Films & Events

Opening October 2014

A Partnership of the Sabes JCC and the St. Paul JCC

A partnership of the Sabes JCC and the St. Paul JCC, this festival promises to bring the broader community together as a showcase for feature films, documentaries and shorts from around the world on themes of Jewish culture and identity. This year’s event also includes community events paired with each film to create an enhanced experience, inspire dialog and provide meaningful moments of community engagement.

CLICK HERE for Press Release (March 7, 2014)
Intrested in seeing ALL of the films?
CLICK HERE to purchase a festival ALL-PASS ($54 for ALL Films)

SUKKAH CITY

Sunday, October 12, 2014 at 4:00 PM
Rimon Salon to Follow
LOCATION: Sabes JCC

Etgar Keret Selected from over 600 entries, teams of contemporary architects and designers were challenged to design and construct twelve sukkahs in a design competition and exhibition known as “Sukkah City.” SUKKAH CITY chronicles this architecture competition created by bestselling authors Joshua Foer and Roger Bennett that explored the creative potential of the ancient Jewish sukkah. The film explores the artistic process of architects, how an ancient building was reinvented for the 21st Century, and reveals how there is a good story behind all interesting architecture

FOLLOWED BY RIMON SALON
An exciting dialogue on how traditional, iconic Jewish symbols in Minnesota are refreshed with contemporary meaning.

Directed by Jason Hutt
USA
2013
English
67 minutes

General Audiences: Suggested ages 10 to Adult

$12 General Admission

DANCING IN JAFFA

Sunday, October 19, 2014 at 2:00 PM
Tango Dance Lesson and Reception to Follow
LOCATION: Sabes JCC

Etgar Keret Under the context of Israeli/Palestinian relations, the film demonstrates the powerful role that the arts, and dance in particular, can play in enabling children to overcome prejudice and build strong personal ties with one another. “Dancing In Jaffa offers an up-close-and-personal perspective of how the future might unfold if the art of movement and dance could triumph over the politics of history and geography.”- Rotten Tomatoes Review

Directed by Hilla Medalia
2014
Arabic, English, and Hebrew with English subtitles

General Audiences: Suggested ages 10 to Adult

$12 General Admission

Followed by the Alejandro Ziegler Tango Quartet in Concert at 5pm.
Click HERE tickets and more information!

The Sturgeon Queens

Thursday, October 23, 2014 at 7:30 PM
LOCATION: St. Paul JCC

Etgar Keret An incredibly charming documentary filmed to coincide with the famed NY fishmonger shop and deli, Russ & Daughter’s centennial in 2014. From immigrant, Polish patriarch Joel Russ to his 30-something great grandchildren who run the store today, the film traces four generations of Russ family history. Mark Russ Federman, who ran the store from the 1970s until 2008, adds insights from his years researching Russ family history. A light-hearted, historically rich testament to a family’s devotion to both Jewish food and a changing neighborhood.

FOLLOWED BY DELI NOSH RECEPTION WITH GUEST APPEARANCES BY BOTH AUTHOR AND DIRECTOR

Directed by Julie Cohen
USA
2014
English
52 minutes

General Audiences: Suggested ages 16 to Adult

$10 Advance;
$14 Same Day

Zero Motivation

Saturday, October 25, 2014 at 7:30 PM
LOCATION: St. Paul JCC

Etgar Keret This festival favorite is a zany, dark, and comedic portrait of everyday life for a unit of young, female Israeli soldiers. The Human Resources Office at a remote desert base serves as the setting for this cast of characters who bide their time pushing paper and battling in computer games, counting down the minutes until they can return to civilian life.

“The film is a biting, darkly comic look at the life of the women of the Israeli military – and it showed audiences that for these female secretaries and paper-pushers, boredom can be just as dangerous as battle.” – Variety

Nominated for 12 Ophir Awards (Israeli Academy Awards), the most of any entry, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, and two for Best Supporting Actress.

Directed by Talya Lavie
Israel
2014
Hebrew with English subtitles
100 minutes

Mature Audiences – Language, Nudity, Sexual References

$10 Advance;
$14 Same Day

ABOVE AND BEYOND

Sunday, October 26, 2014 at 7:30 PM
with special guest Nancy Spielberg and honoring local hero Leon Frankel
LOCATION: Riverview Theater

Etgar Keret In 1948,St. Paul native and highly decorated WWII naval aviator, Leon Frankel joined a group of WWII pilots, mostly from the U.S., to form Israel’s first air squadron – the 101 – and protect the newborn state against almost impossible odds in its War of Independence. As members of “Machal”– volunteers from abroad – this ragtag band of brothers turned the tide of the war, preventing the possible annihilation of Israel at the very moment of its birth. Frankel, who bravely flew 25 missions for Israel before returning to the United States, is prominently featured in this documentary.

Q&A; moderated by Steve Hunegs, Executive Director of Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas

Sponsored by the Fantle Family Fund of the St. Paul JCC Endowment
Funds and Kathrine E. Hill.

Presented by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas and the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival.

$12 General Admission
$118 Ticket & Private Reception with
Nancy Spielberg

Shorts Night:
FOOD FOR THOUGHT, KNISH,
A RUEBEN BY ANY OTHER NAME, 70 HESTER STREET

Wednesday, October 29, 2014 at 7:30 PM
LOCATION: Sabes JCC

Etgar Keret Come and enjoy as many shorts as we can squeeze into an hour… or so. Join us for Food for Thought, Knish, A Rueben by Any Other Name, 70 Hester Street and stay for some nosh! Some funny, some artsy, some philosophical, some historical, some local. All will be great!

Not to be missed!

Follwed by Nosh Reception and Mingle: Artists Display HANAN HARCHOL: JEWISH FOOD FOR THOUGHT featuring animated shorts and graphic novels by Hanan Harchol.

Directed by Numerous
Various countries
2013 and 2014
Various languages with English subtitles

General Audiences: Suggested ages 16 to Adult

$10 Advance;
$14 Same Day

GETT, THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM

Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 7:30 PM
LOCATION: Sabes JCC

Etgar Keret This courtroom drama articulates the frustration that the process of completing a gett perpetrates on those who attempt to acquire it. Nominated for 6 Ophir Awards (Israeli Academy Awards), this is the story of Viviane Amsalem’s five year fight to obtain her divorce in front of the only legal authority competent for divorce cases in Israel, the Rabbinical Court.

A well-written, intimate film with a small cast of outstanding actors, Gett will captivate you.

“…..a beautifully shot, stunningly acted, artistic work which sneaks in a daring commentary on Israeli society and Orthodox deviations when it comes to women’s rights.” – Huffington Post

Nominated for 6 Ophir Awards including Best Feature Film, Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor.

Directed by Ronit Elkabetz, Shlomo Elkabetz
France, Germany, Israel
2014
Hebrew/French with English subtitles
115 minutes

Mature Audiences – Content

$10 Advance;
$14 Same Day

MY GERMAN FRIEND

Saturday, November 1, 2014 at 7:30 PM
LOCATION: Sabes JCC

Etgar Keret A German-Jewish girl and the son of an exiled Nazi form an enduring bond in Argentina. Through 30 years of personal and political postwar history, the film delivers an intimate examination of a guilt-ridden generation seeking to escape the legacy of their forbearers. Director Jeanine Meerapfel tells a story of a deep love in a time of political upheaval and historical change.

“It’s not often that you can say a film genuinely has it all, and manages to be heartbreaking, heartwarming and intelligent in equal measure…” – Krystina Nellis, Duende: Adventures in Latin American Film, Music and Popular Culture

WALTER'S PICK! Long time Curator, Walter Elias, selected this film as his favorite pick of the festival!

Directed by Jeanine Meerapfel
Argentina, Germany
2012
German and Spanish with English subtitles
100 minutes

Mature Audiences – Nudity

$10 Advance;
$14 Same Day

A SHORT HISTORY OF DECAY

Sunday, November 2, 2014 at 11:00 AM
LOCATION: Sabes JCC

Etgar Keret A comedy from an original script by Michael Maren, about a failed Brooklyn writer, Nathan Fisher, played by Bryan Greenberg, who visits his ailing parents in Florida. His mother has Alzheimer’s and his father has recently had a stroke. This is a comedy about love, life, familial relationships and finding the courage to take the next step.

“The little that happens is more than enough in this beautiful tale” – David Edelstein, Vulture

Followed by Bagels and Post-Show Discussion with Director/Writer Michael Maren.

In memory of Robert Badiner; sponsored by the Robert Badiner Memorial Fund.

Directed by Michael Maren
USA
2014
English
94 minutes

Mature Audiences – Language, Sexual References

$10 Advance;
$14 Same Day

A PLACE IN HEAVEN

Sunday, November 2, 2014 at 1:30 PM
LOCATION: Sabes JCC

Etgar Keret Although it may seem strange, Halacha (Jewish religious law) recognizes the trade or transfer of a person’s place in heaven. What happens when this idea leaves the ancient books and becomes part of real life? A promising young officer in the early days of Israel returns from the field so hungry that he trades his place in heaven for a spicy omelet and spends the ensuing decades living with the decision.

“The best Israeli film of the year…a Masterpiece.” – Cinemascope

“Madmony’s ambitious screenplay masterfully merges the epic and the anecdotal.” – Variety

Directed by Yossi Madmony
Israel
2013
Hebrew with English subtitles
118 minutes

Mature Audiences – Content

$10 Advance;
$14 Same Day

24 DAYS

Sunday, November 2, 2014 at 4:00 PM
LOCATION: Sabes JCC

Etgar Keret 24 DAYS at once illustrates the true events of Ilan Halimi’s kidnapping as well as the dramatic familial, institutional and national struggles that unfolded as a result.

“Sticking dangerously close to the real-life incident that inspired it, 24 DAYS offers up a white-knuckle dramatization of the nearly month-long kidnapping and torture of 23-year-old Ilan Halimi, whose traumatic ordeal… prompted a massive police manhunt and, eventually, a national outcry against anti-Semitism in France.” – The Hollywood Reporter

“…what makes 24 DAYS especially powerful today is not so much its focus on the dangerous wave of anti-Semitism sweeping through a country that is home to Europe’s largest Jewish community… it is its ability to show how humans can descend into barbarity when driven by hate and prejudice.” – Haaretz

Directed by Alexandre Arcady
France
2014
French with English Subtitles
110 minutes

Mature Audiences – Disturbing Content

$10 Advance;
$14 Same Day

Zero Motivation

Sunday, November 2, 2014 at 7:30 PM
LOCATION: Sabes JCC

Nominated for 12 Ophir Awards (Israeli Academy Awards), the most of any entry, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, and two for Best Supporting Actress.

Directed by Talya Lavie
Israel
2014
Hebrew with English subtitles
100 minutes

Mature Audiences – Language, Nudity, Sexual References

$10 Advance;
$14 Same Day