Menashe[/caption]
The 25th annual Portland Jewish Film Festival, produced by the Northwest Film Center and co-presented with the Institute for Judaic Studies, will feature 18 films that celebrate the diversity of Jewish history, culture, identity, and filmmaking. The festival will take place June 11 to 25, 2017 at the Northwest Film Center in Portland, Oregon.
Complete Film listings:
June 11 – Sunday 7 p.m.
MENASHE
Directed by Joshua Z. Weinstein
United States/Israel, 2017
Deep in the heart of New York’s ultra-orthodox Hasidic Jewish community, Menashe—a kind, hapless grocery store clerk—struggles to make ends meet and responsibly parent his young son, Rieven, following his wife Leah’s death. Tradition prohibits Menashe from raising his son alone, so Rieven’s strict uncle adopts him, leaving Menashe heartbroken. When his rabbi grants him one special week with Rieven before Leah’s memorial, he has a chance to prove himself a suitable man of faith and fatherhood, and restore respect among his doubters. Weinstein’s film is a poignant and funny parable about the tension between best intentions and the effort to uphold them. In Yiddish with English subtitles. (82 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83UoZcdX__Y
June 11 – Monday 7 p.m.
THE SETTLERS
Directed by Shimon Dotan
France/Germany/Israel, 2016
The Settlers traces the history of Israeli settlements in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War. While government leaders and the Israeli public initially saw the military victory as an opportunity for a negotiated peace, many religious conservatives saw it as a calling from God to redeem the Biblical land of Israel. Through the voices of the pioneers of the movement and a diverse range of modern-day settlers—religious and secular, radical and idealist—Dotan weaves a comprehensive, provocative, and often troubling exploration of the controversial communities that continue to influence the sociopolitical destinies of Israel and Palestine. Nominated for the Israeli Academy Award for Best Documentary. In Hebrew, Arabic, and English with English subtitles. (107 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO2LRxXeBr0
June 14 – Wednesday 7 p.m.
THE WOMEN’S BALCONY
Directed by Emil Ben Shimon
Israel, 2016
Emil Ben Shimon’s feature debut is a comical feminist narrative about finding the right path to happiness and the subjectivity of righteousness. When the women’s balcony of the synagogue collapses in the middle of a bar mitzvah, nobody assumes that the cause was anything more than bad architecture— that is, until Rabbi David announces that it was actually a message from God. The charismatic young rabbi warns that the men of the Sephardic congregation haven’t done enough to ensure the modesty of their women, creating a rift between the community’s men and women that puts faith, friendships, and traditions to the test. Hebrew with English subtitles. (96 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfMlI97DHbo
June 15 – Thursday 7 p.m.
1945
Directed by Ferenc Török
Hungary, 2016
When two Orthodox Jews arrive at the train station of a small, rural community in 1945, the villagers must face the consequences of “ill-gotten gains” from the Second World War. Fears that the men may be heirs of the village’s deported Jews and that more survivors will come pose a threat to the property and possessions they have claimed as their own. Based on the acclaimed short story “Homecoming” by Gábor T. Szánt. (91 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbeYA8A03Sw
June 17 – Saturday 6:30 p.m.
PAST LIFE
Directed by Avi Nesher
Israel/Poland, 2016
Nesher’s (The Matchmaker, The Wonders) moving film confronts a trauma and burden of history that is still part of the Israeli present and deeply rooted in the collective subconscious. In ’70s Jerusalem, two daughters of Holocaust survivors investigate a taboo topic: their difficult father’s experiences in Poland during World War II. As they undertake a trans-European journey to try to unravel the mystery that has shadowed their whole lives, they confront tragic questions and the realization that freedom from the past requires painful sacrifices, as does the struggle to discover one’s own unique voice. (109 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08Yv95dAGOo
June 17 – Saturday 9 p.m.
IN BETWEEN
Directed by Maysaloun Hamoud
Israel/France, 2016
Maysaloun Hamoud’s striking feature debut chronicles the lives of three Palestinian-Israeli women sharing an apartment in the vibrant heart of Tel Aviv. Modern-minded lawyer Layla, activist Salma, and more conservative Nour find themselves in a complicated balancing act between tradition and modernity, citizenship and culture, fealty and freedom as they navigate men, family, drugs, work, school, and their futures. Living in a country that considers them not Israeli enough and not Palestinian enough, they face choices between contemporary and traditional values. Adult audiences. Best Film Prize, San Sebastian Film Festival. (102 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPiVZj8Mm7o
June 17 – Saturday 4 p.m.
June 18 – Sunday 8 p.m.
FANNY’S JOURNEY
Directed by Lola Doillon
France/Belgium, 2016
Based on an autobiographical novel by Fanny Ben-Ami, Fanny’s Journey tells the story of a heroic young girl in World War II France. Following the arrest of their father in Paris, Fanny and her younger sisters are sent to a boarding school in France’s neutral zone. They are whisked away to another institution, where Jewish children come under the care of the tough but tender Madame Forman. As danger advances yet again, the students’ fate is entrusted to 13-year-old Fanny, who fearlessly treks through the countryside with the children on a perilous mission to reach the Swiss border with only wits and solidarity to guide her. All ages. (94 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBa2SXXSXvo
June 18 – Sunday 4:30 p.m.
BODY AND SOUL: AN AMERICAN BRIDGE
Directed by Robert Philipson
United States, 2016
The story of Body and Soul, one of the most recorded songs in the Great American Songbook and a jazz standard, illustrates the complex musical interplay between Jewish and African American cultures. Written by Jewish songwriter Johnny Green and introduced on Broadway by Jewish torch singer Libby Holman in 1930, it was first recorded as a jazz piece by Louis Armstrong. Philipson examines the song’s timelessness, its role at the heart of both black and Jewish music, and cultural links both complementary and contentious. Interviews with experts and historians combine with rare archival footage and diverse performances to celebrate an ageless classic. (60 mins., DCP)
screens with
STRANGE FRUIT
Directed by Joel Katz
United States, 2002
While many people assume Strange Fruit was written by Billie Holiday, it actually began as a poem by a Jewish schoolteacher and union activist from the Bronx, who later set it to music. Disturbed by a photograph of a lynching, Abel Meeropol wrote the stark verse and brooding melody about the horror of lynching under the pseudonym Lewis Allan in 1938. It was brought to the attention of the manager of a popular Greenwich Village nightclub, who introduced Billy Holiday to the writer. Meeropol, who also wrote such classics as Frank Sinatra’s The House I Live In, later adopted the sons of “atom bomb spies” Julius and Ethel Rosenberg after their 1953 execution. (56 mins., Blu-Ray)
June 19 – Monday 7 p.m.
MOOS
Directed by Job Gosschalk
Netherlands, 2016
Set in a tight-knit Jewish community in Amsterdam, Moos is an endearing comedy about following your far-fetched dreams. 20-something Moos takes care of her dad and hangs around the family fabric store singing tunes to her steam iron. Her dream is to be an actress, but going for it seems to be on the back burner until her childhood friend, home from a stint in the Israeli army, reminds her of her past full of passion and ambition. Love, laughter, friendship, and complications take center stage in a film about finding out what’s important and finding your voice. (91 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0GwlwUTLik
June 20 – Tuesday 7 p.m.
BIG SONIA
Directed by Leah Warshawski
United States, 2016
Big Sonia explores what it means to be a survivor and how this affects families and generations. One of the few remaining survivors of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, 91-year-old Sonia Warshawski, the filmmaker’s grandmother, has shared her inspirational story for years. The colorful 91-year-old “diva,” known for wearing leopard print and high heels, has spent decades running her late husband’s tailoring business, the last shop in a dying mall in Kansas City. When she is evicted, Sonia must face another of life’s challenges: her fear of retirement. Winner of numerous audience awards at film festivals throughout the country, Sonia’s inspiring story reveals that it’s up to you to choose your future. (93 mins., Blu-Ray)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZOySpVL8_E
June 21 – Wednesday 7 p.m.
A GRAIN OF TRUTH
Directed by Borys Lankosz
Poland, 2015
Once the star of the Warsaw prosecutor’s office, Teodor Szacki, has retired to a small town to start a new life after his divorce. But he is called upon to help solve a grisly local case: a woman, a prominent social activist, has been brutally murdered outside a synagogue, and a knife used for kosher slaughter of animals is found nearby. More violent murders provoke a wave of anti-Semitism, and Szacki must not only solve the crimes, but also face public hysteria and the simmering history of Polish-Jewish relations. Based on the best-selling novel by Polish author Zygmunt Miłoszewsk, Lankosz’s tense detective thriller explores contemporary xenophobia and the power of centuries of superstition. (110 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMBnMrHrGsQ
June 22 – Thursday 7 p.m.
NATASHA
Directed by David Bezmozgis
Canada, 2016
Sixteen-year-old slacker Mark is the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants in the suburbs of Toronto. When his uncle enters into an arranged marriage with a woman from Moscow, she arrives with her troubled 14-year old daughter, Natasha. A secret and forbidden romance begins between the two of them that has bizarre and tragic consequences for everyone involved. Natasha is adapted from Bezmozgis’s collection of short stories, “Natasha and Other Stories,” which was named a New York Times Notable Book and has been translated into 15 languages. (97 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYSXVX_Xxts
June 24 – Saturday 4 p.m.
June 26 – Monday 7 p.m.
TO BE OR NOT TO BE
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch
United States, 1942
Like Chaplin’s The Great Dictator, Lubitsch’s film was widely criticized upon release for trying to find laughs in Hitler’s assault on civilization and, in this case, the desperate and tragic situation in Poland. But on its 75th anniversary, it remains a black-humored classic and one of the most profound comedies ever made. Jack Benny and Carole Lombard star in this story about a Polish theater company mixed up in espionage in Gestapo-ruled Warsaw. A send-up of Nazi mystique and manners, it also endures as a prime example of the famed “Lubitsch touch”—witty, stylish, and broadly satiric. (99 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W_B10VbYjI
June 24 – Saturday 6:30 p.m.
HARMONIA
Directed by Ori Sivan
Israel, 2016
A contemporary adaptation of the biblical tale of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, Harmonia presents a poignant metaphor for the contemporary challenges facing Israel’s sibling religions. Sarah, a harpist in the Jerusalem Philharmonic Orchestra, is married to Abraham, its charismatic conductor, and they have no children. When Hagar, a young Arab horn player, joins the orchestra, a unique friendship evolves between the two women. Hagar, feeling Sarah’s pain from not having children, offers to have a baby for Sarah. Ismail, born to Hagar and Abraham, is a wild and gifted pianist whom Sarah raises as her own. But when Ismail discovers the true identity of his mother, his world—and that of those around him—falls apart. (98 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABwGpET-RdM
June 24 – Saturday 8:45 p.m.
BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS AND HILLS
Directed by Eran Kolirin
Israel, 2016
Nominated for six Israeli Academy awards, including Best Picture, this film by writer-director Eran Kolirin (The Band’s Visit) weaves several narratives into a moving portrait of a family and a society at a crossroads. Facing a difficult transition after 27 years of military service, Lieutenant-Colonel David Greenbaum takes a dispiriting job as a salesman, while the rest of his increasingly alienated family struggle with their own issues. His wife, a high school teacher, begins an affair; his activist teenage daughter forms a troubling bond with Arab neighbors; and his son observes the simmering tensions from afar. As David’s household unravels, blind frustration leads to an impulsive act, triggering a cascade of events that corrupt everyone’s innocence. “Like an Israeli American Beauty… a poignant and political family drama.”—The Hollywood Reporter. (92 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJxlkZfjmvk
June 25 – Sunday 7 p.m.
MOON IN THE 12TH HOUSE
Directed by Dorit Hakim
Israel, 2016
Sisters Mira and Lenny, separated at youth by traumatic circumstances, are young women when they meet again. The older and wilder Mira, who works in a hip Tel Aviv nightclub, unexpectedly returns to their childhood home, where the dutiful Lenny has stayed to care for their father. This reunion leads them on an emotional journey of healing and reconciliation. Commanding performances and hypnotic cinematography elevate this moving meditation on family ties and lost youth. Opening Night, New York Jewish Film Festival. (109 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eKc_Nb9FIM
June 25 – Sunday 4:30 p.m.
AIDA’S SECRETS
Directed by Alon Schwarz, Shaul Schwarz
Israel/United States/Germany, 2016
In this sweeping international story that begins in World War II and concludes in an emotional family reunion seven decades later, layers of family history and untold secrets surface. Izak Szewelewicz was born inside the Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons camp in 1945 and put up for adoption in Israel. Secret details of his birth mother, an unknown brother in Canada, and his father’s true identity slowly emerge in a heartfelt story that raises poignant questions of identity, resilience, compassion, and the plight of displaced persons. Closure comes when brothers Izak and Shep meet in Canada and travel to Quebec to meet Aida, their mysterious elderly mother. Winner of the Audience Award at 2016 Docaviv International Film Festival. (90 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdb_Tp47hIMMoon in the 12th House
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MENASHE, THE SETTLERS Among 18 Films on Lineup for 25th Portland Jewish Film Festival | Trailers
[caption id="attachment_20067" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Menashe[/caption]
The 25th annual Portland Jewish Film Festival, produced by the Northwest Film Center and co-presented with the Institute for Judaic Studies, will feature 18 films that celebrate the diversity of Jewish history, culture, identity, and filmmaking. The festival will take place June 11 to 25, 2017 at the Northwest Film Center in Portland, Oregon.
Complete Film listings:
June 11 – Sunday 7 p.m.
MENASHE
Directed by Joshua Z. Weinstein
United States/Israel, 2017
Deep in the heart of New York’s ultra-orthodox Hasidic Jewish community, Menashe—a kind, hapless grocery store clerk—struggles to make ends meet and responsibly parent his young son, Rieven, following his wife Leah’s death. Tradition prohibits Menashe from raising his son alone, so Rieven’s strict uncle adopts him, leaving Menashe heartbroken. When his rabbi grants him one special week with Rieven before Leah’s memorial, he has a chance to prove himself a suitable man of faith and fatherhood, and restore respect among his doubters. Weinstein’s film is a poignant and funny parable about the tension between best intentions and the effort to uphold them. In Yiddish with English subtitles. (82 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83UoZcdX__Y
June 11 – Monday 7 p.m.
THE SETTLERS
Directed by Shimon Dotan
France/Germany/Israel, 2016
The Settlers traces the history of Israeli settlements in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War. While government leaders and the Israeli public initially saw the military victory as an opportunity for a negotiated peace, many religious conservatives saw it as a calling from God to redeem the Biblical land of Israel. Through the voices of the pioneers of the movement and a diverse range of modern-day settlers—religious and secular, radical and idealist—Dotan weaves a comprehensive, provocative, and often troubling exploration of the controversial communities that continue to influence the sociopolitical destinies of Israel and Palestine. Nominated for the Israeli Academy Award for Best Documentary. In Hebrew, Arabic, and English with English subtitles. (107 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO2LRxXeBr0
June 14 – Wednesday 7 p.m.
THE WOMEN’S BALCONY
Directed by Emil Ben Shimon
Israel, 2016
Emil Ben Shimon’s feature debut is a comical feminist narrative about finding the right path to happiness and the subjectivity of righteousness. When the women’s balcony of the synagogue collapses in the middle of a bar mitzvah, nobody assumes that the cause was anything more than bad architecture— that is, until Rabbi David announces that it was actually a message from God. The charismatic young rabbi warns that the men of the Sephardic congregation haven’t done enough to ensure the modesty of their women, creating a rift between the community’s men and women that puts faith, friendships, and traditions to the test. Hebrew with English subtitles. (96 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfMlI97DHbo
June 15 – Thursday 7 p.m.
1945
Directed by Ferenc Török
Hungary, 2016
When two Orthodox Jews arrive at the train station of a small, rural community in 1945, the villagers must face the consequences of “ill-gotten gains” from the Second World War. Fears that the men may be heirs of the village’s deported Jews and that more survivors will come pose a threat to the property and possessions they have claimed as their own. Based on the acclaimed short story “Homecoming” by Gábor T. Szánt. (91 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbeYA8A03Sw
June 17 – Saturday 6:30 p.m.
PAST LIFE
Directed by Avi Nesher
Israel/Poland, 2016
Nesher’s (The Matchmaker, The Wonders) moving film confronts a trauma and burden of history that is still part of the Israeli present and deeply rooted in the collective subconscious. In ’70s Jerusalem, two daughters of Holocaust survivors investigate a taboo topic: their difficult father’s experiences in Poland during World War II. As they undertake a trans-European journey to try to unravel the mystery that has shadowed their whole lives, they confront tragic questions and the realization that freedom from the past requires painful sacrifices, as does the struggle to discover one’s own unique voice. (109 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08Yv95dAGOo
June 17 – Saturday 9 p.m.
IN BETWEEN
Directed by Maysaloun Hamoud
Israel/France, 2016
Maysaloun Hamoud’s striking feature debut chronicles the lives of three Palestinian-Israeli women sharing an apartment in the vibrant heart of Tel Aviv. Modern-minded lawyer Layla, activist Salma, and more conservative Nour find themselves in a complicated balancing act between tradition and modernity, citizenship and culture, fealty and freedom as they navigate men, family, drugs, work, school, and their futures. Living in a country that considers them not Israeli enough and not Palestinian enough, they face choices between contemporary and traditional values. Adult audiences. Best Film Prize, San Sebastian Film Festival. (102 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPiVZj8Mm7o
June 17 – Saturday 4 p.m.
June 18 – Sunday 8 p.m.
FANNY’S JOURNEY
Directed by Lola Doillon
France/Belgium, 2016
Based on an autobiographical novel by Fanny Ben-Ami, Fanny’s Journey tells the story of a heroic young girl in World War II France. Following the arrest of their father in Paris, Fanny and her younger sisters are sent to a boarding school in France’s neutral zone. They are whisked away to another institution, where Jewish children come under the care of the tough but tender Madame Forman. As danger advances yet again, the students’ fate is entrusted to 13-year-old Fanny, who fearlessly treks through the countryside with the children on a perilous mission to reach the Swiss border with only wits and solidarity to guide her. All ages. (94 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBa2SXXSXvo
June 18 – Sunday 4:30 p.m.
BODY AND SOUL: AN AMERICAN BRIDGE
Directed by Robert Philipson
United States, 2016
The story of Body and Soul, one of the most recorded songs in the Great American Songbook and a jazz standard, illustrates the complex musical interplay between Jewish and African American cultures. Written by Jewish songwriter Johnny Green and introduced on Broadway by Jewish torch singer Libby Holman in 1930, it was first recorded as a jazz piece by Louis Armstrong. Philipson examines the song’s timelessness, its role at the heart of both black and Jewish music, and cultural links both complementary and contentious. Interviews with experts and historians combine with rare archival footage and diverse performances to celebrate an ageless classic. (60 mins., DCP)
screens with
STRANGE FRUIT
Directed by Joel Katz
United States, 2002
While many people assume Strange Fruit was written by Billie Holiday, it actually began as a poem by a Jewish schoolteacher and union activist from the Bronx, who later set it to music. Disturbed by a photograph of a lynching, Abel Meeropol wrote the stark verse and brooding melody about the horror of lynching under the pseudonym Lewis Allan in 1938. It was brought to the attention of the manager of a popular Greenwich Village nightclub, who introduced Billy Holiday to the writer. Meeropol, who also wrote such classics as Frank Sinatra’s The House I Live In, later adopted the sons of “atom bomb spies” Julius and Ethel Rosenberg after their 1953 execution. (56 mins., Blu-Ray)
June 19 – Monday 7 p.m.
MOOS
Directed by Job Gosschalk
Netherlands, 2016
Set in a tight-knit Jewish community in Amsterdam, Moos is an endearing comedy about following your far-fetched dreams. 20-something Moos takes care of her dad and hangs around the family fabric store singing tunes to her steam iron. Her dream is to be an actress, but going for it seems to be on the back burner until her childhood friend, home from a stint in the Israeli army, reminds her of her past full of passion and ambition. Love, laughter, friendship, and complications take center stage in a film about finding out what’s important and finding your voice. (91 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0GwlwUTLik
June 20 – Tuesday 7 p.m.
BIG SONIA
Directed by Leah Warshawski
United States, 2016
Big Sonia explores what it means to be a survivor and how this affects families and generations. One of the few remaining survivors of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, 91-year-old Sonia Warshawski, the filmmaker’s grandmother, has shared her inspirational story for years. The colorful 91-year-old “diva,” known for wearing leopard print and high heels, has spent decades running her late husband’s tailoring business, the last shop in a dying mall in Kansas City. When she is evicted, Sonia must face another of life’s challenges: her fear of retirement. Winner of numerous audience awards at film festivals throughout the country, Sonia’s inspiring story reveals that it’s up to you to choose your future. (93 mins., Blu-Ray)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZOySpVL8_E
June 21 – Wednesday 7 p.m.
A GRAIN OF TRUTH
Directed by Borys Lankosz
Poland, 2015
Once the star of the Warsaw prosecutor’s office, Teodor Szacki, has retired to a small town to start a new life after his divorce. But he is called upon to help solve a grisly local case: a woman, a prominent social activist, has been brutally murdered outside a synagogue, and a knife used for kosher slaughter of animals is found nearby. More violent murders provoke a wave of anti-Semitism, and Szacki must not only solve the crimes, but also face public hysteria and the simmering history of Polish-Jewish relations. Based on the best-selling novel by Polish author Zygmunt Miłoszewsk, Lankosz’s tense detective thriller explores contemporary xenophobia and the power of centuries of superstition. (110 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMBnMrHrGsQ
June 22 – Thursday 7 p.m.
NATASHA
Directed by David Bezmozgis
Canada, 2016
Sixteen-year-old slacker Mark is the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants in the suburbs of Toronto. When his uncle enters into an arranged marriage with a woman from Moscow, she arrives with her troubled 14-year old daughter, Natasha. A secret and forbidden romance begins between the two of them that has bizarre and tragic consequences for everyone involved. Natasha is adapted from Bezmozgis’s collection of short stories, “Natasha and Other Stories,” which was named a New York Times Notable Book and has been translated into 15 languages. (97 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYSXVX_Xxts
June 24 – Saturday 4 p.m.
June 26 – Monday 7 p.m.
TO BE OR NOT TO BE
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch
United States, 1942
Like Chaplin’s The Great Dictator, Lubitsch’s film was widely criticized upon release for trying to find laughs in Hitler’s assault on civilization and, in this case, the desperate and tragic situation in Poland. But on its 75th anniversary, it remains a black-humored classic and one of the most profound comedies ever made. Jack Benny and Carole Lombard star in this story about a Polish theater company mixed up in espionage in Gestapo-ruled Warsaw. A send-up of Nazi mystique and manners, it also endures as a prime example of the famed “Lubitsch touch”—witty, stylish, and broadly satiric. (99 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W_B10VbYjI
June 24 – Saturday 6:30 p.m.
HARMONIA
Directed by Ori Sivan
Israel, 2016
A contemporary adaptation of the biblical tale of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, Harmonia presents a poignant metaphor for the contemporary challenges facing Israel’s sibling religions. Sarah, a harpist in the Jerusalem Philharmonic Orchestra, is married to Abraham, its charismatic conductor, and they have no children. When Hagar, a young Arab horn player, joins the orchestra, a unique friendship evolves between the two women. Hagar, feeling Sarah’s pain from not having children, offers to have a baby for Sarah. Ismail, born to Hagar and Abraham, is a wild and gifted pianist whom Sarah raises as her own. But when Ismail discovers the true identity of his mother, his world—and that of those around him—falls apart. (98 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABwGpET-RdM
June 24 – Saturday 8:45 p.m.
BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS AND HILLS
Directed by Eran Kolirin
Israel, 2016
Nominated for six Israeli Academy awards, including Best Picture, this film by writer-director Eran Kolirin (The Band’s Visit) weaves several narratives into a moving portrait of a family and a society at a crossroads. Facing a difficult transition after 27 years of military service, Lieutenant-Colonel David Greenbaum takes a dispiriting job as a salesman, while the rest of his increasingly alienated family struggle with their own issues. His wife, a high school teacher, begins an affair; his activist teenage daughter forms a troubling bond with Arab neighbors; and his son observes the simmering tensions from afar. As David’s household unravels, blind frustration leads to an impulsive act, triggering a cascade of events that corrupt everyone’s innocence. “Like an Israeli American Beauty… a poignant and political family drama.”—The Hollywood Reporter. (92 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJxlkZfjmvk
June 25 – Sunday 7 p.m.
MOON IN THE 12TH HOUSE
Directed by Dorit Hakim
Israel, 2016
Sisters Mira and Lenny, separated at youth by traumatic circumstances, are young women when they meet again. The older and wilder Mira, who works in a hip Tel Aviv nightclub, unexpectedly returns to their childhood home, where the dutiful Lenny has stayed to care for their father. This reunion leads them on an emotional journey of healing and reconciliation. Commanding performances and hypnotic cinematography elevate this moving meditation on family ties and lost youth. Opening Night, New York Jewish Film Festival. (109 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eKc_Nb9FIM
June 25 – Sunday 4:30 p.m.
AIDA’S SECRETS
Directed by Alon Schwarz, Shaul Schwarz
Israel/United States/Germany, 2016
In this sweeping international story that begins in World War II and concludes in an emotional family reunion seven decades later, layers of family history and untold secrets surface. Izak Szewelewicz was born inside the Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons camp in 1945 and put up for adoption in Israel. Secret details of his birth mother, an unknown brother in Canada, and his father’s true identity slowly emerge in a heartfelt story that raises poignant questions of identity, resilience, compassion, and the plight of displaced persons. Closure comes when brothers Izak and Shep meet in Canada and travel to Quebec to meet Aida, their mysterious elderly mother. Winner of the Audience Award at 2016 Docaviv International Film Festival. (90 mins., DCP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdb_Tp47hIM
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Complete Lineup for 2016 Seattle International Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_13531" align="aligncenter" width="1280"]
Captain Fantastic[/caption]
The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival announced the complete lineup of films, guests, and events for the 42nd annual 25-day Festival taking place May 19 to June 12, 2016.
This year, SIFF will screen 421 films representing 85 countries: 181 features (plus 4 secret films), 75 documentaries, 8 archival films, and 153 shorts. The films include 54 World premieres (29 features, 25 shorts), 56 North American premieres (42 features, 14 shorts), and 27 US premieres (15 features, 12 shorts).
Both Opening and Closing Nights include period comedies: hearkening to the golden 1930s heyday of Hollywood, Opening Night film Café Society from master filmmaker Woody Allen stars Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Steve Carell, and Blake Lively; the 1950s-set Australian revenge comedy-drama The Dressmaker closes SIFF 2016 on Sunday, June 12 with an acclaimed cast including Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, and Hugo Weaving. The emotionally wrenching documentary Gleason, follows Spokane-born NFL star Steve Gleason’s battle with ALS using intimate footage masterfully assembled by director Clay Tweel, and will screen at the Festival’s Centerpiece Gala on Saturday, June 4.
The Northwest premiere of Matt Ross’s Captain Fantastic, filmed in Washington, will screen as part of a tribute presentation to Viggo Mortensen on Saturday, June 11, where the acclaimed actor will be presented with the Festival’s Outstanding Achievement in Acting Award and interviewed on stage at the flagship SIFF Cinema Egyptian. Selections from Mortensen’s rich and diverse career are slated during SIFF 2016 in celebration of his work, including A Walk on the Moon, Eastern Promises, and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
Among this year’s 53 World premieres is Seattle native Megan Griffiths’s The Night Stalker, a penetrating psychological thriller centered on the spine-chilling character of Richard Ramirez, California’s most notorious serial killer. Griffiths and star Lou Diamond Phillips will be in attendance at the June 4 screening.
GALAS
Opening Night Gala
Café Society
Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg star in a sparkling new romantic comedy from Woody Allen about a movie-industry hopeful who arrives in 1930s Hollywood, falls in love, and finds himself swept up in the vibrant café society that defined the age. North American Premiere (d: Woody Allen c: Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg, Blake Lively, Steve Carell, Parker Posey, Judy Davis, USA 2016, 96 min)
Centerpiece Gala
Gleason
Director Clay Tweel delivers a bold and moving portrait of beloved Spokane born, former WSU and New Orleans Saints football player Steve Gleason, who at age 34 was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease and courageously filmed his journey for the public eye. (d: Clay Tweel f: Steve Gleason, Michel Gleason, Rivers Gleason, USA 2016, 110 min)
Closing Night Gala
The Dressmaker
Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, and Judy Davis star in this hysterically madcap adaptation of the beloved novel about a chic 1950s dressmaker who returns from Paris to her small Australian town to right the wrongs of the past and revolutionize the local couture. (d: Jocelyn Moorhouse c: Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, Judy Davis, Hugo Weaving, Australia 2015, 118 min)
SPECIAL GUESTS
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN ACTING AWARD
Viggo Mortensen
Featuring Captain Fantastic
Plus screenings of A Walk on the Moon, Eastern Promises, and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
An actor, painter, poet, photographer, and jazz musician, Viggo Mortensen’s combination of rugged exterior and reflective interior have infused his wide range of film roles with equal parts gravitas and compassion—from criminals to cowboys, lovers to lieutenants, post-apocalyptic survivors to sagacious psychoanalysts, and the rightful king of Gondor.
Past honorees of the SIFF Outstanding Achievement in Acting Award include Laura Dern, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kyle MacLachlan, Sir Ben Kingsley, Kevin Bacon, Edward Norton, Sissy Spacek, Joan Allen, and Anthony Hopkins amongst others.
AN AFTERNOON WITH
Molly Shannon
Featuring Other People
Plus World Premiere of Miles
Molly Shannon’s penchant for theatrical comedy inspired some of “Saturday Night Live”’s most famous characters from 1995-2001, including Mary Catherine Gallagher and Sally O’Malley. Shannon went on to appear in several films such as Superstar, Wet Hot American Summer, Marie Antoinette, last year’s SIFF favorite Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and the TV series “Glee” and “Enlightened.” Her ability to shift seamlessly from comic characters to more nuanced dramatic roles is something not many can match. Tonight, SIFF will welcome her to the stage for an interview featuring film clips from her career, followed by a screening of one of Shannon’s latest films, Other People, directed by Chris Kelly. There will also be an opportunity for audience questions following the screening.
COMPETITIONS
Official Competition
Battle of Sevastopol (d: Sergey Mokritskiy, Ukraine/Russia 2015, North American Premiere)
[caption id="attachment_13537" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Burn Burn Burn[/caption]
Burn Burn Burn (d: Chanya Button, United Kingdom 2015, North American Premiere)
Creepy (d: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Japan 2016, North American Premiere)
Eternal Summer (d: Andreas Öhman, Sweden 2015, North American Premiere)
Girl Asleep (d: Rosemary Myers, Australia 2016, North American Premiere)
Holding the Man (d: Neil Armfield, Australia 2015, North American Premiere)
Moon in the 12th House (d: Dorit Hakim, Israel 2016, World Premiere)
News From Planet Mars (d: Dominik Moll, France/Belgium 2016, US Premiere)
Radio Dreams (d: Babak Jalali, Iran/USA 2016)
The Scent of Mandarin (d: Gilles Legrand, France 2015, North American Premiere)
The Sound of Trees (d: François Péloquin, Canada (Québec) 2015, US Premiere)
Welcome To Norway! (d: Rune Denstad Langlo, Norway 2016, North American Premiere)
New Directors Competition
Antonia (d: Ferdinando Cito Filomarino, Italy/Greece 2015, North American Premiere)
Before the Streets (d: Chloé Leriche, Canada (Québec) 2016, US Premiere)
Coconut Hero (d: Florian Cossen, Germany/Canada 2015, North American Premiere)
Family Film (d: Olmo Omerzu, Czech Republic/Germany/Slovenia/France/Slovakia 2015, North American Premiere)
The Lure (d: Agnieszka Smoczynska, Poland 2015)
Nakom (d: Kelly Daniela Norris, TW Pittman, Ghana/USA 2016)
The Paradise Suite (d: Joost van Ginkel, Netherlands/Sweden/Bulgaria 2015)
Rara (d: Pepa San Martín, Chile/Argentina 2016, North American Premiere)
Sand Storm (d: Elite Zexer, Israel 2016)
[caption id="attachment_10404" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Sparrows[/caption]
Sparrows (d: Rúnar Rúnarsson, Iceland/Denmark/Croatia 2015)
The Violators (d: Helen Walsh, United Kingdom 2015)
Where Have All the Good Men Gone (d: René Frelle Petersen, Denmark 2016, World Premiere)
Ibero-American Competition
Awaiting (d: Daniela Fejerman, Spain/Lithuania 2015, North American Premiere)
Deconstructing Dani García (d: Iñigo Ruiz, Alfonso Cortés-Cavanillas, Spain 2015, North American Premiere)
How Most Things Work (d: Fernando Salem, Argentina 2015, US Premiere)
Nueva Venecia (d: Emiliano Mazza de Luca, Colombia/Mexico/Uruguay 2016, US Premiere)
The Pretty Ones (d: Melisa Liebenthal, Argentina 2016, North American Premiere)
Red Gringo (d: Miguel Ángel Vidaurre, Chile 2016, North American Premiere)
Warehoused (d: Jack Zagha, Mexico 2015, US Premiere)
You’ll Never Be Alone (d: Alex Anwandter, Chile 2016, US Premiere)
New American Cinema Competition
11:55 (d: Ari Issler, Ben Snyder, USA 2016)
All the Birds Have Flown South (d: Joshua H. Miller, Miles B. Miller, USA 2016, World Premiere)
Americana (d: Zachary Shedd, USA 2016, World Premiere)
The Architect (d: Jonathan Parker, USA 2016, World Premiere)
As You Are (d: Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, USA 2016)
Claire in Motion (d: Lisa Robinson, Annie J. Howell, USA 2016)
Free In Deed (d: Jake Mahaffy, USA/New Zealand 2015)
Middle Man (d: Ned Crowley, USA 2016, World Premiere)
The Night Stalker (d: Megan Griffiths, USA 2016, World Premiere)
Transpecos (d: Greg Kwedar, USA 2016)
Documentary Competition
[caption id="attachment_13536" align="alignnone" width="1000"]
The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Maddin[/caption]
The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Maddin (d: Yves Montmayeur, France 2015, US Premiere)
Action Comandante (d: Nadine Angel Cloete, South Africa/Lesotho 2016, World Premiere)
Death By a Thousand Cuts (d: Juan Mejia Botero, Jake Kheel, USA 2016, US Premiere)
Death by Design (d: Sue Williams, China/Ireland 2016, World Premiere)
Finding Babel (d: David Novack, USA/Ukraine/Russia/France 2015, North American Premiere)
The IF Project (d: Kathlyn Horan, USA 2016, World Premiere)
Mr. Gaga (d: Tomer Heymann, Israel/Sweden/Germany/Netherlands 2015)
Naledi: A Baby Elephant’s Tale (d: Ben Bowie, Geoff Luck, USA/Botswana 2016, World Premiere)
The Queen of Ireland (d: Conor Horgan, Ireland 2015, North American Premiere)
The Revolution Won’t Be Televised (d: Rama Thiaw, Senegal 2016, US Premiere)
Tsukiji Wonderland (d: Naotaro Endo, Japan 2016, World Premiere)
We the People 2.0 (d: Leila Conners, USA 2016, World Premiere)
Shorts Competition
All short films shown at the Festival are eligible for both the Golden Space Needle Audience Award and Jury Award. Jurors will choose winners in the Narrative, Animation, and Documentary categories. Each jury winner will receive $2,500 and winners in any of the three categories may also qualify to enter the respective Short Film category of the Academy Awards® for the concurrent season without the theatrical run.
Golden Space Needle Awards
For the past 30 years, SIFF has celebrated its most popular films and filmmakers with the Golden Space Needle Audience Award. Awards by Festival audiences are given in five categories: Best Film, Best Documentary, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Short Film.
AFRICAN PICTURES
African Pictures showcases the best filmmaking happening in and about Africa today. This program, made possible through the generous support of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, will bring shorts and features, documentaries and fiction films to American audiences who might never have the chance to see them otherwise. This is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to experience innovative and inspiring filmmaking from across the continent.
[caption id="attachment_13534" align="alignnone" width="1000"]
Action Comandante[/caption]
Action Comandante (d: Nadine Angel Cloete, South Africa/Lesotho 2016, 90 min)
Aisha (d: Chande Omar c: Godliver Gordian, Adarusi Walii, Flora Nicholas, Juma Madenge, Tanzania 2015, 112 min)
As I Open My Eyes (d: Leyla Bouzid c: Baya Medhaffer, Ghalia Benali, Montassar Ayari, Aymen Omrani, Lassaad Jamoussi, Tunisia/France/ Belgium/ United Arab Emirates 2015, 102 min)
Atlantic Heart (d: Robbie McCallum c: Elton Medina, Aurizania Monteiro, Julio Brito, Christian Neves, José ‘Bana’ Delgado, Cape Verde/United Kingdom 2016, 87 min)
Checks and Balances (d: Malek Bensmaïl f: Omar Belhouchet, Hacène Ouali, Hassene Moali, Mustapha Benfodil, Ali Benyahia, Algeria/France 2015, 97 min)
Eye of the Storm (d: Sékou Traoré c: Maïmouna N’Diaye, Fargass Assandé, Abidine Dioari, Issaka Sawadogo, Burkina Faso/France 2015, 101 min)
Lamb (d: Yared Zeleke c: Redial Amare, Kidist Siyum, Welela Assefa, Rahel Teshome, Surafel Teka, Ethiopia/France/Germany/Norway/Qatar 2015, 94 min)
Much Loved (d: Nabil Ayouch c: Loubna Abidar, Asma Lazrak, Halima Karaouane, Sara Elmhamdi Elalaoui, Abdellah Didane, Morocco/France 2015, 103 min)
Nakom (d: Kelly Daniela Norris, TW Pittman c: Jacob Ayanaba, Grace Ayariga, Justina Kulidu, James Azudago, Felicia Atampuri, Ghana/USA 2016, 90 min
Naledi: A Baby Elephant’s Tale (d: Ben Bowie, Geoff Luck, USA/Botswana 2016, 90 min)
The Revolution Won’t Be Televised (d: Rama Thiaw, Senegal 2016, 110 min)
CHINA STARS
SIFF is proud to launch the China Stars Showcase series in Seattle during the 42nd annual Seattle International Film Festival, with support from WASA North America Group and Hainan Airlines. With the purpose of fostering cross-cultural exchange and artistic vision, SIFF has collaborated with WASA North America Group to select five wonderful feature films from mainland China to screen as part of the 2016 showcase series. These films will screen before audiences in Seattle, Renton, Shoreline, and on the Eastside at Bellevue’s Lincoln Square.
The Big Road (d: Sun Yu c: Chen Yanyan, Zheng Junli, Li Lili, Liu Qiong, Jin Yan, China 1935, 104 min)
Death by Design (d: Sue Williams f: Ted Smith, Ma Jun, Kyle Wiens, Luke Soules, Paul Maher, China/Ireland 2016, 73 min)
The Final Master (d: Xu Haofeng c: Liao Fan, Song Jia, Jiang Wenli, Jin Shijie, Song Yang, China 2015, 109 min)
Mountains May Depart (d: Jia Zhangke c: Zhao Tao, Zhang Yi, Liang Jin Dong, Dong Zijian, Sylvia Chang, China/Japan/France 2015, 131 min)
Paths of the Soul (d: Zhang Yang c: Yang Pei, Nyima Zadui, Tsewang Dolkar, Tsring Chodron, Seba Jiangcuo, China 2015, 115 min)
CULINARY CINEMA
Popcorn is no longer king as the phenomenon of food culture has exploded into cinema. We’ve selected 9 extraordinary films that explore different aspects of taste and the senses for the cinematically inclined.
Ants on a Shrimp (d: Maurice Dekkers f: René Redzepi, Lars Williams, Rosio Sanchez, Thomas Frebel, Dan Giusti, Netherlands 2016, 88 min)
Bugs (d: Andreas Johnsen f: Ben Reade, Josh Evans, Roberto Flore, Denmark 2016, 76 min)
Ceviche’s DNA (d: Orlando Arriagada f: José Antonio del Castillo, Victor Pimentel, Ulla Holmquist, Valentín Paso Purisaca, Santiago Uceda Castillo, Canada/Peru 2015, 85 min)
Deconstructing Dani García (d: Iñigo Ruiz, Alfonso Cortés-Cavanillas, Spain 2015, 72 min)
Hummus (d: Oren Rosenfeld f: Eliyahu Shmueli, Suheila Al Hindi, Jalil Dabit, Israel 2016, 70 min)
Insatiable: The Homaro Cantu Story (d: Brett A. Schwartz f: Homaro Cantu, Richie Farina, Angela Cantu-Reeder, Trevor Rose-Hamblin, Mark Caro, Scott Trotter, USA 2016, 98 min)
Sam Choy’s Poké to the Max screens with Harlem on My Plate (28 minutes) (d: Terrence Jeffrey Santos f: Sam Choy, Geo Quibuyen, Yuji Okumoto, Max Heigh, USA 2016, 40 min)
Sustainable (d: Matt Wechsler f: Marty Travis, Greg Wade, Rick Bayless, Mark Bittman, John Ikerd, USA 2016, 96 min)
Tsukiji Wonderland (d: Naotaro Endo f: Jiro Ono, Rene Redzepi, Theodore C. Bestor, Japan 2016, 110 min)
FACE THE MUSIC
Four out of five SIFF programmers agree that regular exposure to music and film are essential to your overall well-being. With that in mind, this year’s Face the Music program has been specifically designed to provide a holistic regimen for your audio-visual health. Taken together, these remedies are guaranteed to expand your visual and sonic parameters, as well as set you on the righteous path to living a more audio-visually conscious lifestyle, with optimal aural performance.
[caption id="attachment_13491" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
BANG! The Bert Berns Story[/caption]
BANG! The Bert Berns Story (d: Brett Berns, Bob Sarles f: Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, Ronald Isley, Solomon Burke, Ben E. King, USA 2016, 94 min)
Concerto – A Beethoven Journey (d: Phil Grabsky f: Leif Ove Andsnes, Gustavo Dudamel, United Kingdom 2015, 92 min)
Contemporary Color (d: Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross f: David Byrne, Lucius, Nico Muhly, Ira Glass, Nelly Furtado, St.Vincent, Devonte Hynes, How To Dress Well, Zola Jesus, AD-
Rock, Money Mark, tUnE-yArDs, USA 2016, 96 min)
The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble (d: Morgan Neville f: Yo-Yo Ma, Wu Man, Kinan Azmeh, Kayhan Kalhor, Cristina Pato, USA 2015, 96 min)
Presenting Princess Shaw (d: Ido Haar f: Kutiman, Samantha Montgomery, Israel 2015, 80 min)
The Prince Sing Along
Red Gringo (d: Miguel Ángel Vidaurre f: Dean Reed, José Roman, Gonzalo Planet, Chile 2016, 67 min)
A Song For You: The Austin City Limits Story (d: Keith Maitland f: Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Ray Vaughan, Matthew McConaughey, Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Beck, Ray Charles, Emmylou Harris, Buddy Guy, USA 2016, 91 min)
We Are X (d: Stephen Kijak f: Yoshiki, Toshi, Pata, Hiroshi, USA/Japan/United Kingdom 2016, 89 min)
NORTHWEST CONNECTIONS
Seattleites see more films per capita than the residents of any other American city, and a growing number of these selections have their roots in the fertile Pacific Northwest film community. Each year, SIFF honors the many ways in which the Puget Sound region contributes to the world of cinema, whether as an evocative location for outside filmmakers or as inspiration for local filmmakers ready to strut their stuff.
The Architect (d: Jonathan Parker c: Parker Posey, Eric McCormack, James Frain, John Carroll Lynch, USA 2016, 95 min)
Big Sonia (d: Leah Warshawski, Todd Soliday f: Sonia Warshawski, USA 2016, 90 min)
Finding Kim (d: Aaron Bear f: Kim B, Dan Savage, Buck Angel, Carmen Carrera, Calpernia Addams, Jamison Green, Dr. Tony Mangubat, USA 2016, 82 min)
Finding October (d: Nick Terry c: Michael Ward, Karin Terry, Nick Terry, Delaney Berreth, Ryan Woodyard, USA 2016, 77 min)
Full Court: The Spencer Haywood Story (d: Martin Spirit f: Spencer Haywood, Charles Barkley, Pat Riley, Lenny Wilkens, Chuck D, USA 2016, 90 min)
Gold Balls (d: Kate Dandel f: John Powless, Ron Tonidandel, Bob Sherman, George McCabe, Marcus Freeman, Steve Tignor, USA 2016, 85 min)
The IF Project (d: Kathlyn Horan f: Kim Bogucki, Renata Abramson, Tiffany Doll, Angela Vargas, LaKeisha “”KeWee”” Hamilton, USA 2016, 88 min)
If There’s a Hell Below (d: Nathan Williams c: Carol Roscoe, Conner Marx, Mark Carr, Paul Budraitis, USA 2016, 94 min)
The Memory of Fish (d: Jennifer Galvin, Sachi Cunningham Narrated by Lili Taylor, USA 2016, 54 min)
A New High (d: Samuel Miron, Stephen Scott Scarpulla USA 2015, 100 min)
Paralytic (d: Joey Johnson c: David S. Hogan, Darlene Sellers, Angela DiMarco, D’Angelo Midili, Richard Carmen, USA 2016, 87 min)
Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell (d: Martin Bell f: Erin Blackwell, Mary Ellen Mark, USA 2016, 86 min)