring two Arab-Israeli women working on shared society issues in Israel (at the time of this printing, the speakers are still being finalized – check wjff.org/dayofed for updates). Previous speakers in this series have included prominent leaders of NGOs and senior government officials such as Mohammad Darawshe (Co-Executive Director of the Givat Haviva Institute), Dr. Dalia Fadila (President of Al-Qasemi College of Engineering and Science), Shuruk Ismail, Arab Community Programme Director, Yad Hanadiv (Rothschild Foundation), Tziona Koenig-Yair (Israel’s first Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner), and Reem Younis (co-founder of Nazareth-based high-tech company Alpha Omega).
77 STEPS
Dir. Ibtisam Mara’ana (56min, Israel, 2010) English, Hebrew, and Arabic with English subtitles The personal journey of the director Ibtisam Mara’ana, who leaves her Arab-Muslim village and moves to Tel-Aviv. In an attempt to find an apartment in the city, she encounters discrimination and refusal by most landlords because of her Arab origins. She finally finds an apartment and meets her neighbor Jonathan, a Jewish-Canadian man who immigrated to Israel, and a complicated love story evolves. 43 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
RESTAURANTS
RESTAURANT SPONSORS On Rye 740 6th Street, NW Washington, DC
Estadio 1520 14th Street, NW Washington, DC
Jaleo 7271 Woodmont Avenue Bethesda, MD
Bar Deco 717 6th Street, NW Washington, DC
Doi Moi 1800 14th Street, NW Washington, DC
PassionFish 7187 Woodmont Avenue Bethesda, MD
Raku 3312 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington, DC
Teddy & The Bully Bar 1200 19th Street, NW Washington, DC
Mon Ami Gabi 7239 Woodmont Avenue Bethesda, MD
Kapnos Kouzina 4900 Hampden Lane Bethesda, MD
Lincoln 1110 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC
Taylor Gourmet 1908 14th Street, NW Washington, DC
Proof 775 G Street, NW Washington, DC
BEVERAGE SPONSORS
Potomac Wines & Spirits 3100 M Street, NW Washington, DC
Schneider’s of Capitol Hill 300 Massachusetts Avenue, NE Washington, DC
Calvert Woodley Fine Wines & Spirits 4339 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC
Andy Bassin’s MacArthur Beverages 4877 MacArthur Blvd, NW Washington, DC
Rodman’s 5100 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington, DC
WJFF: A PROGRAM OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC | 44
DONORS
DAY SPONSOR ($5,000-$30,000) Anne and Ronald Abramson
Tamara and Harry Handelsman
Sandra Hoexter
Ann and Frank Gilbert
Scott Eric Dreyer and Ellen Clare Gillespie Dreyer
Brenda Gruss and Daniel Hirsch Margery and Joseph Hoffman
Ron Kaplan and Yoni Bock
Lynn Goldin and Henry Birnkrant
Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation The Dweck Family
Lois and Richard England Family Foundation
Morgan and Josh Genderson
Janet Leno and Peter Harrold Joy Midman
Joan and Barry Rosenthal Susie and Michael Gelman, The Morningstar Beth Sackler and Jeffrey Cohen Foundation Esther Saks Abelman Yiddish Culture Fund Rena and Michael Gordon Sue-Ann and Eric Siegel Shelley and Allan Holt Elise and Marc Lefkowitz
Jacob and Charlotte Lehrman Foundation Linda and Sid Moskowitz
Melanie and Larry Nussdorf
Deborah and Michael Salzberg Rory and Shelton Zuckerman
PRODUCER ($3,000-$4,999) Aviva Kempner
Dr. Sara Cohen and Norm Rich, Dr. Paul and Cyna Cohen
Barbara Silverstein and Alan Kirschenbaum Richard Solloway
DIRECTOR ($1,800-$2,999)
Patty Abramson and Les Silverman
American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
CAMERA ($550-$1,099)
Charlotte and Michael Baer
Leesa Fields and Jonathan Band Steven Blacher
Dava Berkman
Anita Wolke and Ken Brooks Anne and Howard Clemons
Jacqueline and Edward Cohen Myrna Fawcett
Stephanie Flack and Jason Weinstein
Joan Nathan
Beth Newburger
Susan and Dennis Papadopoulos Peggy Parsons Debby Prigal
Sarah Pokempner and Jerry Levine Linda Roth
Diane Lipson Schilit and Howard Schilit
Mindy Strelitz and Andrew Cornblatt
CORTJET - Bruce and Lisa Cort Betsy and Michael Hockstein Leslie and Bruce Lane
Dianne and Herb Lerner Rikki and Nat Lewin
Yulia Spivak and Roman Svirsky
Deborah Tannen and Michael Macovski John Tolleris
Mimi Tygier and Robert Rubin Joan S. Wessel
Iris Lipkowitz
CINEPHILE ($150-$249)
Francine Zorn Trachtenberg
Sofia Bassman
Tina and Albert Small, Jr.
and Stephen Joel Trachtenberg
Sanders H. Berk, MD and Sally Berk
LIGHTS ($1,100-$1,799)
Miriam Mörsel Nathan and Harvey Nathan
Roz Cohen
Sue Brett and Rob Shesser
Dina Gold
Diane Abelman Wattenberg
Dorothy Moss and Lawrence Meyer
Kathy Borrus
ACTION ($250-$549)
Susan Wedlan and Harold Rosen
Marian and Alan Malasky
Silver Family Foundation - Peggy and Sidney Silver
Michele and Allan Berman Rose and Robert Cohen
Andrea and Al Hoffman
Babs and Rabbi A.N. Abramowitz Lynn and Wolf Blitzer
Colburn Family Foundation
Leslye Fenton and Jonathan Moreno Ronna and Stan Foster
Lorraine Gallard and Richard Levy Marilyn and Michael Glosserman Lisa and Tom Goldring Sylvia Greenberg
Martha Winter Gross and Robert Tracy Marci Handler and Doug Klayman
45 | 27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff
Alison Baraf and Aryeh Portnoy Amy Berger and Glen Nager Nanci and Jim Branson Elaine Braverman
Debbie and Jeremy Brown
Amira and Richard Chadwick Dorothy and Morris Cohen
Debra Goldberg and Seth Waxman Alma and Sid Kaplan
Nancy and Everett Korman
Ann Kort and Maurice Shohet Bill Levenson
Faye and Harvey Levin
Carol Gellner Levin and Peter Jay Levin Carol M. Mates
Stephanie and Jonah Roodman Murdock Dori Phaff and Dan Raviv Sandra and Bob Polin
Arlington Podiatry Center Alisa and Aaron Rulnick Amy I. Schear
Diane Scheininger Debra Schwartz
Phyllis and Steve Solomon Sheila and Steven Taube
Janet and Henry Waxman Oliver Wolf
EDCJCC FUND SUPPORT
Milton and Helen Covensky Fund
The Samuel and Merlene Halperin Arts Fund Chaim Kempner Fund
The Harriet J. Neuman Endowment Fund
The Arthur Tracy “The Street Singer” Endowment Fund
Dave Connick
Funded in part by the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts
Anne-Marie Deutsch and Steven Feldman
LEAD SUPPORT OF THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC
Lois Cohen
Victoria R. Cordova
Alison Drucker and Tom Holzman Mark B. Feldman
Debra and Marvin Feuer Barry Friedman
Jennifer Gibson and Harry Rand
IS PROVIDED BY:
Susie and Michael Gelman, The Morningstar Foundation Arlene and Robert Kogod, The Robert and Arlene Kogod Family Foundation Gifts listed as of March 23, 2017
SPONSORS Media Sponsors
TRIVIA
27th WASHINGTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 | wjff.org | #wjff | 46
Irwin P. Edlavitch Building 1529 Sixteenth Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 202-518-9400 edcjcc.org
EDLAVITCH DCJCC Stephen Kelin, President Carole R. Zawatsky, Chief Executive Officer WJFF STAFF Ilya Tovbis, Director Kaitlin Whitman, Associate Director of Operations Alexis Rodriguez, Outreach and Communications Manager Hannah Grace Heartfield, Administrative Coordinator Nick Mariotti, Operations Manager Kimberley Rothberg, Intern WJFF FILM COUNCIL Dina Gold, Co-Chair Sid Moskowitz, Co-Chair Patty Abramson Michele Berman Anne Clemons Ed Cohen Sara Cohen Diane Wattenberg Myrna Fawcett
Stephanie Flack Morgan Greenhouse Genderson Margie Hoffman Joy Midman Eric Siegel Sue-Ann Siegel Barbara Silverstein Richard Solloway Diane Wattenberg
Aviva Kempner, WJFF Advisor Miriam Mรถrsel Nathan, WJFF Director Emerita