Jerusalem Jewish Film Fest marks Hanukkah with movies on identity, humor, resilience
Cinematheque opens festival on December 28 with Oscar hopeful ‘The Brutalist,’ includes ‘Shtisel’ prequel ‘Kugel’ and documentaries galore
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
It hasn’t been an easy year to be Jewish, but it’s been a great year for the release of films expressing Jewish identity, which bodes well for the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival.
“There’s an abundance of creation going on,” said festival director Daniella Tourgeman at the Jerusalem Cinematheque, which hosts the annual event that will be held this year from December 28 to January 2. “October 7 created a real awakening for many people and their expression of Jewish identity through art and film.”
Many of the featured movies were screened at the recent Venice and Berlinale film festivals, offering a collection of gems for the Jerusalem Cinematheque audience, said Tourgeman.
The annual event opens December 28 with a screening of Oscar hopeful “The Brutalist,” the Adrien Brody drama set in post-war America that deals with antisemitism and Jewish architects.
Tourgeman calls it “a tough watch” at nearly four hours long, but said it was the “strongest and most important film of the year.”
Other options on opening night include a screening of Rebecca Shore and Oren Rosenfeld’s “Marathon Mom” about ultra-Orthodox runner Beatie Deutsch, followed by a conversation with the filmmakers and Deutsch.
Another audience favorite will likely be “Kugel,” the 90-minute prequel created by “Shtisel” creator Yehonatan Indursky about father and daughter, Nuchem (Sasson Gabbay) and Libbi (Hadas Yaron), who live in Antwerp’s Orthodox Jewish community. Gabbay will appear at the screening for a discussion.
“Kugel” will launch on the Izzy streaming platform in early 2025.
Some films touch upon October 7, such as “Song of Ascent” about artist Matisyahu and the anti-Israel backlash he experienced after the Hamas terrorist attack and war in Gaza.
As for American Jewish identity, look no further than “Centered: Joe Lieberman,” a documentary about the late American-Jewish politician, or the 90-minute “Kafka” about the eponymous Czech-Jewish writer.
Lighter fare includes “Sabbath Queen,” Sandy DuBowski’s film about Amichai Lau-Lavie’s journey from radical drag queen to the influential rabbi of a New York synagogue, with Lau-Lavie and DuBowksi present for a screening and conversation.
Some of the special festival screenings include “Marcella,” about Italian-Jewish cookbook author Marcella Hazan, and the newest Jesse Eisenberg film,”A Real Pain,” about two cousins who take a roots trip to Poland.
Tourgeman highlighted the characteristic of resilience in several of the Jewish portrait films, including the story of Egyptian Jewish fashion designer Gaby Aghion in “Looking for Chloe,” and the literature of Norman Mailer in Jeff Zimbalist’s “How to Come Alive with Norman Mailer.”
For tickets and times, go to the Jerusalem Cinematheque website.
