Founded in 2000 by Caren and Herbert Ford and now in its 23rd year, the New Jersey Jewish Film Festival (NJJFF) has become one of the premier Jewish cultural events in the state. We screen award-winning premieres and first-run Israeli, American, and international films of Jewish interest, followed by thought-provoking post-screening discussions. In addition to our springtime festival, the J offers J-Films programming throughout the year.

Festival Schedule:

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Opening Film

7–10 PM: Seven Blessings

$18 tickets
Ayelet Menahemi
2023, 111 minutes

Hebrew, French, and Arabic with English Subtitles Marie reunites with her Moroccan-Jewish family for her wedding, forcing them to confront their past over the course of seven elaborate celebratory meals. This tragicomedy swept the 2023 Ophir Awards (Israel’s Oscars), winning Best Picture and nine others, and was Israel’s entry for the Best International Feature Oscar.

POST-SCREENING ZOOM Q&A with the co-writer and actress, Eleanor Sela, and producer, Ronen Ben Tal

Saturday, March 30, 2024

8:30–10:15PM: All About The Levkoviches

Ádám Breier
2024
85 minutes
Hungarian and Hebrew with English subtitles

In this wry comedy, Tamás, an elderly boxing coach, gets along well with everyone — except his own son, Iván. When Tamás’s wife dies unexpectedly, they are reunited for the shiva and must face their past conflicts for the good of Iván’s young son.

Sunday, March 31, 2024

NOON–3PM: Stay with Us

$18 tickets
Gad Elmaleh
2022, 90 minutes

French with English subtitles

Superstar Jewish-French comedian Gad Elmaleh returns to Paris with plans to be baptized a Catholic and struggles to tell his family (portraying themselves) about his new beliefs. A hilarious spiritual crisis ensues in this clever blend of fiction and autobiography.

Tuesday April 2, 2024

7–9:45PM: Irena’s Vow

Louise Archambault
2023
120 minutes
English with English subtitles

19-year-old Irena Gut is a Polish nursing student conscripted to work as a Nazi officer’s housekeeper. She decides to shelter 12 Jewish people in the safest place she knows: the cellar of the Nazi officer’s villa. This thrilling drama tells a true story of heroism in the face of certain death.

POST-SCREENING ZOOM Q&A with Jeannie Smith, daughter of Irena Gut Opdyke

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

1–3:30PM: Love Gets a Room

$10 matinee
Rodrigo Cortes
2021, 103 minutes
English with English subtitles

Inspired by true events, Love Gets a Room is the story of a Jewish stage actress who must make the gut-wrenching decision to follow her heart or escape the Warsaw Ghetto in the midst of a performance by her beleaguered theater company.

POST-SCREENING ZOOM Q&A with writer-director-editor, Rodrigo Cortes

Thursday, March 4, 2024

7– 9PM: Arugam Bay

Marco Carmel
2023
97 minutes
Hebrew, English, and Sinhala with English subtitles

After completing their military service, three Israeli surfers set out on a soul-searching visit to Sri Lanka while grieving their friend’s death in combat. This drama captures a uniquely Israeli coming-of-age journey that resonates deeply today.

Friday, April 5, 2024

NOON:

The Father, the Son, and the Rav Kalmenson
Letter to a Pig
The Soldier on Smithdown Road
Finding Fate
Heritage Day
Happy BirthGay

Total running time: 108 minutes
All short films have English subtitles

Saturday, April 6, 2024

8:45– 10:30PM: Matchmaking

Erez Tadmor
2022
96 minutes
Hebrew with English subtitles

In this hit Israeli romantic comedy, a high-achieving Ashkenazi yeshiva student is on the path toward a perfect arranged marriage. He leaps off this path when he falls in love with a Mizrahi girl and takes his match into his own hands with a radical solution.

Sunday, April 7, 2024

NOON – 2PM: It’s a Wrap

Amit Miller & Miri Urman
2022
56 minutes
Hebrew with English subtitles

Grandma Haya, sick of cancer treatment, takes control and plans her own goodbye party. Her daughter, Miri (the film’s co-director), struggles with her own feelings while supporting her mother. This uplifting documentary depicts challenging end-oflife decisions with warmth, empathy, and humor.

POST-SCREENING ZOOM Q&A with the filmmakers, Amit Miller and Miri Urman

IN-PERSON Q&A with Shari Haber of My Great Goodbye

3– 6PM: Kidnapped

Marco Bellocchio
2023
134 minutes
Italian with English subtitles

In this true story, set in 1858, papal soldiers forcibly take a seven-year-old Jewish boy from his family in Bologna, Italy, based on a claim that he was secretly baptized. His parents’ struggle to free their son becomes part of a larger political battle pitting the papacy against forces of democracy and Italian unification.

IN-PERSON Q&A with Andrea Grover, translator, author, and NYU professor of Jewish-Italian History and Italian Culture.

Monday, April 8, 2024

7– 9:30PM: The Goldman Case

Cédric Kahn
2023
115 minutes
French with English subtitles

The 1975 “trial of the century” of far-left activist Pierre Goldman electrified the French public while unearthing persistent trends of antisemitism, racism, and injustice. This courtroom thriller brings the case to life in exacting detail and with vivid performances.

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

10–11:45AM: Stay with Us Encore!

Gad Elmaleh
2022
90 minutes
French with English subtitles

An encore screening of Stay with Us for parents and caregivers with babies. Noise and distractions are expected. No charge for children and no worries!

7– 9:30PM: The Monkey House

Avi Nesher
2023
120 minutes
Hebrew with English subtitles

In this bittersweet comedy by celebrated Israeli filmmaker Avi Nesher, a has-been novelist mounts an elaborate ruse to resurrect his literary reputation. Plot twists ensue.

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

1– 3PM: The Three of Us

Henya Brodbeker
2023
78 minutes
Hebrew with English subtitles

Filmmaker Henya Brodbeker documents her and her husband’s struggle to provide an education and social connections for Ari, their autistic son. Their journey brings them out of their Haredi Orthodox community and into contact with secular Israel, where they discover new challenges — and, possibly, solutions — for their family.

PRE-RECORDED Q&A with director, Henya Brodbeker will follow the film

Thursday, April 11, 2024

7– 9:30PM: Delegation

$10 tickets
Asaf Saban
2023, 105 minutes
Hebrew and Polish with English subtitles

Preceded by the short film, Yiddish Mean Girls 2023, Dylan Seders Hoffman, 3 minutes Three childhood friends take part in a common Israeli rite of passage: a high-school trip to Holocaust memorial sites in Poland. Between death camps and foreign cities, they go through their own personal journeys, face their fears, and imagine their futures.

POST-SCREENING ZOOM Q&A with the writer-director, Asaf Saban, and lead actor, Naomi Harari

Saturday, April 13, 2024

8:45–10:45PM: The Road to Eilat

Yona Rozenkier
2023
105 minutes
Hebrew with English subtitles

A drunken bet takes an estranged father and son on a road trip through Israel on the back of a beat-up tractor. Can they make it to Eilat in one week without destroying the tractor or killing each other?

Sunday, April 14, 2024

Closing Film

3–6 PM: Remembering Gene Wilder

$18 tickets
Ron Frank, 2023
92 minutes
English, subtitles not available

This loving tribute to Gene Wilder features interviews with his collaborators — including Mel Brooks, Alan Alda, and Carol Kane — and family members, shining a light on an essential performer, writer, director, and all-around mensch.

POST-SCREENING ZOOM Q&A with the director, Ron Frank, and screenwriter, Glenn Kirschbaum

CLOSING RECEPTION following the Q&A

Fest Date: March 28 - April 14, 2024

Location: JCC MetroWest - Maurice Levin Theater, 760 Northfield Avenue, West Orange, NJ 07052

Click here for more information.