Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival Returns for 28th Edition with Global Stars
The 28th Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival at the Jerusalem Cinematheque presents over 40 films, featuring guests like Volker Schlöndorff and Michael Rapaport.
The Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival is returning for its 28th edition, running from December 5 to 10 at the Jerusalem Cinematheque. The upcoming event features more than 40 films from 15 countries, alongside creator meet-and-greets, lectures, and special cultural gatherings.
Star-Studded Lineup and Opening Night
Among the prominent names headlining this year's program are American actor Michael Rapaport, Oscar-winning German director Volker Schlöndorff, Israeli actor Itay Tiran, and documentary filmmaker Tomer Heymann. The festival opens on Saturday evening, December 5, with Schlöndorff's film "Visitation". The director will attend the festival as guest of honor and receive a lifetime achievement award. The movie, which premiered at the recent Cannes Film Festival, traces the history of a nation through generations of residents living in a single house near Berlin against the backdrop of shifting German history.
Closing Night and Personal Documentaries
The closing event on December 10 features actor Michael Rapaport presenting his documentary "Am I Canceled Yet?". The film chronicles the actor's renewed connection to his Jewish identity alongside the personal and professional tolls he faced following his vocal public support for Israel since October 7. A discussion with Rapaport and director Ruth Bar-Anan Kanta will follow the screening. Another intriguing entry is Tomer Heymann's new documentary "I Want to Tell My Story", which follows Shimon Rothschild, a 100-year-old Holocaust survivor who stages his life story with actors portraying his family members and historical figures. The film revisits his survival in Auschwitz, medical experiments in Sachsenhausen, and a death march, with a post-screening conversation featuring Heymann and Rothschild.
Diverse Cultural Selections and Unique Events
The diverse cinematic schedule also includes "The Wild West of the East", directed by Polish filmmaker Jan Holoubek and starring Itay Tiran, set in occupied Poland in 1943. Audiences can additionally explore a documentary on folk singer Woody Guthrie and his ties to Jewish culture in New York, as well as a feature on the discovery of an archive containing 180,000 pages of Yiddish texts inside an abandoned church in Vilnius, including hundreds of pre-Holocaust autobiographies written by Jewish youths.
Additional special programs highlight Theodor Herzl, "Pippi Longstocking" author Astrid Lindgren, a tribute to animation icon Betty Boop, and a screening of "The Matrix" accompanied by a lecture exploring the film's connections to Kabbalah, alongside a digitally restored print of the Israeli classic "Tuvia and His Seven Daughters". Running alongside the screenings, the cinematheque will host the exhibition "Station in Time", combining clips from the Israel Film Archive and contemporary artworks centered on public transportation in Israel.
