Jewish Resilience Film and Media Series
Thursday, Apr 24, 2025
Thursday, April 24 – Monday, April 28
Live at the Weitzman
Tickets On Sale March 25
The Jewish people have been persecuted, hated, and mocked for centuries, but they have endured. They have fought back. And they are NOT going anywhere.
PJFM’s first ever Jewish Resilience Film and Media Series explores the unwavering fortitude of the Jewish people through cinema and digital media. In an age of rising antisemitism across the globe on social media, in politics, and elsewhere, this new series celebrates the strength and survival of the Jewish people throughout history, from the Golden Age to post-October 7th.
The stories presented in the program, featuring everyday heroes and more, stand as beacons of hope for the future of the Jews and inspire everyone, regardless of identity, to stand up in the face of adversity.
Opening Night
The Stronghold | Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History
April 24, 2025 at 7 PM
$18 General Admission
Directed by Lior Chefetz
Narrative Feature | Israel | 2023 | 113 min | Hebrew
PHILADELPHIA PREMIERE
Sinai Desert, Yom Kippur War, 1973. In a remote outpost, a company of Israeli soldiers are overwhelmed by a sudden Egyptian onslaught. After a week of ceaseless assaults, the survivors face imminent doom. With lives hanging by a thread, a young lieutenant and an army doctor confront a soul-shattering choice: a desperate last stand or a perilous gamble that could betray everything they stand for.
Preceded by A Great Big Secret
Directed by Yoav Potash
Documentary Short | USA | 2024 | 13 min | English
In this lovingly crafted profile, Dutch-born Holocaust survivor and retired teacher Anita Magnus Frank narrates her story from childhood trauma to adult healing, when she finally opened up to the world as one of World War II’s “hidden children,” dramatized with a collage-like combination of interviews, archival footage, and animation.
Some.Body – A Nova Story AI Exhibition | Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History
April 25-27, 2025
Free
Directed by Netanel Kafka
Narrative Short | Israel | 2024 | 11 min | Hebrew
Exhibition Hours/Admission
- Friday, April 25 from 10 AM – 4 PM
- Saturday, April 26 from 10 AM – 4 PM
- Sunday, April 27 from 10 AM – 6 PM
*SOME.BODY – A NOVA STORY is included with admission to any Jewish Resilience Film and Media Series event, including general museum admission.
About the Project
This short feature film, combining original AI animation, spoken word, and trance music, is an adaptation of an award-winning short story by clinical psychologist and co-creator Dr. Nir Soffer-Dudek, written after bearing witness to dozens of testimonies from survivors of the Nova Music Festival massacre, as well as members of rescue forces who oversaw identification of the deceased.
Theodor | Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History
April 25, 2025 at 2 PM
$15 General Admission | $13 Senior | $13 Student
Directed by Ido Ricklin
Narrative Feature | Israel | 2024 | 120 min | Hebrew
PHILADELPHIA PREMIERE
The Israeli Opera proudly presents THEODOR, an inspiring and visually captivating opera that delves into the life and origin story of Theodor Herzl, the visionary behind the modern State of Israel, and depicts how his experiences with rising antisemitism in Europe compelled him to recognize the necessity of a Jewish state. Composed by Yonatan Cnaan and directed by Ido Ricklin, this opera masterfully blends music, theater, and stunning visual elements to portray Herzl’s relentless quest for a Jewish belongingness.
999: The Forgotten Girls | Streaming on PJFM On Demand
April 27-28, 2025
$20 General Admission
Directed by Heather Dune Macadam
Documentary Feature | USA | 2023 | 90 min | English
PHILADELPHIA PREMIERE
Best-selling author and historian Heather Dune Macadam has adapted her acclaimed book, 999, into a powerful documentary that sheds light on a wrenching true story. In March 1942, nearly 1,000 young Slovak Jewish women, mostly teenagers, told by their government that they were embarking on a volunteer work assignment, were instead illegally deported to Auschwitz on what was the first Jewish transport to the Nazi death camp. Rather than strictly focus on the suffering and death experienced by most of the girls, Macadam tells stories of a small group who survived against all odds, even under unimaginable conditions that lasted more than three grueling years.
The Community | Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History
April 27, 2025 at 4 PM
$15 General Admission | $13 Senior | $13 Student
Directed by Alex Osmolovsky
Documentary Feature | Israel/Ukraine | 2025 | 65 min | Ukrainian, Russian, Hebrew
US PREMIERE
A portrait of Jewish life in Ukraine today in the mirror of history and the shadow of Russia’s full-scale invasion, THE COMMUNITY captures the strength and resilience of Ukraine’s diverse Jewish community as they navigate the hardships of war. Through personal stories and interviews with a range of characters, the film reveals their essential role in Ukraine’s struggle and explores their experiences amidst accusations of Nazism that have cast a shadow over the nation.
TORN | Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History
April 27, 2025 at 6 PM
$20 General Admission
Directed by Nim Shapira
Documentary Feature | USA | 2024 | 75 min | English
PHILADELPHIA PREMIERE
TORN delves into the controversy surrounding the ‘KIDNAPPED’ poster campaign, a grassroots effort to raise awareness about the 240 hostages taken by Hamas. These posters quickly became polarizing symbols, sparking intense clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine activists and turning New York City’s streets into battlegrounds of ideology and emotion. The film explores the motivations behind activists putting up and tearing down the posters, unraveling the complexities of this intense ‘paper arm’ proxy war, fought thousands of miles from the actual conflict.
Preceded by ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE
Directed by Nate Berman
Documentary Short | USA | 2024 | 5 min | English
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE profiles the Cinderella story of Blake Peters, the lone Jewish player on the 2023 Princeton University basketball team who led them to the 2023 NCAA Sweet 16 and then struggled to navigate campus antisemitism after the events of Oct 7 only seven months later.
SPECIAL GUESTS:
- Rabbi Abe Friedman (Moderator)
- Dede Bandaid and Nitzan Mintz (Street Artists (Interviewees)
- Nim Shapira (Director of TORN)
- Aaron Terr (FIRE, Public Advocacy Director (Interviewee)
- Alana Zeitchik (Hostage Family Member (Interviewee)
Closing Night
Four Winters | Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History
April 28, 2025 at 7 PM
$18 General Admission
Directed by Julia Mintz
Documentary Feature | USA | 2022 | 90 min | English
PHILADELPHIA PREMIERE
Over 25,000 Jewish partisans fought back against the Nazis and their collaborators from deep within the forests of WWII’s Eastern Europe, Ukraine and Belarus. Against extraordinary odds, they escaped Nazi slaughter, transforming from young innocents to courageous resistance fighters. Shattering the myth of Jewish passivity, these last surviving partisans tell their stories of resistance in FOUR WINTERS, revealing a stunning narrative of heroism and resilience.
Preceded by NEW LIVES
Directed by Joey Schweitzer
Narrative Short | USA | 2023 | 20 min | Polish, English
A Holocaust survivor navigates the delicate balance between assimilating to her new American identity and reckoning with her traumatic past in 1950s Brooklyn.
SPECIAL GUESTS:
- Randi Boyette (Moderator)
- Julia Mintz (Director of FOUR WINTERS)
This program is presented by Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media. Please contact info@phillyjfm.org with any questions.
