Join us at The Weitzman for Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media’s (PJFM) 42nd Annual Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival. Throughout the week, we’ll host seven exciting and carefully curated films which engage with Jewish culture and values. See below for more information. 

OPENING NIGHT

KARAOKE – Click Here for Tickets
Saturday, November 12 at 7pm

Opening Night of the 42nd Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival begins with KARAOKE! A Tel Aviv couple’s lifeless marriage is forever changed when their new tenant (Israeli legend Lior Ashkenazi), a dashing, party-throwing playboy, moves into their apartment building. Nominated for nine Ophir Awards (Israeli Oscars), KARAOKE is a funny, authentic comedy/drama about aging, love, and the chance happenings that can forever change our outlook on life.

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THE LEVYS OF MONTICELLO – Click Here for Tickets
Sunday, November 13 at 4pm

Monticello is remembered as the home of Thomas Jefferson, but did you know that for nearly a century after his death, it was owned by a Jewish family? Fascinating and oddly riveting, THE LEVYS OF MONTICELLO tells the little-known story of the family that helped preserve one of America’s landmarks, all amidst increasing antisemitism from their community. SPECIAL GUEST: Director Steven Pressman.

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WHERE LIFE BEGINS – Click Here for Tickets
Sunday, November 13 at 7:30pm  AND  Wednesday, November 16 at 2pm (ENCORE SCREENING)

Evoking films of Italian neorealism and the French New Wave, WHERE LIFE BEGINS is a gorgeously filmed, stunningly acted drama about the close bond between a divorced Catholic farm owner and an unhappy ultra-Orthodox woman who attends his farm in preparation for Sukkot.

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A RADIANT GIRL – Click Here for Tickets
Monday, November 14 at 7pm

The year is 1942. Paris, France. Irène, a 19-year-old Jewish girl and aspiring actress, is having the time of her life. As the Nazis gradually assert power in her home, she is both cognizant of and unperturbed by the rising fear from the community. As an innocent youth, Irène knows that things are getting a little scary. What she may not know, however, is that her own life may be on the line.

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THE MAN IN THE BASEMENT – Click Here for Tickets
Tuesday, November 15 at 2pm 

Simon (Jérémie Renier) and Hélène (Academy Award nominee Bérénice Bejo) are a healthy, attractive bourgeois couple living in Paris with their teenage daughter. When they decide to sell their basement cellar to the elderly Mr. Fonzic (François Cluzet), a former history teacher, their idyllic world is slowly torn apart as his far-right, antisemitic beliefs are uncovered.

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RECKONINGS – Click Here for Tickets
Wednesday, November 16 at 7pm 

From Roberta Grossman, RECKONINGS is another outstanding addition to the documentarian’s collection. This riveting docudrama explores the years immediately after the liberation of the camps and the issue of ordering reparations to survivors of the Shoah. The decision to compensate survivors was both supported and frowned upon by leaders and citizens, both German and Jewish alike. Could something of this unprecedented a scale be achievable?

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HOLLYWOOD’S JEWISH NEW WAVE: PRESENTED BY FILMSHUL – Click Here for Tickets
Thursday, November 17 at 2pm

Film history teaches us of the “waves” or movements that shook up the traditional, cinematic status quo. Few, however, know about the Jewish New Wave of the 60s and 70s, a period of increased Jewish visibility in American cinema. In this exclusive presentation, FilmShul, led by film historians and “movie mensches” Laurence Lerman and Irv Slifkin, discusses the impact of the Jewish New Wave and how Jewish onscreen presence paved the way for the Jewish actors, comedians, and filmmakers we know and love today.

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CLOSING NIGHT

AMERICA – Click Here for Tickets
Saturday, November 19 at 7pm 

The 42nd Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival concludes with AMERICA, the latest tour de force from director Ofir Raul Graizer (The Cakemaker). This richly layered melodrama follows an Israeli swimming coach who returns to his country after his distant father passes away. There, he reconnects with his childhood friend and his fiancée, both of whom run a successful flower shop downtown. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, a tragedy sets off a chain of motion for these three individuals, an event that unlocks hidden desires, secrets, and torment that have afflicted these characters.

This event will conclude with a post-film reception in the museum. ALL guests are welcome!

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Live at The Weitzman
101 South Independence Mall East (Corner of 5^th & Market)
Philadelphia, PA 19106

Questions or Comments?
For General Questions, please reach out to Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media at info@phillyjfm.org, or visit the PJFM official website.

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This program is presented by Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media in partnership with the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History.