The 36th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, presented by the Jewish Film Institute, returns July 21 through August 7, 2016 in San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, Palo Alto and San Rafael. SFJFF celebrates excellence in Jewish & independent cinema with three weeks of groundbreaking film, memorable festival guests and exciting special events.
Visit www.sfjff.org to purchase tickets, or call our Box Office at 415.621.0523.
SFJFF36 MARIN PASS
$100 Members / $120 General Public
The best way to catch everything playing at SFJFF36 in San Rafael! The Marin Pass is good for all shows at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center.
CLICK HERE to purchase the pass
SFJFF36 NEXT WAVE PASS
$35 (for ages 35 & under)
Want to fest with flexibility? The Next Wave pass offers tremendous access to special events, film screenings, artist talks, big nights, and more at the festival.
Rafael passes, CFI Fast Passes or members’ discounts are not valid for these screenings. The Rafael will not sell advance tickets; any tickets remaining on day of show.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 5
SHITSEL: SEASON 2
FRIDAY, AUGUST 5 • 2:10
Shtisel returns to SFJFF for Season 2! Follow Shulem and clan once again in this critical and commercial success as they navigate adolescence, engagement, siblings and death. For fans of love, both secular and religious. 97 min.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE PROGRAM & TCKET INFO
IN SEARCH OF ISRAELI CUISINE
FRIDAY, AUGUST 5 • 4:20
Michael Solomonov (Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking) explores a diverse cuisine drawn from numerous cultures. Chefs and farmers and prepare specialties that both preserve and update traditional recipes. These irresistible dishes will make you hungry. 97 min.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE PROGRAM & TCKET INFO
INDIGNATION
FRIDAY, AUGUST 5 • 6:20
Academy Award–nominated screenwriter and independent film stalwart James Schamus makes his feature directorial debut with this exquisite period portrait of a young man at a crossroads. 110 min.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE PROGRAM & TCKET INFO
THE ORIGIN OF VIOLENCE
FRIDAY, AUGUST 5 • 9:20
During a research trip to Buchenwald, a teacher working on his thesis about the French Resistance during World War II discovers a photograph of a concentration camp prisoner bearing an uncanny resemblance to his own father. 110 min.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE PROGRAM & TCKET INFO
SATURDAY, AUGUST 6
THE WRITER
SATURDAY, AUGUST 6 • 12:15
Critically acclaimed Israeli Arab writer Sayed Kashua (writer of the hit TV series Arab Labor, SFJFF 2008–13), sharpens his quill once more and delivers a masterfully nuanced dramatic series about Kateb, a 40-year-old Israeli Arab writer. 71 min.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE PROGRAM & TCKET INFO
BABA JOON
SATURDAY, AUGUST 6• 2:05
Israel’s submission to the 2015 Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film, this poignant story about three generations in a family of Persian immigrants to Israel takes place in the early 1980s. 91 min.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE PROGRAM & TCKET INFO
THE PEOPLE VS. FRITZ BAUER
SATURDAY, AUGUST 6 • 4:10
A closeted gay Jewish lawyer intent on bringing the infamous Nazi Adolf Eichmann to justice faces danger in a 1950s Germany whose government is intimately implicated in the country’s recent crimes in this riveting historical thriller. 105 min.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE PROGRAM & TCKET INFO
FALSE FLAG
SATURDAY, AUGUST 6 • 6:30
In False Flag five Israeli citizens wake up one morning to discover that they are suspects in the kidnapping of the Iranian minister of defense. The five become wanted and news coverage turns their world upside down. 83 min.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE PROGRAM & TCKET INFO
NATASHA
SATURDAY, AUGUST 6 • 8:30
Writer David Bezmozgis adapts his acclaimed short story of forbidden love between two teenagers in the Toronto suburbs, highlighted by the extraordinary performance of newcomer Sasha K. Gordon as the sexually precocious girl with a dark past. 93 min,
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE PROGRAM & TCKET INFO
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7
THE SETTLERS
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7 • 12:00
In a comprehensive retelling, award-winning Israeli filmmaker, Shimon Dotan traces with remarkable access the hotly contested history of Israeli settlements in the West Bank since Israel’s decisive victory in the 1967 Six Day War. 110 min.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE PROGRAM & TCKET INFO
NORMAN LEAR: JUST ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7 • 2:10
Norman Lear, the SFJFF 2016 Freedom of Expression Award recipient, is the documentary subject of this moving chronicle about the legendary television producer and activist, whose taboo-smashing series set the bar for a half-century of American TV comedy. 92 min.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE PROGRAM & TCKET INFO
WRESTLING JERUSALEM
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7 • 4:15
Aaron Davidman gracefully embodies 17 characters grappling with the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, moving deftly from male to female, Palestinian to Israeli, American to European. Masterfully shot scenes switch from backstage live performance and the desert, revealing deeply human stories. 93 min.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE PROGRAM & TCKET INFO
THE TENTH MAN
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7 • 6:25
Daniel Burman’s heartfelt romantic comedy centers on a man who returns to the place of his youth (the El Once Jewish district of Buenos Aires) and ultimately finds himself and a little love along the way. 80 min.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE PROGRAM & TCKET INFO
BLUSH
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7 • 8:20
Seventeen-year-old Naama is thoroughly bored with her overbearing family and uneventful suburban school days. That is until bleached-blonde bad girl Dana shows up. This coming-of-age tale tells of first love, drugs and pushing boundaries in modern Israel. 85 min.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE PROGRAM & TCKET INFO