The mission of the Columbia Jewish Film Festival is to offer outstanding world cinema that promotes awareness, appreciation and pride in the diversity of the Jewish experience. Reaching out to the entire greater Columbia area, the Festival’s aim is to educate, illuminate and entertain through film; including history, language, people, the State of Israel and the history of the Jewish people from pre-biblical to modern times.
March 9 – 11, 2021
‘Til Kingdom Come
76 Minutes
Emmy-winning Israeli filmmaker Maya Zinshtein examines the dubious alliance between Trump-supporting evangelicals and Israel’s right-wing factions. Fervent in their messianic beliefs, American evangelicals give huge sums to the Holy Land while exerting outsized influence on Mideast policy. Faith, money and power prove a toxic brew that flows from an impoverished Kentucky church’s pulpit, through the halls of Washington, to outcomes in Israel. The focal point is the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, a charitable group seeking to actualize apocalyptic prophecy. This sharply organized exposé raises troubling questions about the linkage of ideological quests and political power.
Register HERE for ‘Til Kingdom Come!
March 23 – 25, 2021
Breaking Bread
85 Minutes
In this foodie’s delight, innovative Arab and Jewish chefs work in tandem to foster social change via mouthwatering dishes and a shared love of cooking. The action centers on the city of Haifa, a model of multicultural coexistence, and the annual A-Sham Arabic Food Festival, founded by microbiologist Nof Atamna-Ismaeel, the first Israeli-Arab to win on Israel’s reality show MasterChef. Each chef puts a personal spin on traditional recipes handed down over generations, transforming flavors while political and religious differences are set aside. A treat for the senses, this delectable showcase of culinary heritage gives hope to the idea that collaboration in the kitchen could be a bridge to mutual understanding and lasting peace.
Register HERE for Breaking Bread!
April 6 – 8, 2021
Asia
85 Minutes
In this poignant drama claiming top prize at the Israeli Academy Awards, Shira Haas is exceptional as a rebellious teen dealing with a progressive illness and fraught relationship with her free-spirited mother. A single parent at an early age, Asia (Alena Yiv) emigrated from Russia with daughter Vika, and works long hours as a nurse in Jerusalem. Both are stubborn, opinionated and brusque. As Vika enters adulthood, she tests boundaries and inevitably rebels against her mother’s lax parenting. But as her daughter’s health worsens, Asia must become the mother Vika desperately needs. A bravely unsentimental rumination on motherhood, desire and mortality, the assured feature debut of writer-director Ruthy Pribar is Israel’s Best International Feature Film Oscar submission.
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April 20-22, 2021
A Mirror for the Sun
60 Minutes
Tamar Ariel grew up in a religious home in a moshav in southern Israel. Encouraged to follow her dreams, she did two years of voluntary National Service and then joined the IDF Air Force, where she served as the first-ever Jewish Orthodox combat navigator. In 2014, wishing for new experiences after her military service, she traveled to Nepal. She reached the peak of the Annapurna mountain range with a group of Israeli and international hikers, only to encounter an unexpected snow storm. Tamar and her companions found themselves in a life and death struggle against the elements.
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May 4 -6, 2021
Leona
95 Minutes
Coming into her own, a young woman from Mexico City finds herself torn between her Syrian-Jewish family and a forbidden love, in this delicate, melancholic romance. Best Actress winner at the Morelia International Film Festival, Naian González Norvind gives an intimate, honest portrayal of Ariela, an independently-minded artist living with her family in a cloistered Jewish neighborhood. Pressured to find an appropriate suitor, serendipity leads to a passionate courtship with Ivan (Christian Vazquez), a non-Jewish writer who shows her a world of possibilities beyond her sheltered life. As their feelings deepen, Ariela must weigh their unsanctioned relationship against rejection by her family and community, where religious values and traditions run deep.
Watch this space for a registration link!
May 18 – 20, 2021
Here We Are
92 Minutes
Israeli film director Nir Bergman returns with this tender drama about a protective father’s road trip with his autistic son and the anguish of separation. Uri (Noam Imber) is too old to continue living with his father Aharon (Shai Avivi), a stubborn divorcé and Uri’sloving caregiver. Their cocooned, codependent situation is upended when Uri’s mother insists he enter a specialized facility to attain independence. Deeply reluctant to let go, Aharon escapes with Uri on an adventure-filled, often humorous trek. But with time catching up, both men must learn how to say goodbye. Suffused with emotion and graced by deeply felt performances, this life-affirming two-hander was nominated for nine Israeli Academy Awards, with wins for Best Director, Screenplay, Actor and Supporting Actor.
