June 11 – June 25, 2017
Welcome to the 25th annual Portland Jewish Film Festival, produced by the Northwest Film Center and co-presented with the Institute for Judaic Studies. While the Festival celebrates the diversity of Jewish history, culture, identity, and filmmaking, we hope that these films, and the stories they tell, resonate beyond their settings and speak to universal experiences and issues that confront our common humanity.
General Admission: $10, Senior/Student/PAM Member: $9
1945
Directed by Ferenc Török
When two Orthodox Jews arrive at the train station of a small, rural community in 1945, the villagers must face …
A Grain of Truth
Directed by Borys Lankosz
Once the star of the Warsaw prosecutor’s office, Teodor Szacki, has retired to a small town to start a new …
Aida’s Secrets
Directed by Alon Schwarz, Shaul Schwarz
In this sweeping international story that begins in World War II and concludes in an emotional family reunion seven decades …
Beyond the Mountains and Hills
Directed by Eran Kolirin
Nominated for six Israeli Academy awards, including Best Picture, this film by writer-director Eran Kolirin (The Band’s Visit) weaves several …
Big Sonia
Directed by Leah Warshawski
Big Sonia explores what it means to be a survivor and how this affects families and generations. One of the …
Body and Soul: An American Bridge
Directed by Robert Philipson
The story of Body and Soul, one of the most recorded songs in the Great American Songbook and a jazz …
Fanny’s Journey
Directed by Lola Doillon
Based on an autobiographical novel by Fanny Ben-Ami, Fanny’s Journey tells the story of a heroic young girl in World …
Harmonia
Directed by Ori Sivan
A contemporary adaptation of the biblical tale of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, Harmonia presents a poignant metaphor for the contemporary …
In Between
Directed by Maysaloun Hamoud
Maysaloun Hamoud’s striking feature debut chronicles the lives of three Palestinian-Israeli women sharing an apartment in the vibrant heart of …
Menashe
Directed by Joshua Z. Weinstein
Deep in the heart of New York’s ultra-orthodox Hasidic Jewish community, Menashe—a kind, hapless grocery store clerk—struggles to make ends …
Moon in the 12th House
Directed by Dorit Hakim
Sisters Mira and Lenny, separated at youth by traumatic circumstances, are young women when they meet again. The older and …
Moos
Directed by Job Gosschalk
Set in a tight-knit Jewish community in Amsterdam, Moos is an endearing comedy about following your far-fetched dreams. 20-something Moos …
Natasha
Directed by David Bezmozgis
Sixteen-year-old slacker Mark is the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants in the suburbs of Toronto. When his uncle enters into an …
Past Life
Directed by Avi Nesher
Nesher’s (The Matchmaker, The Wonders) moving film confronts a trauma and burden of history that is still part of the …
Strange Fruit
Directed by Joel Katz
While many people assume Strange Fruit was written by Billie Holiday, it actually began as a poem by a Jewish …
The Settlers
Directed by Shimon Dotan
The Settlers traces the history of Israeli settlements in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War. While government leaders …
The Women’s Balcony
Directed by Emil Ben Shimon
Emil Ben Shimon’s feature debut is a comical feminist narrative about finding the right path to happiness and the subjectivity …
To Be Or Not To Be
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch
Like Chaplin’s The Great Dictator, Lubitsch’s film was widely criticized upon release for trying to find laughs in Hitler’s assault …
Sponsors
Thanks to these sponsors of the Portland Jewish Film Festival
