Washington Jewish Film Festival

Last updated
Washington Jewish Film Festival
Location Washington, D.C.
Founded1989
Hosted by Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center
Website www.wjff.org

The Washington Jewish Film Festival (WJFF), in Washington, D.C., is one of the world's oldest and largest Jewish film festivals. Focusing on Jewish and Israeli issues, the festival has shown hundreds of films ranging both in genre and theme and held in the Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater in the Washington DC Jewish Community Center and other cinemas in Washington and suburban Maryland and Virginia. The festival was founded by Aviva Kempner in 1989 and has successfully run for over twenty years and is presented by the Washington DCJCC's Morris Cafritz Center for the Arts.

Contents

Mission

Promote the preservation of Jewish culture and a diversity of narratives. The Festival provides a forum for films with Jewish themes that most often do not otherwise find a place for public exhibition in the Washington, D.C. area. Many of the films we screen only have a life on the Festival circuit and in specialty DVD-release meaning that attendees have the opportunity to experience rarely seen films.

Encourage Innovation and vitality within Jewish culture. The festival highlights films that place Jewish themes in new contexts or challenge long-held assumptions. The WJFF is at the forefront of presenting films that provide a constructive critique of Jewish identity and reconsider major cultural guideposts such as Zionism, the Holocaust and assimilation as well as the place of women, homosexuals and other people of diverse backgrounds and lifestyles in Jewish life and tradition.

Expose the widest possible audience to a low-cost, low barrier entry to the Jewish culture. Because the Jewish Diaspora has interacted with numerous host cultures over the course of its long history, the Festival seeks out films that examine some aspect of the Jewish experience, which often act as a prism through which to view multiple cultures. The festival is also dedicated to presenting films which will engage a wide audience at the lowest possible cost.

Provide a forum for audiences to interact with filmmakers and for filmmakers to receive feedback. Filmmakers attending the Festival engage in open and energetic dialogue with the Festival's audience. Through the works-in-progress program for uncompleted projects, the Festival provides new and veteran filmmakers opportunities to screen works-in-progress portions of their films for an audience at a critical point in their creative process. [1]

Staff, Council, and Committee

As of 2018 the WJFF is led by individuals following below:

WJFF Staff
  • Director: Ilya Tovbis
  • Associate Director of Operations: Kaitlin Whitman
  • Outreach and Communications Manager: Alexis Rodriguez
  • Administrative Coordinator: Carolyn Hoehner
WJFF Film Council
  • Co-Chairs: Dina Gold and Sid Moskowitz
  • Patty Abramson
  • Michele Berman
  • Anne Clemons
  • Ed Cohen
  • Sara Cohen
  • Myrna L. Fawcett
  • Stephanie Flack
  • Morgan Greenhouse Genderson
  • Margie Hoffman
  • Joy Midman
  • Eric Siegel
  • Sue-Ann Siegel
  • Barbara Silverstein
  • Richard Solloway
  • Diana Wattenberg
  • WJFF Advisor and Founder: Aviva Kempner

WJFF Year-Round is the year-round exhibition arm of the Washington Jewish Film Festival, presenting entertaining and thought-provoking features, documentaries, and shorts from around the world on a (approximately) weekly basis at the Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater at the Edlavitch DCJCC. Most screenings are accompanied by speakers, including filmmakers and scholars. [1]

Films

Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel , a 2018 documentary film about the underdog Israel national baseball team competing for the first time in the World Baseball Classic, won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2018 Washington Jewish Film Festival. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Related Research Articles

The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and June 2020. In addition to the annual festival, Hot Docs owns and operates the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, administers multiple production funds, and runs year-round screening programs including Doc Soup and Hot Docs Showcase.

<i>The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg</i> 1998 American film

The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg is a 1998 documentary film written, directed, and produced by Aviva Kempner about Hank Greenberg, first baseman of the Detroit Tigers, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. A Jewish player who chose not to play on Yom Kippur in 1934 during a heated pennant race, Greenberg had to face a great deal of antisemitism. In 1938 he nearly broke Babe Ruth's 60 home run record by hitting 58 home runs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theater J</span> Professional theater company in Washington, DC, United States

Theater J is a professional theater company located in Washington, DC, founded to present works that "celebrate the distinctive urban voice and social vision that are part of the Jewish cultural legacy".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reel Affirmations</span> LGBTQ film festival held in Washington D.C.

Reel Affirmations (RA) is a non-profit, all-volunteer LGBT film festival in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1991 and held every year in mid-October, as of 2011 Reel Affirmations was one of the largest LGBT film festivals in the United States. Baltimore's Gay Life newspaper called it "one of the top three films festivals for the entire LGBT community." A 2007 guidebook claims it was one of the largest LGBT film festivals in the world. A listing of LGBT film festivals claims it is the largest all-volunteer film festival in the world.

The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital is the largest environmental film festival in the world. The festival is held annually March in Washington, D.C., presenting more than 100 films to an audience of over 30,000. Often combined with thematic discussions and social events, the films screen at museums, embassies, libraries, universities and local theaters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Wolman</span> Israeli filmmaker and lecturer in film studies

Dan Wolman is an Israeli filmmaker and lecturer in film studies.

<i>The Forgotten Refugees</i> 2005 film

The Forgotten Refugees is a 2005 documentary film directed by Michael Grynszpan and produced by The David Project and IsraTV with Ralph Avi Goldwasser as executive producer, that recounts the history of Jewish communities of the Middle East and North Africa and their demise in the face of persecutions following the creation of the modern State of Israel in 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aviva Kempner</span> American filmmaker (born 1946)

Aviva Kempner is a German-born American filmmaker. Her documentaries investigate non-stereotypical images of Jews in history and focus on the untold stories of Jewish people. She is most well known for The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Bar Giora</span> Israeli composer and pianist

Jonathan Bar Giora is an Israeli composer and pianist. Since 2000, Bar Giora has composed scores and soundtracks for Israeli films such as Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi, Time of Favor, A Quiet Heart and Aviva, My Love. He also worked as a composer with Israeli actors such as Yossi Banai, Rita and Rickie Gal. Bar Giora is the head of the BA program at the school of audio and visual arts at the Sapir Academic College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edlavitch Jewish Community Center of Washington, D.C.</span>

The Edlavitch Jewish Community Center of Washington, D.C. is a Jewish Community Center located in the historic district of Dupont Circle. It serves the Washington, D.C. area through religious, cultural, educational, social, and sport center programs open to the public, although many programs are strongly linked to Jewish culture, both in the United States and in Israel. It is part of the JCC Association (JCCA), the umbrella organization for the Jewish Community Center movement, which includes more than 350 JCCs, YM-YWHAs, and camp sites in the U.S. and Canada, in addition to 180 local JCCs in the Former Soviet Union, 70 in Latin America, 50 in Europe, and close to 500 smaller centers in Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ironbound Films</span>

Ironbound Films is an American independent documentary film production company. Their films focus on stories of how people succeed and fail to connect. Their 2008 film The Linguists and 2010 film The New Recruits, were about characters whose missteps undermined their stated intentions but also exposed their humanity. Another feature documentary, Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie, is about controversial 1980s talk-show icon Morton Downey Jr. and premiered at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival. Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel is a 2018 documentary film that The Jerusalem Post described as "the David-and-Goliath story of Israel’s national baseball team as it competed for the first time in the World Baseball Classic." The 87-minute film won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2018 Gold Coast International Film Festival, the Audience Award for Documentary at the 2018 Washington Jewish Film Festival, the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2018 Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival, the Best Documentary Film Award at the 2018 Boca Raton Jewish Film Festival, and the Best Documentary Award at the 2018 Jewish Arts and Film Festival of Fairfield County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UK Jewish Film Festival</span>

The UK Jewish Film Festival is an annual film festival dedicated to world cinema that explores Jewish life, history and culture worldwide. It was founded in 1997 and takes place in November, in London and in other cities in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Jewish Film Festival</span>

The Boston Jewish Film Festival (BJFF) is an annual film festival that screens the best contemporary films on Jewish themes from around the world. The festival presents features, shorts, documentaries, and conversations with visiting artists in order to explore the Jewish identity, the current Jewish experience and the richness of Jewish culture in relation to a diverse modern world.

The Gold Coast International Film Festival launched in 2011, on the north shore of North Hempstead, New York. The festival, now held every November, completed its 7th year in 2017. The festival is produced by the Gold Coast Arts Center, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) multi-arts center based in Great Neck, NY. Founding sponsors of the festival include the Town of North Hempstead and Douglas Elliman Real Estate. The festival was founded with the mission of establishing a home on Long Island to showcase the work of exceptional filmmakers and provide the public with an insider's view of the film industry. Festival events include screenings, workshops, conversations with prominent members of the film community, parties.

Roberta Grossman is an American filmmaker. Her documentaries range from social justice inquiries to historical subjects with a focus on Jewish history.

<i>Rosenwald</i> (film) 2015 American film

Rosenwald: A Remarkable Story of a Jewish Partnership with African American Communities is a 2015 documentary film written and directed by Aviva Kempner about the career of American businessman and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald. It debuted on February 25, 2015 at the Washington Jewish Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yonatan Nir</span> Israeli documentary film director and producer

Yonatan Nir is an Israeli documentary film director and producer and a former photojournalist.

<i>Operation Wedding</i>

Operation Wedding is a documentary film about the Dymshits–Kuznetsov hijacking affair, an escape attempt from the Soviet Union by a group of young Soviet, mostly Jewish, who were denied exit visas. The documentary is told from a personal point of view of the filmmaker, Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov, daughter of group members: Eduard Kuznetsov and Sylva Zalmanson.

<i>Heading Home</i> 2018 film

Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel is a 2018 documentary film about the underdog Israel national baseball team competing for the first time in the World Baseball Classic. The 87-minute film was directed by Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller, and Jeremy Newberger, the three of whom produced it along with Jonathan Mayo, and starred baseball player Ike Davis and other baseball players.

The Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival is an annual film festival in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States that presents movies and film-related programs about the Jewish experience, culture, values, and legacy.

References

  1. 1 2 "About Us".
  2. Karen Rubin (November 15, 2018). "Gold Coast International Film Festival Announces 2018 Winners". goingplacesfarandnear.com.
  3. "Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel". IMDB.
  4. "Documentary on Israeli National Team's World Baseball Classic Run Heads to Israel". Haaretz . April 15, 2018.
  5. "Heading Home". #REDIRECT Menemsha Films.