June 15 – June 29, 2014
Welcome to the 22nd annual Portland Jewish Film Festival, produced by the Northwest Film Center and co-presented with the Institute for Judaic Studies. While the Festival specifically celebrates the diversity of Jewish history, culture, and identity, we hope that these films and the stories they tell resonate beyond their settings and speak to experiences and issues that confront our common humanity.
Special thanks to our sponsors: Cedar Sinai Park; the Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest, San Francisco; the Diane Solomon Family Fund; the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation; Hasson Realty; Higgins Restaurant; Honest Tea; the Institute for Judaic Studies; the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland; Joan and Paul Sher; J Street Portland; the Leonard and Lois Schnitzer Supporting Foundation of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation; Mittleman Jewish Community Center; the Oregon Israel Business Alliance; the Oregon Israel Fund of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation; Oregon Jewish Life; Portland Jewish Academy; and Ruben J. and Elizabeth Menashe. We hope you’ll support PJFF by purchasing a Patron Pass.

Aftermath
Directed by Wladyslaw Pasikowski
A gripping psychological thriller, Aftermath tells the story of two estranged brothers, Franek and Josef, who discover a terrible secret that forces …

Before the Revolution
Directed by Dan Shadur
At one time, Israel and Iran had a mutually prosperous political and economic relationship. Israelis living in Tehran enjoyed great …

Big Bad Wolves
Directed by Aharon Keshales, Navot Papushado
After a girl goes missing in the woods and is later found beheaded, suspicion immediately falls on a timid religious …

Cupcakes
Directed by Eytan Fox
A group of friends in a Tel Aviv suburb gathers to watch “Universong,” a Eurovision-style song contest, trying to forget …

For a Woman
Directed by Diane Kurys
Inspired by her own family history, Kurys’s (Sagan, Peppermint Soda) handsome drama moves between post-World War II France and the …

Friends from France
Directed by Philippe Kotlarski, Kira Saksaganskaya, Anne Weil
In 1979, a young couple, Carole and Jérôme, go behind the Iron Curtain to Odessa on a vacation to celebrate …

Hanna’s Journey
Directed by Julia Von Heinz
Hanna’s motives for spending several months in Israel working with disabled youths and elderly Holocaust survivors aren’t exactly noble: a …

Hunting Elephants
Directed by Reshef Levi
Nominated for seven Israeli Academy Awards including Best Film, Hunting Elephants is a bank heist caper and coming-of-age tale alternately full …

Mamele
Directed by Joseph Green, Konrad Tom
In this early Yiddish “talkie” starring musical queen Molly Picon as “Mamele” (little mother), the dutiful daughter keeps her family …

Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon
Directed by Mike Meyers
Mike Myers (Austin Powers, Wayne's World) makes his directorial debut with this witty, loving tribute to his friend Shep Gordon, …

The Green Prince
Directed by Nada Schirman
“Such an extraordinary story that one is tempted to think it is fiction, if only somebody had the audacity to …

The Jewish Cardinal
Directed by Ilan Duran Cohen
The Jewish Cardinal tells the gripping, amazing true story of Jean-Marie Lustiger (1926-2007), son of Polish-Jewish immigrants to France, who maintained …

The Last of the Unjust
Directed by Claude Lanzmann
In 1975, while making his landmark Holocaust documentary Shoah, Claude Lanzmann interviewed Benjamin Murmelstein. Age 70 and living in exile …

The Sturgeon Queens
Directed by Julie Cohen
The Sturgeon Queens visits the four generations who built Russ and Daughters, the Lower East Side New York lox and herring …

The Wonders
Directed by Avi Nesher
This modern-day film noir centers on a bartender who doubles as a graffiti artist in Jerusalem. Arnav enjoys whiling away …

The Zigzag Kid
Directed by Vincent Bal
The Zigzag Kid is a stylish, witty, action-packed caper à la The Pink Panther that also touches on more serious …

Transit
Directed by Hannah Espia
This year’s Philippine submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Transit deals with the struggles of an extended Filipino …