It’s the Bar Mitzvah celebration for this year’s New Hampshire Jewish Film Festival – which will screen independent and foreign films from eight countries from May 19 through June 10. The international lineup includes selections from the United States, Israel, Ethiopia, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland and Switzerland. Eleven feature films will be making their New Hampshire premieres!
The NHJFF is following an all-virtual format for the second time due to the pandemic. Festival attendees will have a 72-hour window to watch each film.
The New Hampshire Jewish Film Festival strives to enhance an appreciation of extraordinary individuals, culture, identity, history and contemporary issues in Jewish and Israeli life. Using the power of film and programming to educate and entertain, the NHJFF encourages dialogue on diverse perspectives, broadening understanding and strengthening community.
“Cinema is meant to be a communal experience, and we look forward to the time when the festival can be hosted in person again,” says Pat Kalik, of Manchester, co-chair of the NHJFF. “In that spirit, five of the feature films will be followed by intimate Zoom Q&A sessions with the filmmakers. Our festival will wrap up with a wide-open ‘Water Cooler Discussion’ of all the films. Think of it as a community book group, but with movies.”
“Our goal is to bring thought-provoking and enlightening documentaries, fiction films and shorts that you can’t find anywhere else,” adds NHJFF co-chair Ross Fishbein, of Bedford. “We’re delighted to bring some of the world’s best indie films straight to your living room.”
Special Filmmaker Q&A Events include:
■Double Income, Kids (Sunday, May 23 at 3 p.m.) with director Hendrik Schäfer
■Golda (Sunday, May 30 at 3 p.m.) with director Udi Nir
■Queen of Hearts: Audrey Flack (Tuesday, June 1 at 7 p.m.) with director Deborah Shaffer and artist Audrey Flack
■A Lullaby for the Valley (Sunday, June 6 at 3 p.m.) with director Ben Shani
■The Passengers (Tuesday, June 8 at 7 p.m.) with director Ryan Porush
The festival also includes a free Short Film Program, viewable anytime between May 19 and June 10, that explores whimsical food themes such as the secrets of cooking artisan pastrami, the origins of chocolate soda “egg creams,” and the reason why cheeseburgers are forbidden by Jewish dietary laws.
The 13th annual New Hampshire Jewish Film Festival is supported by the Jewish Federation of New Hampshire, the New Hampshire State Council of the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, corporate sponsors and Friends of the Festival.
Individual film tickets are $12 per household or $43 per household for a four-pack film pass. All-access festival passes for all 11 films are available for $110 per household. For the full film lineup and movie trailers, scroll down below or visit nhjewishfilmfestival.com/2021-schedule.
May 19: Opening Night “When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit,” drama, 2020; Germany, Switzerland; German with subtitles: A German-Jewish girl takes her first steps into adulthood, as world events intrude on her happy, carefree existence. Nine-year-old Anna is too busy with schoolwork and friends to notice Hitler’s face glaring from posters plastered all over 1933 Berlin. But when her father suddenly vanishes, and the family is secretly hurried out of Germany, Anna begins to understand life will never be the same. Oscar-winning filmmaker Caroline Link directs this adaptation of Judith Kerr’s semi-autobiographical bestselling children’s novel.
May 21 “Double Income, Kids,” documentary, 2019; Germany, Israel, USA; Hebrew, English, Spanish with subtitles: The film closely follows an Israeli gay couple on their path to parenthood over the course of one year. Both men want to become the fathers of twins with the help of an American surrogate mother. A close look at Israeli society and the mainstream gay baby boom.
May 23 “The Crossing,” drama, family, 2020; Norway; Norwegian with subtitles: The Crossing tells the story of the adventurous 10-year-old Gerda and her brother Otto, whose parents are in the Norwegian resistance movement during the Second World War. Just before Christmas in 1942, Gerda and Otto’s parents are arrested, leaving the siblings on their own. Following the arrest, they discover two Jewish children, Sarah and Daniel, hidden in a secret cupboard in their basement. It is now up to Gerda and Otto to finish what their parents started: to help Sarah and Daniel flee from the Nazis across the border to neutral Sweden and reunite them with their parents.
May 25 “God of the Piano,” drama, 2019; Israel; Hebrew with subtitles: Anat (Naama Preis, winner of the Jerusalem Film Festival award for Best Actress) has never been able to reach her father’s exacting musical standards, and now her family’s hope of producing a musical prodigy rests on her unborn son. When the baby is born deaf, she cannot accept it and resorts to extreme measures to ensure that her child will be the composer that her father always wanted. But when the boy grows up indifferent to his destiny as a great pianist, Anat will have to stand up to her father and her own actions.
May 27 “Golda,” documentary, 2019; Israel, Germany; Hebrew with subtitles, English: Shortly before her passing, Golda Meir was interviewed for Israeli television. After shooting ended, the cameras kept rolling, recording an intimate talk with the first and only woman to ever rule Israel. As she lit one cigarette after the other, Golda spoke freely, pleading her case for her term as Prime Minister — five turbulent years that secured her place in history, albeit at a high personal cost.
May 28 “Here We Are,” drama, 2020; Israel; Hebrew with subtitles: Aharon has devoted his life to raising his son Uri. They live together in a gentle routine, away from the real world. But Uri is autistic, and now as a young adult it might be time for him to live in a specialized home. While on their way to the institution, Aharon decides to run away with his son and hits the road, knowing that Uri is not ready for this separation. Or is it, in fact, his father who is not ready?
May 30 “Queen of Hearts: Audrey Flack,” documentary, biography, 2019; USA; English: At 88 years old, Audrey Flack holds a unique place in the history of contemporary art in America. Feminist, rebel, mother, painter, sculptor, and teacher, Audrey’s often controversial 40-year career evolved from abstract expressionism in the 1950s to photorealism in the 1970s. Queen of Hearts follows Flack as she takes her work in a new direction and reveals her long-term struggles as the mother of a child with autism.
June 2 “Thou Shalt Not Hate,” drama, 2020; Italy, Poland; Italian with subtitles: A leisurely paddle on the Timavo River becomes a life-changing moment for Simone Segre, a successful surgeon and son of a Holocaust survivor in Italy. Hearing a car crash, he makes his way to the scene, only to discover that the gravely injured driver he is helping has a swastika tattoo on his chest. In the moment he has to decide, Simone chooses to walk away. Thou Shalt Not Hate chronicles the consequence of that decision for a man who has made saving lives his life’s work.
June 3 “A Lullaby for the Valley,” documentary, 2020; Israel; Hebrew with subtitles: Artist Eli Shamir paints the view from his studio balcony — fields stretching to the horizon, ancient oak trees, and a generation of farmers that is disappearing from the vistas of the Jezreel Valley. His large oils are treasured by collectors worldwide. It was director Ben Shani’s encounter with one of Shamir’s works that spawned the idea of documenting the artist at work. Neither of them had any idea that everything would change as the filming progressed over 10 years, as an unforeseen danger threatened to rob Shamir of his talent.
June 6 “The Passengers,” documentary, 2019; USA, Ethiopia; English, Hebrew, Amharic: The story of two men caught between two lands — the land of their birth and the land of their faith. They are Ethiopian Jews, members of a community of 9,000 who speak Hebrew, keep kosher, and have Israeli relatives, yet Israel continues to deny their appeals to immigrate to the Jewish homeland. These two young men, Demoz and Gezi, embark on a daring journey in their desperate search for a path to their true home — the one they have never seen.
June 9 “A Starry Sky Above the Roman Ghetto,” drama, 2020; Italy; Italian with subtitles: Past and present meet upon the discovery of an old, mysterious photograph that will end up tying together Christian and Jewish students in search of the truth. Trying to unravel the mystery behind the portrait, the boys embark on a journey through a night of horror that cannot be forgotten: the Nazi raid of the Roman Ghetto. Retracing these painful events will give them the chance to take a collective stance toward personal, existential, and cultural commitment.
June 10: Closing Event “A Water Cooler Discussion at the Red River Theatre Virtual Lobby,” Join us at 7 p.m. in the Red River Theatre Virtual Lobby via Zoom for an open discussion of all the films in this year’s NH Jewish Film Festival. Free goody bag with homemade baked goods will be available for pick up in your neighborhood. All ticket holders may register for this free closing event. A great opportunity to discuss the movies with the community!