22nd Denver Jewish Film Festival Brochure

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sponsored sponsored by by AT THE J

denver jewish film festival jh

February 7 – 19, 2o18

Proud supporter of the Denver Jewish Film Festival

SUPPORTS THE

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CONGRATULATIONS ON THE 2018 JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL VISIT US! CRESTMOORH EI G H TS. COM

720.840.0484 157 Monaco Pkwy. Denver, CO 80220

We are so pleased to welcome you to the

22nd Denver Jewish Film Festival,

sponsored by the Sturm Family Foundation.

The alchemy of a darkened theatre, a room full of peers, and a larger-than-life story transforms a film into something much greater than the sum of its parts. It is an art form and a community building experience. It is entertainment and a reflection of our collective humanity. It is a magic that cannot be replicated on-demand or on ever-shrinking screens. When you see someone’s identity and values revealed on the big screen, their experience – their existence – is validated.

That is the impact of a Jewish film festival – to declare to our community at large, despite lingering anti-Semitism or notions of what movie stars or subjects should look like, that we have a diverse array of stories to share. Film festivals are the vessels that carry these diverse stories across the globe, to many thousands of like-minded cultural consumers.

We are deeply proud of our festival’s history of showcasing Jewish and Israeli perspectives of the human experience though cinema. This year we are delighted to offer a program that provides an expansive view - both topically and geographically. From fascinating documentaries on Jewish cultural icons ranging from Israeli Prime Minister Ben-Gurion to Hollywood star (and inventor) Hedy Lamarr to the multi-talented performer Sammy Davis, Jr., to Dutch thrillers featuring notorious Holocaust villains, to riveting Israeli dramas depicting life both past and present, we have a strong lineup of films for everyone. All in all, we are screening 38 films from 17 countries and over two dozen distributors – as well as a film from a Colorado filmmaker! – an ambitious attempt to show the Jewish perspective throughout the world.

Please join us as the MACC’s beautiful Elaine Wolf Theatre transforms into our very own cinema between the dates of February 7 – 19 for one-time-only screenings of our favorite films of the year, many of them Denver or Rocky Mountain premieres, featuring filmmakers, panel discussions, and further opportunities to connect with one another.

We are also extremely excited to kick off the festival alongside our community partner, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema – Sloan’s Lake, for our festival prologue: a special screening of Foxtrot, Israel’s 2018 submission for Best Foreign Language Academy Award, on Saturday, February 3. You won’t want to miss seeing this acclaimed film prior to the Oscars as well as its theatrical release.

This robust effort couldn’t have been accomplished without the tireless dedication of our Pre-Screener and Film Selection Committees – six dozen of your family, friends, and colleagues who contributed to our program curation. We are so grateful for their support, and for yours.

This is truly a community festival.

Amy Weiner Director of Festivals, MACC

Steve Wilson Executive Artistic Director, MACC

the body collector p28

djff:

Contents 9

thursday, february 8, 8:00 pm

1945

13

Deep undercurrents run beneath the simple surface in a quaint Hungarian village that's ultimately forced to face up to its "ill-gotten gains" from the Second World War.

1 welcome letter

From Amy Weiner, Director of Festivals and Steve Wilson, Executive Artistic Director

6

1o

saturday, february 3, 7:00 pm

friday, february 9, 1:00 pm

Foxtrot

The critically-acclaimed submission from Israel for the 2018 Foreign Language Academy Award shown as a special preview screening at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Sloan’s Lake prior to its theatrical release in Denver. Limited seating available.

Germans & Jews

Through personal stories, the film explores Germany's transformation from silence about the Holocaust to facing it head on.

14

Rabbi Wolff: A Gentleman Before God

Rabbi Wolff still finds time to practice yoga, learn Russian, go on fasting retreats, visit family in Israel and enjoy the racetrack with friends, and is rarely seen without a beatific grin on his face and twinkle in his eye.

sunday, february 11, 12:30 pm

sunday, february 11, 3:00 pm

Remember

With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor (Martin Landau) and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia (Christopher Plummer) goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.

14

sunday, february 11, 5:15 pm

Between Worlds

Two women from two different worlds, both hiding a secret, meet in a hospital moments after a terror attack in Jerusalem.

15

sunday, february 11, 8:00 pm

A Quiet Heart

(screened with Anna)

Naomi, a secular young woman, seeks refuge from the pressure of her life as a concert pianist in Tel Aviv by moving to an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in present day Jerusalem.

Photo Credit: The Estate of Altovise Davis

11 8

6:oo pm VIP reception 7:3o pm Program and screening 12 saturday, february 10, 9:15 pm of Bye Bye Germany Past Life In this picaresque comedy-drama, David

thursday, february 8, 5:30 pm

Ben-Gurion, Epilogue

Rare archival footage of one of modern history's greatest leaders - David Ben-Gurion as interviewed in his secluded desert home.

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february 12, 5:30 pm Sammy Davis, Jr: I’ve Gotta Be Me 16 monday, Land of Milk and funny A star-studded roster of interviewees (including

Avi Liberman’s simultaneously sidesplitting and poignant account of more than a decade’s touring Israel with an endless roster of America’s finest stand-up comedians.

Jerry Lewis, Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal) pay tribute to the legendary, multi-talented song-and-dance man.

wedneday, february 7

16

(screened with Mr. Bernstein)

Bermann leads fellow survivors in a DP camp to sell linens at inflated prices to unsuspecting Germans - but an American Army investigator is determined to uncover David's secret.

9

saturday, february 10, 7:00 pm

13

Shalom Bollywood

The unlikely story of the 2000 year old Indian Jewish community and its formative place in shaping the all-singing, all-dancing history of the world’s largest film industry.

Denver Jewish Film Festival

February 7 - 19, 2018

Paradise

The lives of three souls fatefully intertwine in this striking tale of love and loss set in occupied France during the Second World War.

In the late 1970s, two sisters, an introverted classical musician and a rambunctious scandal sheet journalist, unravel a shocking wartime mystery that has cast a dark shadow on their entire lives.

sunday, february 11, 10:15 am

monday, february 12, 8:00 pm

19

tuesday, february 13, 5:30 pm

My Hero Brother

A group of young people with Down syndrome embark on a demanding trek through the Himalayas with their siblings.

djff: 19

27 sunday, february 18, 3:00 pm Shelter

tuesday, february 13, 7:30 pm

Beneath the Silence

1973, a small family crumbles due to the father's PTSD, on the verge of the Yom Kippur War.

2o

Contents

Mona, a Lebanese woman, and Naomi, an Israeli Mossad agent, find themselves trapped in a safe house where nothing is safe and no one can be trusted.

wednesday, february 14, 5:30 pm

Let Yourself Go

27 sunday, february 18, 5:30 pm The 9o Minute War

After a minor illness, a Jewish psychoanalyst is prescribed physical activity, and meets Claudia, a personal trainer.

(screened with Siberia)

One soccer game will decide who gets to stay in

2o

wednesday, february 14, 8:00 pm

An Israeli Love Story

During the turbulent period of pre-state Israel, Margalit and Eli fall in love, but Israel's harsh reality intervenes.

the Holy Land, and who must go.

23 saturday, february 17, 7:00 pm Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George’s Creators 28 sunday, february 18, 8:00 pm The extraordinary lives of Hans and Margret Rey, The Body Collector the authors of the beloved Curious George children's books.

24 saturday, february 17, 9:00 pm Our Father

A morally conflicted nightclub bouncer, with frustrated dreams of becoming a father, finds himself entangled in the Israeli underworld.

21

thursday, february 15, 5:30 pm

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story

The world's most beautiful woman was also the secret inventor of secure Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS communications, but her arresting looks stood in the way of her being given the credit she deserved... until now.

22

thursday, february 15, 7:45 pm

Riphagen: The Untouchable

Riphagen tells the true story of Andries Riphagen, one of Holland’s most notorious criminals during the Second World War.

24 sunday, february 18, 11:00 am Cuba’s Forgotten Jewels: A Haven in Havana

Firsthand Holocaust survivor accounts take us back to 1940s Havana – an era at once tumultuous, heart breaking, and intoxicating – to reveal an immigration success story.

25 sunday, february 18, 12:30 pm Short Film Program: Consequences

A selection of short films featuring: Ave Maria, Wig Shop, Hounds, The Chop, and An Average Story. When things go wrong, these characters must confront their misfortunes.

The story of Dutch journalist Hans Knoop's 1970s struggle to uncover the truth about World War II war criminal Pieter Menten.

President’s Day Holiday 29 monday, february 19, 12:30 pm After Auschwitz: The Stories of Six Women

Six extraordinary women who all survived Auschwitz take us on a journey that American audiences have never seen before.

29 monday, february 19, 3:00 pm The Children of Chance

The true WWII story of a Jewish child, saved from deportation thanks to a tuberculosis diagnosis, and the friendships he made with the other boys in the hospital.

3o monday, february 19, 5:30 pm In Between

Three Palestinian women living in an apartment in Tel Aviv try to find a balance between traditional and modern culture.

3o monday, february 19, 8:00 pm Monsieur Mayonnaise

box office hours Walk-up: Monday – Friday, 1:00 – 5:00 pm and one hour before all screenings Phone: 303.316.6360; Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Online: maccjcc.org/film; 24/7

An artist's epic adventure into his father's clandestine role in the French Résistance in WW2 and his mother's miraculous escape en route to Auschwitz.

Note: All seating is reserved. View the seating chart online to select your seats when you purchase your tickets. Our seating policy is available on page 33.

info & tickets: maccjcc.org/film | box office: 303.316.6360

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2o18 djff regular tickets & packages VIP Opening Night: $50 Includes champagne and hors d’oeuvres reception and film screening.

(Regularly-priced film-only tickets are also available for purchase in the balcony)

Festival Pass*: $255 (approximately $135 savings)

30 admissions at $8.50 per ticket Maximum Value: $390 (at regular $13 ticket price)

10 Pack*: $100 (approximately $30 savings)

10 admissions at $10 per ticket, transferable & shareable Maximum Value: $130 (at regular $13 ticket price)

Individual Film Tickets* $13 Adults; $11 Student/Senior

Foxtrot at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema – Sloan’s Lake $15 Adult; $12 Student/Senior Tickets available for purchase beginning January 4 at drafthouse.com/denver/show/denver-jewish-film-festival-presents-foxtrot *Individual film tickets and packages eligible for screenings at the MACC only and do not apply to the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema screening.

box office

Photo Credit: The Estate of Altovise Davis

Make your reservations early to assure the best seat selection.

All seating is reserved. See seating policy page 33.

Exchanges are allowed only prior to screening.

Please note that a processing charge of $3/ticket will be added to individual film tickets purchased online only. There is no processing fee for Festival Passes or 10-Packs purchased online. There is no additional fee added to tickets purchased over the phone or at the box office window.

Box Office Hours Walk-up: Monday – Friday, 1:00 – 5:00 pm and one hour before all screenings Phone: 303.316.6360; Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Online: maccjcc.org/film; 24/7

Denver Jewish Film Festival, Volume 22, 2018 • This program is published annually by the MACC at the J, 350 South Dahlia Street, Denver, CO 80246.

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Denver Jewish Film Festival

February 7 - 19, 2018

djff: Prologue discover israel

Israel’s Israel’s2018 2018Submission Submissionfor for Best Foreign Language Academy Best Foreign Language AcademyAward Award

Saturday, February 3 7:00 PM alamo Drafthouse Cinema – Sloan’s Lake 4255 W Colfax ave, Denver, CO 80204 | 720.577.4720 Ticket info see page 5

foxtrot Drama/Israeli Society/Military Director: Samuel Maoz 2017/Israel, Switzerland, Germany, France/108 minutes Hebrew with English Subtitles A troubled family faces the facts when something goes terribly wrong at their son's desolate military post.

Michael and Dafna are devastated when army officials show up at their home to announce the death of their

son Jonathan. While his sedated wife rests, Michael spirals into a whirlwind of anger only to experience one of life's unfathomable twists, which rival the surreal military experiences of his son.

An Official Selection of prestigious festivals worldwide, including Venice, Toronto, and Colorado’s own Telluride, as well as Israel’s submission for the 2018 Foreign Language Academy Award. Winner of Eight Awards from the Israeli Film Academy, including Best Actor, Best Directing, and Best Film. We are proud to present Foxtrot alongside our partners at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Sloan’s Lake for a sneak preview presentation prior to the film’s limited theatrical release. Denver Premiere.

Note: All patrons must be 18 years or older or be accompanied by a parent. No talking, texting, cell phone policy strictly enforced. All seats are reserved via a “pick your seat” model. No late seating. Full multi-course food and drink menu available – not a kosher kitchen.

info & tickets: maccjcc.org/film | box office: 303.316.6360

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Terri & Gary Yourtz ARE OnCE AGAIn HAPPY TO OFFER SuPPORT FOR THE

DEnVER JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL THROuGH THE GARY & TERESA YOuRTz FOunDATIOn. WE FEEL THAT THE FILM FESTIVAL IS A CROWN JEWEL IN THE WONDERFUL PROGRAMMING OFFERED AT THE JCC.

IN CeLebrATION OF ISrAeL’S 70Th bIrThDAy PreSeNTS

OnStage Israel: A Workshop Production of an Exciting Israeli Play

April 27 – 28, 2018

The Elaine Wolf Theatre | Two performances only Accompanied by a sumptuous catered dessert buffet More details to follow...

Email theatreor@mindspring.com to be placed on preferred reservation list for this unique community celebration and to receive more details as they become available. OnStageIsrael continues the celebration in September with additional Israeli productions as a prelude to JAAMM Fest.

opening night celebration and film Wednesday, February 7

Wednesday, February 7 6:00 PM – VIP Champagne and Hors D’oeuvre reception Phillips Social Hall 7:30 PM – Program & Film elaine Wolf Theatre VIP Opening Night with reception and balcony-Only Tickets info see page 5

bye bye germany Drama-Comedy/Post-Holocaust Director: Sam Garbarski 2016/Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium/101 minutes German with English Subtitles Frankfurt, 1946. David Bermann (Moritz Bleibtreu) and his Jewish friends have escaped the nazi regime and are now dreaming of leaving for America. But how will they get the money in these tough post-war times? The smooth-talking businessman focuses on what the Germans now need most: fine bed linens nicely wrapped in amusing stories!

The six talented entertainers go from home to home, praising housewives with ashy chutzpah until the flattered ladies have no choice but to buy their irresistible items. Business flourishes and a bright new future can be seen in the horizon. But questions about Bermann‘s past catch up with him. Why does he have two passports? What about his visit to Hitler‘s mountain retreat? Could he have collaborated with the nazis?

The smart and attractive but uncompromising uS officer Sara Simon (Antje Traue) refuses to close the interrogation. She wants to get to the heart of Bermann‘s wartime memories. Sara matches his quick wit with iron severity, but it becomes increasingly difficult for her to escape his charm...

Denver Premiere.

info & tickets: maccjcc.org/film | box office: 303.316.6360

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djff: February

Photo Courtesy of David Marks

8–9

discover israel

Photo Credit: Lenke Szilagyi/Mcnemsha Films

Thursday, February 8 8:00 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

Thursday, February 8 5:30 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

ben-gurion, epilogue

1945

Documentary/Israeli History/Politics

Drama/Post-Holocaust eastern europe

Director: Yariv Mozer 2016/Israel, France/70 minutes Hebrew with English Subtitles In the great depths of the archive, six hours of interview footage was discovered of one of modern history’s greatest leaders- David Ben-Gurion. It is 1968 and he is 82 years old, five years before his death. He lives in his secluded home in the desert, removed from all political discourse, which allows him a hindsight perspective on the zionist enterprise. Ben-Gurion’s introspective soul searching is the focus of this film, and his clear voice provides a surprising vision for today’s crucial decisions and the future of Israel. rocky Mountain Premiere.

"A wistful ode to a lost generation of leaders who viewed simplicity as a virtue even as they strove for giant goals."

— new York Times

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Denver Jewish Film Festival

Director: Ferenc Török 2017/Hungary/91 minutes Hungarian with English Subtitles On a summer day in 1945, an Orthodox man and his grown son return to a village in Hungary while the villagers prepare for the wedding of the town clerk's son.

The townspeople – suspicious, remorseful, fearful, and cunning – expect the worst and behave accordingly. The town clerk fears the men may be heirs of the village's deported Jews and expects them to demand their illegally acquired property back.

Director Ferenc Török paints a complex picture of a society trying to come to terms with the recent horrors they’ve experienced, perpetrated, or just tolerated for personal gain. A superb ensemble cast, lustrous black and white cinematography, and historically detailed art direction contribute to an eloquent drama that reiterates Thomas Wolfe’s famed sentiment: you can’t go home again.

February 7 - 19, 2018

global cinema through the jewish lens

Friday, February 9 1:00 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

consequences: ave maria p25

rabbi wolff: a gentleman before god Documentary/Global Jewry/Older adults Director: Britta Wauer 2016/Germany/90 minutes Dutch, English, German, Hebrew, Russian with English subtitles William Wolff is in his late 80s and is probably the most unconventional rabbi in the world.

The small gentleman was born in Berlin, carries a British passport and lives in a countryside bungalow south of London. His regular commute takes him midweek from Heathrow to Hamburg, from where he boards a train and travels to his Jewish communities in Schwerin and Rostock.

After the Saturday service it’s back home to London for the rabbi, unless of course he’s visiting relatives in Jerusalem, at a fasting retreat in Bad Pyrmont or at the races in Ascot. After all: life should be fun, says Willy Wolff.

let yourself go p2o

Rabbi Wolff is not only the portrait of a fascinating personality, of a deeply religious man who defies conventions, driven by his lust for life; the film also delves into the enticing world of Judaism and presents to us a uniquely eclectic German résumé. rocky Mountain Premiere.

info & tickets: maccjcc.org/film | box office: 303.316.6360

p1o

djff: February

10

Photo Credit: The Estate of Altovise Davis

Saturday, February 10 7:00 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

and shifting political territory. He was the veteran of increasingly outdated show business traditions trying to stay relevant; he frequently found himself bracketed by the bigotry of white America and the distaste of black America; he was the most public black figure to embrace Judaism, thereby yoking his identity to another persecuted minority.

sammy davis, jr: i’ve gotta be me

Featuring new interviews with such luminaries as Billy Crystal, norman Lear, Jerry Lewis, Whoopi Goldberg and Kim novak, with never-before-seen photographs from Davis’ vast personal collection and excerpts from his electric performances in television, film and concert, Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me explores the life and art of a uniquely gifted entertainer whose trajectory blazed across the major flashpoints of American society from the Depression through the 1980s.

Documentary/biography/ american Jewry/Music

Director: Sam Pollard 2018/USA/100 minutes English Executive Producer Sponsor: Gary & Teresa Yourtz Foundation Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me is the first major film documentary to examine Davis’ vast talent and his journey for identity through the shifting tides of civil rights and racial progress during 20th-century America.

Sammy Davis, Jr. had the kind of career that was indisputably legendary, so vast and multi-faceted that it was dizzying in its scope and scale. And yet, his life was complex, complicated and contradictory. Davis strove to achieve the American Dream in a time of racial prejudice

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Denver Jewish Film Festival

February 7 - 19, 2018

Photo Credit: ©Warner Brothers/Phototest

djff 2018

Saturday, February 10 9:15 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

discover israel

past life Drama/Israeli Society/ Music/Post-Holocaust Director: Avi Nesher 2016/Israel, Poland/109 minutes Hebrew, German, Polish with English subtitles Co-Presented by the Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Denver Follow two rebellious Israeli sisters, in 1977, as they delve into the dark mystery of their father’s life in Poland during World War II. Inspired by true events, Past Life tracks the daring 1977 trans-European odyssey of two sisters – one an introverted ambitious classical music composer, and the other a combative liberal magazine editor. As they try to unravel a disturbing wartime mystery that has cast a foreboding shadow on their entire lives, they realize that freedom from the shackles of the past requires painful sacrifices, as does the struggle to discover one’s unique voice.

NeW! The Dr. Irwin e. and Sandra Vinnik Memorial Fund at Du's Center for Judaic Studies presents the Dr. Irwin E. and Sandra Vinnik Evening of Jewish Culture. RSVP (cjs@du.edu) for a free dessert reception & panel conversation with acclaimed Israeli film-maker, Avi Nesher!

preceded by the short film

mr. bernstein Short Narrative/Post-Holocaust/Music Director: Francine Zuckerman 2015/Canada/12 minutes English After Debbie hears about her father's life-changing musical experience in a refugee camp, she tracks down the famous conductor years later, with unexpected consequences.

This film is based on the true story by new zealand writer/performer/comedienne Deb Filler. Filler, (originally from new zealand) and her Polish Jewish father, who survived Auschwitz, grew up in a bakery in Auckland. Her father Schaja saw Bernstein perform when he was a refugee in Landsberg Displaced Persons’ Camp in Munich in 1947. rocky Mountain Premiere.

info & tickets: maccjcc.org/film | box office: 303.316.6360

p12

djff: February

11

Sunday, February 11 12:30 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

Sunday, February 11 10:15 aM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

shalom bollywood

germans & jews

Documentary/Film History/ India/Global Jewry

Documentary/Post-Holocaust/ Contemporary Germany

Director: Danny Ben-Moshe 2017/Australia/73 minutes English

Director: Janina Quint and Tal Recanati 2016/USA/76 minutes English, German with English Subtitles

A celebration of the all-singing, all-dancing history of the world’s largest film industry, Shalom Bollywood reveals the unlikely story of the 2000 year old Indian Jewish community and its formative place in shaping the world’s largest film industry.

Today, Europe’s fastest growing Jewish population is in Berlin. Germany is considered one of the most democratic societies in the world, assuming the position of moral leader of Europe as they embrace hundreds of thousands of refugees. This development couldn’t have been imagined in 1945.

At the advent of the Indian cinema industry, it was taboo for Hindu and Islamic women to perform on-screen.

Indian Jewish women took upon the female lead roles, and continued to do so for decades. using stage names, the women weren’t obviously identified as Jewish, and were commonly thought to be Christian or Muslim.

With access to rare archival footage, Danny Ben-Moshe’s (My Mother’s Lost Children) new documentary tells its extraordinary tale through the lives of Indian cinema’s Jewish icons at the heart of Bollywood from the turn of the 20th century to the present day.

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Denver Jewish Film Festival

Through personal stories, Germans & Jews explores Germany’s transformation as a society, from silence about the Holocaust to facing it head on. unexpectedly, a nuanced story of reconciliation emerges. What began as a private conversation between the two filmmakers and friends, Tal recanati (Jewish) and Janina Quint (non-Jewish German), grew into a cultural exchange among many and we realize that the two people are inextricably linked through the memory of the Holocaust.

Germans & Jews is at once uncomfortable and provocative, unexpected and enlightening. Denver Premiere.

February 7 - 19, 2018

global cinema through the jewish lens

Photo Credit: Ran Aviad

Sunday, February 11 3:00 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

discover israel

Sunday, February 11 5:15 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

remember

between worlds

Drama/Thriller/Post-Holocaust/Crime

Fiction/Israeli-Palestinian Conflict/ Israeli Society

Director: Atom Egoyan 2015/Canada, South Africa, Mexico, Germany/94 minutes English, German with English Subtitles Remember tells the story of zev Guttman (Academy Award® Winner Christopher Plummer), a 90-year-old struggling with memory loss who is living out his final years in a serene retirement home. A week following the death of his beloved wife Ruth, he suddenly gets a mysterious package from his close friend Max (Academy Award® Winner Martin Landau), containing a stack of money and a letter detailing a shocking plan. Both zev and Max were prisoners in Auschwitz, and the same sadistic guard was responsible for the death of both their families—a guard who, immediately after the war, escaped Germany and has been living in the u.S. ever since under an assumed identity. Max is wheelchairbound but in full command of his mental faculties; with his guidance, zev will embark on a cross-continental road-trip to bring justice once and for all to the man who destroyed both their lives.

Director: Miya Hatav 2016/Israel/84 minutes Hebrew, Arabic with English Subtitles Bina (46), a religious woman from Jerusalem, arrives at the hospital panic-stricken after her son ulli (25) was severely injured in a stabbing attack. This is the first time she has seen him since he became secular and lost contact with his family. At the hospital, Bina meets Amal (24), and the two despondent women begin to bond. However, Amal has a secret. She is hiding from ulli’s parents the fact that she is Palestinian and their son’s lover.

While waiting for ulli to awaken, they all learn about truth, faith, empathy, acceptance, and love that can and maybe should replace the fear of the unknown. rocky Mountain Premiere.

info & tickets: maccjcc.org/film | box office: 303.316.6360

p14

djff: February

11 – 12

discover israel Sunday, February 11 8:00 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

discover israel

preceded by the short film

a quiet heart

anna

Drama/Music/Israeli Society

Short Fiction/Women/Israeli Society

Director: Eitan Anner 2016/Israel/92 minutes Hebrew, English, Italian with English Subtitles

Director: Or Sinai 2015/Israel/24 minutes Hebrew, Russian with English Subtitles

In present day Jerusalem, a city increasingly dominated by religious fanaticism, naomi, a secular young woman seeks refuge from the pressure of her life as a concert pianist. Overwhelmed by the expectations of her parents and her colleagues in Tel Aviv, naomi seeks anonymity and solitude in the ancient city.

On a hot summer day Anna, a sewing workshop worker, finds herself unexpectedly alone without her son. She goes out roaming the streets of her small desert town, looking for a man who can touch her, even for just one brief moment.

Despite her intentions to stay alone, however, naomi quickly makes two unexpected connections- one with a musically gifted ultra-Orthodox young boy who lives in her building and the other, with Fabrizio, a charismatic Italian monk and organist. While these relationships allow naomi to reconnect with her love of music and sense of meaning, they also make her a target in her new community. Faced with escalating isolation and violence, naomi must learn to use music as a bridge to overcome towering religious barriers. Colorado Premiere.

p15

Denver Jewish Film Festival

This short film has won many international awards, including First Prize: Cinéfondation at the Cannes Film Festival, and the Ophir Award for Best Short Film by the Israeli Academy of Film and Television. Denver Premiere.

February 7 - 19, 2018

djff 2018

discover israel Monday, February 12 5:30 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

Monday, February 12 7:30 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

land of milk and funny

paradise

Documentary/Comedy/ american Jewry/Israel

Drama/Holocaust/resistance

Director: Avi Liberman 2017/USA/78 minutes English The story of an American Jewish comedian bringing his colleagues to the Jewish homeland to lift spirits and raise funds for a great cause is none other than Avi Liberman’s Land of Milk and Funny.

The Times of Israel first wrote of how “from thousands of miles away, a rising young Jewish comedian decided not merely to devote much of his own career to regularly visiting Israel in order to entertain a nation battered by terrorism..[but] also (initially) implored, cajoled and (subsequently) encouraged his professional colleagues — Jews, Christians, white, black, whatever — to join him on this adventure.”

Described by The Times of Israel as “both sidesplitting and moving,” this hilarious and revealing film details stand-up comedian Avi Liberman's ongoing quest to bring top-tier American comedy to Israeli audiences. The tours he’s put together have featured 30 comedians, at 100 performances, selling 20,000 tickets, and generating a quarter of a million dollars — much of it for the Comedy for Koby charity. rocky Mountain Premiere.

Director: Andrei Konchalovsky 2016/Russia, Germany/132 minutes Russian, German, French and Yiddish with English Subtitles Set during WWII, this stunningly-shot feature, Russia’s submission for the 2017 Foreign Language Academy Award, looks at the Holocaust from the perspective of three characters – Olga, Jules and Helmut – whose paths cross amidst the devastation of war.

Paradise tells the story of three individuals and the fateful decisions they make, forced by a totality of conviction.

Olga (Julia Vysotskaya) is a beautiful Russian aristocratic émigré and member of the French Resistance; Jules (Philippe Duquesne) is a French-nazi collaborator who is assigned to investigate her case; and Helmut (Christian Clauss) is a high-ranking, yet naïve German SS officer who once fell madly in love with Olga and meets her again when she is shipped to a concentration camp. While they recount their stories, the film flashes back to the end of World War II and the days when their destinies crossed.

info & tickets: maccjcc.org/film | box office: 303.316.6360

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djff: Prologue 3

Series = Discover Israel N = Narrative

Dr = Drama

C = Comedy

S = Shorts

Doc = Documentary Tv = Television

2018

SATURDAY

7:00 PM Foxtrot (Dr, Series, p:6)

february 7–19 11

10:15 AM

12

SUNDAY

OPENING NIG 6:00 PM

Champagne and Hors D’oeuvre Rece

7:30 PM Program and scree Bye Bye Germany (

13

MONDAY

TUESDAY

Shalom Bollywood (Doc, p:13)

12:30 PM Germans & Jews (Doc, p:13)

3:00 PM Remember (Dr, p:14)

5:30 PM

5:30 PM

5:30 PM

Land of Milk and Funny (Doc, Series, p:16)

My Hero Brother (Doc, Series, p:19)

Let Yourself Go (C, p

7:30 PM

7:30 PM

8:00 PM

Paradise (Dr, p:16)

Beneath the Silence (Dr, Series, p:19)

An Israeli Love Story

5:15 PM Between Worlds (Dr, Series, p:14)

8:00 PM A Quiet Heart (Dr, Series, p:15)

8:00 PM Anna (S, Dr, Series, p:15)

10:15 AM

18

19

Cuba’s Forgotten Jewels: A Haven in Havana (Doc, p:24) SUNDAY

MONDAY

12:30 PM

12:30 PM

Consequences: Ave Maria; Wig Shop; Hounds; The Chop; An Average Story (S, Dr, C, Series, p:25 – 26)

After Auschwitz: The Stories of Six Women (Doc, p:29)

3:00 PM

The Children of Chance (N, p:29)

Shelter (Dr, Series, p:27)

5:30 PM Siberia (S, C, Series, p:27)

5:30 PM The 90 Minute War (C, Series, p:27)

3:00 PM 5:30 PM In Between (Dr, Series, p:30)

8:00 PM Monsieur Mayonnaise (Doc, p:30)

8:00 PM The Body Collector (N, TV, p:28)

p17

Denver Jewish Film Festival

February 7 - 19, 2018

after auschwitz: the stories of six women p29

7

8

WEDNESDAY

9

THURSDAY

10

FRIDAY

GHT

SATURDAY

7:00 PM Sammy Davis, Jr: I’ve Gotta Be Me (Doc, p:11)

5:30 PM

eption

Ben-Gurion, Epilogue (Doc, Series, p:9)

1:00 PM

8:00 PM

Rabbi Wolff: A Gentleman Before God (Doc, p:10)

9:15 PM Mr. Bernstein (S, N, p:12)

1945 (Dr, p:9)

9:15 PM

ning of Dr, C, p:8)

Past Life (Dr, Series, p:12)

14

15

WEDNESDAY

p:20)

16

THURSDAY

17

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

5:30 PM

5:30 PM

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (Doc, p:21)

Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George’s Creators (Doc, p:23)

8:00 PM

y (Dr, Series, p:20)

8:00 PM

Riphagen: The Untouchable (N, Tv p:22)

riphagen: the untouchable p22

Our Father (Dr, Series, p:24)

siberia p27 info & tickets: maccjcc.org/film | box office: 303.316.6360

p18

djff: February

13 – 14

discover israel

discover israel Tuesday, February 13 7:30 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

Tuesday, February 13 5:30 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

my hero brother

beneath the silence

Documentary/Disability/ Family/Israeli Society

Drama/Israeli Society/ Israeli History/War/PTSD

Director: Yonatan Nir 2016/Israel, India/78 minutes Hebrew with English Subtitles

Director: Erez Mizrahi and Sahar Shavit 2016/Israel/106 minutes Hebrew with English Subtitles

executive Producer Sponsor: Jane e and Stanton rosenbaum

1973. Six years after returning from the Six Day War with a battle shock, Menashe realizes he will never be the man he used to be before the war. He can’t communicate with his surroundings, and spends his days driving away in his red truck for long hours. The young family he created collapses due to his lack of communication with his wife, Daphna, and their little son, Shlomi.

A group of remarkable young people with Down syndrome embark on a demanding trek through the Indian Himalayas, accompanied by their brothers and sisters. unresolved conflicts and the complexities of growing up with a Down syndrome child in the family come to surface, while a heart-warming and special closeness develops among the siblings as they deal with formidable physical and emotional challenges.

The difficult trials and poignant relationships, set against the richly colorful backdrop of India, open new horizons and greatly deepen our understanding of special needs people and their families. Denver Premiere.

p19

Denver Jewish Film Festival

At a time when PTSD is still not recognized as a medical condition, Daphna, his wife, struggles to get help from the military in order to maintain her husband’s last bits of sanity, while 10 year-old Shlomi tries to understand what happened to his father and why he is different.

When the Yom Kippur War breaks out, and Menashe is sent again to the battle field, the small family crumbles to dust. rocky Mountain Premiere.

February 7 - 19, 2018

global cinema through the jewish lens

discover israel Wednesday, February 14 5:30 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

Wednesday, February 14 8:00 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

let yourself go

an israeli love story

Comedy/romance/Psychoanalysis

Drama/romance/Israeli History

Director: Francesco Amato 2017/Italy/98 minutes Italian with English Subtitles

Director: Dan Wolman 2017/Israel/93 minutes Hebrew with English Subtitles

executive Producer Sponsor: Susan Mathews, LIV Sotheby’s International realty

executive Producer Sponsor: The Perlmutter, Cook and Dansky Family

Elia is a Jewish psychoanalyst from a purely Freudian school of thought. Due to his austere and detached manner, he is reputed for immediately generating awe in his patients. Elia lives alone in a flat on the same floor as his ex-wife Giovanna, with whom he is still secretly in love. After a minor illness, his doctor prescribes an ironrich diet and physical activity to lose a few extra kilos.

That is how he chances upon Claudia, a personal trainer with the cult of physique but clearly not of mind...

During the turbulent period of pre-state Israel. Margalit meets Eli on a bus and falls in love with him instantly. She tries to get close to him but he's too busy with the Palmach. Finally, the barriers come down, Margalit moves in with Eli, they set a date for their wedding, but Israel's harsh reality intervenes.

An Israeli Love Story is based on the true story of the love affair between Pnina Gary, from nahalal, and Eli Ben–zvi, son of Rachel Yanait and Yitzhak Ben-zvi the Second President of the State of Israel. rocky Mountain Premiere.

info & tickets: maccjcc.org/film | box office: 303.316.6360

p2o

djff: February

15

What does the most ravishingly beautiful actress of the 1930s and 40s and the inventor whose concepts were the basis of cell phone and bluetooth technology have in common? They are both Hedy Lamarr.

Thursday, February 15 5:30 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

bombshell: the hedy lamarr story Documentary/Women/Hollywood Director: Alexandra Dean 2017/USA/90 minutes English Executive Producer Sponsor: Strear Family Foundation

p21

Denver Jewish Film Festival

She was both a glamour icon, whose ravishing visage was the inspiration for Snow White and Cat Woman, and a technological trailblazer, who perfected a radio system to throw nazi torpedoes off course during WWII. Weaving interviews and clips with never-before-heard audio tapes of Hedy speaking on the record about her incredible life—from her beginnings as an Austrian Jewish emigre to her scandalous nude scene in the 1933 film Ecstasy to her glittering Hollywood life to her ground-breaking but completely uncredited inventions to her latter years, when she became a recluse, impoverished and almost forgotten—Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story brings to light the story of an unusual and accomplished woman, spurned as too beautiful to be smart, but a role model to this day. Denver Premiere.

February 7 - 19, 2018

djff 2018

Thursday, February 15 7:45 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

past life p12

riphagen: the untouchable Narrative/Thriller/Holocaust/Crime Director: Pieter Kuijpers 2016/Netherlands/131 minutes Dutch, English, German with English Subtitles Riphagen, a WWII-crime thriller based on the life of Andries ‘Al Capone’ Riphagen, tells the true story of infamous gangster Andries Riphagen, one of Holland’s most notorious criminals during the Second World War. Riphagen was a boxer, a pimp, a smuggler who enriched himself through the black market by trading in the goods that had been left behind by Jews, but most fervently was a Jew hunter who profited immensely from the war, tracking, extorting and betraying Jewish people in hiding.

He was to blame for the deaths of at least 200 people. He imagines himself untouchable until the young police officer Jan van Liempd opens up a hunt for him. The most exceptional thing about Riphagen’s story is that he was never convicted. How this could have happened forms the backbone of the plot of this miniseries. Riphagen draws on the vocabulary of the thriller as viewed on the big screen as an exciting feature film. rocky Mountain Premiere.

the 90 minute war p28

info & tickets: maccjcc.org/film | box office: 303.316.6360

p22

djff: February

17 – 18

Saturday. February 17 7:00 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

monkey business: the adventures of curious george’s creators Documentary/biography/Holocaust Themes/Children’s books Director: Ema Ryan Yamazaki 2017/USA/81 minutes English Executive Producer Sponsor: Scott’s Liquid Gold Featuring a narrow escape from the nazis on makeshift bicycles, Monkey Business explores the extraordinary lives of Hans and Margret Rey, the authors of the beloved Curious George children’s books.

Curious George is the most popular monkey in the world. Since his introduction in the first publication in 1941, the beloved series has sold over 75 million books in more than 25 languages. Monkey Business explores the lesser-known tale of George’s creators, Hans and Margret Rey. Originally from Hamburg, Germany, the Reys first met when Hans was dating Margret’s older sister. Years later, having heard that Hans was wasting his artistic talents as a bookkeeper in Rio, Margret traveled to Brazil to persuade him to marry her and do something creative together. After their four-week honeymoon to Paris turned into a four-year residency, they accidentally became children’s book authors when a publisher suggested they create a book out of a cartoon Hans had drawn. Being German Jews, however, their life in Paris abruptly came to an end in June 1940 when the Reys were forced to escape from the nazis by riding makeshift bicycles—a manuscript of the first Curious George book was one of the few possessions they could smuggle out with them.

Arriving in new York as refugees, they started their life anew and over the next three decades they created a classic that continues to touch the hearts and minds of children around the world. rocky Mountain Premiere.

p23

Denver Jewish Film Festival

February 7 - 19, 2018

global cinema through the jewish lens

discover israel Saturday, February 17 9:00 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

our father Narrative/Israeli Society/ Crime/Nightlife Director: Meni Yaesh 2016/Israel, France/107 minutes Hebrew with English Subtitles This is a story of fatherhood.

Ovadia is the strongest and most violent doorman of Tel Aviv night clubs. He has no fear of anything and has never lost a fight. His biggest dream is to become a father – he and his wife Rachel have been trying to get pregnant for almost five years.

A small time gangster named Shalom Rozental sees a great potential in Ovadia. Ovadia sees this as great option to start an expensive treatment for his wife.

As soon as Rachel gets pregnant, he decides to stop working for Shalom.

It's not that easy. nominated for a record-breaking 12 Ophirs at Israel’s Academy Awards, and the winner of the Best Actor and Best Editor awards, Our Father has screened at festivals all over the world. rocky Mountain Premiere.

Courtesy National Center for Jewish Film

Sunday. February 18 11:00 aM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

cuba’s forgotten jewels: a haven in havana Documentary/Latin america/ Holocaust Themes

Director: Judy Kreith and Robin Truesdale 2017/USA/45 minutes English Cuba’s Forgotten Jewels explores the little known story of the Jewish refugees who escaped nazi-occupied Europe and found a safe haven on the Caribbean island of Cuba.

After a wave of Jewish refugees to Cuba in the 1920s and 30s, the island shut its doors to immigrants, most notably to the Jews aboard the ship the St. Louis in 1939. In 1940, Cuba changed course and took in 6,000 Jewish refugees, including hundreds of Jewish diamond cutters and their families who, for a few years, turned the small tropical island into one of the world’s major diamond-polishing centers. In the factories, women work beside men, Jews beside Cubans. The refugees interviewed in the film recall their lives in wartime Havana: the draw of Cuban food, music and dance, its language and people, and also the challenges they faced in this unfamiliar land. Film provided by the national Center for Jewish Film. Denver Premiere.

Join us after the film for a talkback led by the filmmakers, who are both local to Colorado and personally connected to the story - the film was born of the tales told to Cuba’s Forgotten Jewels co-director Judy Kreith from her mother about her escape from nazi-occupied Belgium and her teenage years in 1940s Havana.

info & tickets: maccjcc.org/film | box office: 303.316.6360

p24

djff: February

18

consequences: short film program

hounds

Sunday, February 18 12:30 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

A selection of short ďŹ lms featuring: Ave Maria, Wig Shop, Hounds, The Chop, and An Average Story. When things go wrong, these characters must confront their misfortunes.

Photo Credit: Tomer Applebaum

the chop p25

Denver Jewish Film Festival

an average story

February 7 - 19, 2018

djff 2018 ave maria

discover israel

Short Drama/Israeli Society Director: Basil Khalil 2015/Palestine, France, Germany/15 minutes Arabic, English, Hebrew with English Subtitles The nuns of the ‘Sisters of Mercy’ Convent, in the middle of the West Bank wilderness, have their daily routine of silence and prayer disrupted when a family of Jewish settlers come knocking at their door for help after crashing into the convent’s wall just before Shabbat.

This Academy Award-nominated short film has screened at over 150 film festivals around the world, and was deemed “the Middle Eastern answer to ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ by the New York Times.” Denver Premiere.

wig shop Narrative/Women/american Jewry Director: Kat Coiro 2016/USA/16 minutes English, Russian, Yiddish with English Subtitles Wig Shop is a dark comedy centered on an Orthodox Jewish woman who, over the course of getting her wigs styled, discovers that her African American hairdresser might be her husband's lover. Based on the personal experiences of producer Jessica neuman, the short explores a particular stretch of Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles where people from varied backgrounds co-exist, mingle and, sometimes, intertwine. – Tribeca Film Institute Denver Premiere.

an average story

discover israel

Narrative/Satire/Israeli Society Director: Yaniv Segalovich 2016/Israel/18 minutes Hebrew with English Subtitles Avi Cohen has just been informed that he is the most average man who ever lived. Overnight, he reluctantly becomes a national icon and instant celebrity. With his wife’s enthusiastic urging, they translate the situation into a business venture that goes surprisingly awry. rocky Mountain Premiere.

the chop Narrative/Comedy/Global Jewry/ Jewish-arab relations Director: Lewis Rose 2015/U.K./17 minutes Arabic, English with English Subtitles A talented but out of work Kosher butcher gets a job at a Halal shop.

The Chop tells the story of Yossi, a charismatic kosher butcher, who finds himself in a moment of crisis upon losing his job. After ringing round numerous other kosher butchers to no avail, he takes the unusual decision to work in a halal butcher. However to do so, he must use all his guile and charisma to hide his true identity.

It is a story that aims to explore the relationship between Jewish and Muslim culture in modern London life, incorporating ‘fish out of water’ humor with moments of laugh-out-loud slapstick.

hounds

discover israel

Drama/art/sraeli Society/Women Director: Omer Tobi 2015/Israel/30 minutes Hebrew with English subtitles After 16 years as a thankless museum guard, Iris Kadosh is finally offered a promotion. A careless mistake with a priceless artwork, however, forces her to decide how far she is willing to go to secure her rise up the social ladder.

The tragi-comic dynamics within the museum’s ensemble of crude and colorful employees creates an opera of marginal characters, searching for the tiniest shred of respect from the world.

This renowned short film has screened at dozens of film festivals worldwide, and, among other laurels, was named Best Comedy at Aspen Shortfest.

Denver Premiere.

info & tickets: maccjcc.org/film | box office: 303.316.6360

p26

djff: February

18

discover israel Sunday, February 18 3:00 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

shelter

discover israel

Drama/Thriller/Politics/Conflict

Sunday, February 18 5:30 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

Director: Eran Riklis 2018/Israel/93 minutes English, Hebrew, Arabic with English Subtitles Two women trapped in a safehouse where nothing is safe and no one can be trusted.

An on the edge thriller set in Germany involving Mona, a Lebanese woman (Golshifteh Farahani), and naomi, an Israeli Mossad agent (neta Riskin) sent to protect their informant while recovering from plastic surgery for her new identity.

Mona and naomi - together for two weeks in a quiet apartment in Hamburg. A safe house. A shelter. no one saw what was coming, no one knew that this supposedly quiet fortnight would turn into an abyss and that shelter would need to be found elsewhere. The intimacy of the relationship that develops between the two women is exposed to the threat of terror that is engulfing the world today. In this game of deception, beliefs are questioned and choices are made that are not their own. And yet their fate takes a surprising turn in this suspense-laden, elegant neo-noir. Based on “The Link”

by Shulamit Hareven.

p27

Denver Jewish Film Festival

the 90 minute war Mockumentary/Israeli Society/ Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Director: Eyal Halfon 2017/Country85 minutes Hebrew, Arabic, English, Portuguese with English Subtitles The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has lasted 100 years. 100 years of war, bloodshed, bitterness, suffering. 100 years of stalemate, intransigence and failed peace deals.

And now, it’s all over! They’ve finally found the solution: A game of soccer. The winner gets to stay. The loser leaves forever. And no whining. rocky Mountain Premiere.

February 7 - 19, 2018

global cinema through the jewish lens

Sunday, February 18 8:00 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

the body collector Thriller/TV Mini-Series/ Post-Holocaust discover israel

preceded by the short film

siberia Short Fiction/Israeli Society Director: Naftali Alter 2016/Israel/13 minutes Hebrew, Russian with English Subtitles Avram Danino, the mayor of a small orthodox town in Israel, decides to locate a new building in "Siberia" - the Russian immigrant neighborhood. Soon enough, he discovers that the immigrants, led by the charismatic Anton, misunderstood the purpose of the building in a tragic, comic - and extremely problematic - way. Can Danino save himself and the city from the potential scandal? rocky Mountain Premiere.

Director: Tim Oliehoek 2016/Netherlands/145 minutes Dutch, English, German, Polish with English Subtitles Based on the real story of journalist Hans Knoop, editorin-chief of Accent magazine, who gradually gets drawn into the hunt for the biggest war criminal in the netherlands, multi-millionaire art collector Pieter Menten.

The Body Collector tells the story of how Hans Knoop – editor-in-chief of weekly magazine Accent, affiliated to big Dutch newspaper de Telegraaf – becomes personally involved in the hunt for war criminal Pieter Menten, who has escaped justice. For years, Pieter Menten has lived quietly in a huge villa in het Gooi when he decides to sell part of his art collection. De Telegraaf interviews him about this, as an art collector. This interview comes to the attention of Israeli journalist Chaviv Kanaan through Dutch correspondent Dr. Henriëtte Boas. Kanaan accuses Menten of the execution of Jews – including many members of his own family – in the Polish villages Podhorodce and uricz. Through Boas, Kanaan contacts Knoop and tells him that in 1943 Menten had three train carriages of stolen art brought to the netherlands – and the Menten Case is born. Knoop decides to follow the story to the bitter end, but Menten won’t give up without a fight.

info & tickets: maccjcc.org/film | box office: 303.316.6360

p28

djff: February

19

Monday, February 19 3:00 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

Monday, February 19 12:30 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

after auschwitz: the stories of six women

the children of chance Drama/Narrative/Holocaust/Children Director: Arik Rotstein 2016/Israel/94 minutes Hebrew with English Subtitles

Documentary/Post-Holocaust/ Testimony/american Jewry Director: Jon Kean 2017/USA, Poland/83 minutes English To an American, liberation sounds like it should have been a great day. For survivors, liberation from the camps was the beginning of a life long struggle. They wanted to go home, but there was no home left in Europe. They came to America and wanted to tell people about their pasts but were silenced for over three decades. “You’re in America now, put it behind you”.

After Auschwitz is a “Post-Holocaust” documentary that follows six extraordinary women, capturing what it means to move from tragedy and trauma towards life. These women all moved to Los Angeles, married, raised children and became “Americans” but they never truly found a place to call home. What makes the story so much more fascinating is how these women saw, interpreted and interacted with the changing face of America in the second half of the 20th century. They serve as our guides on an unbelievable journey, sometimes celebratory, sometimes heart breaking but always inspiring. Denver Premiere.

In the backdrop of the nazi occupation of France, taken to the hospital for a broken leg from an accident, twelve-year-old Maurice Gutman is narrowly spared from the mass roundup that will take his family from him and leave them imprisoned in a distant death camp.

At the hospital, Dr. Daviel diagnoses him with tuberculosis and imposes a long treatment, perhaps a humane ruse to prevent him from being deported. Over the course of two years, while living with the hospital staff, Maurice and eight other young boarders unforgettably experience friendship, solidarity and extraordinary courage. These are the children of chance. rocky Mountain Premiere.

Join us after the film for a Q&A with the filmmaker, Jon Kean.

p29

Denver Jewish Film Festival

February 7 - 19, 2018

djff 2018

discover israel Monday, February 19 5:30 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

Monday, February 19 8:00 PM The elaine Wolf Theatre Ticket info see page 5

in between

monsieur mayonnaise

Drama/Israeli Society/ Millennials/Women

Documentary/biography/ Holocaust/Family

Director: Maysaloun Hamoud 2016/Israel/96 minutes Hebrew, Arabic with English Subtitles

Director: Trevor Graham 2016/Australia, Germany, France, USA/94 minutes English

Three Palestinian twenty-something women find themselves doing the same balancing act between tradition and modernity, citizenship and culture, fealty and freedom.

An epic adventure starring artists, werewolves, heroes, nazis, a comic book & baguettes….with lashings of French mayonnaise!

Lalia (Mouna Hawa), Salma (Sana Jammelieh), and nur (Shaden Kanboura) share an apartment in the vibrant heart of Tel Aviv. Lalia, a criminal lawyer with a wicked wit, loves to burn off her workday stress in the underground club scene.

Salma, slightly more subdued, is a DJ and bartender. nur is a younger, religious Muslim girl who moves into the apartment in order to study at the university. nur is both intrigued and intimidated by her two sophisticated roommates. When she defies her conservative fiancé, his violent rebuttal leaves all of the women shaken. Salma and Lalia also face turmoil: Lalia has found love with a modern Muslim man whose acceptance proves less than unconditional, and Salma discovers that her Christian family in a northern Galilean village is not as liberal as they claim. Denver Premiere.

Monsieur Mayonnaise is an artist’s epic adventure into his family’s secret past. Australian artist and film-maker, Philippe Mora, investigates his father’s clandestine role in the French Résistance in WW2 and his mother’s miraculous escape en route to Auschwitz. Philippe, a Hollywood cult-horror movie director and pop-artist, adopts a Film noir persona to tell his family’s story. He also packs his paints and easel, as he embarks on a journey to create an audacious comic book about his parents, their survival and the Holocaust. rocky Mountain Premiere.

"After watching Maysaloun Hamoud’s sparkling, taboobreaking first feature In Between (Bar Bahar), audiences will have to seriously update their ideas about the lifestyle of Palestinian women in Israel.”- Deborah Young, The Hollywood Reporter

info & tickets: maccjcc.org/film | box office: 303.316.6360

p3o

schedule & index

SuBGEnRE

SEE PAGE

Post-Holocaust

8

Post-Holocaust, Eastern Europe

9

DrAMA Wednesday, February 7

7:30 PM

Bye Bye Germany

Thursday, February 8

8:00 PM

1945

Saturday, February 10

9:15 PM

Past Life

Music, Post-Holocaust

12

Sunday, February 11

3:00 PM

Remember

Post-Holocaust, Crime

14

Sunday, February 11

5:15 PM

Between Worlds

Medicine, Israeli/Palestinian Conflict

14

Sunday, February 11

8:00 PM

A Quiet Heart

Music, Contemporary Israel

15

Monday, February 12

7:30 PM

Paradise

Tuesday, February 13

7:30 PM

Beneath the Silence

Sunday, February 18

3:00 PM

Shelter

Sunday, February 18

8:00 PM

The Body Collector

Monday, February 19

3:00 PM

The Children of Chance

Monday, February 19

5:30 PM

In Between

Thursday, February 15

7:45 PM

Riphagen: The Untouchable

Saturday, February 17

9:00 PM

Our Father

Holocaust

16

Israeli History, War, PTSD

19

Thriller, Politics, Cime

27

Post-Holocaust, Crime, TV Miniseries

28

Narrative, Holocaust, Children

29

Contemporary Israel, Young Adults

30

Holocaust, Crime

22

Contemporary Israel, Crime, Nightlife

24

NArrATIVe DOCUMeNTAry Thursday, February 8

5:30 PM

Ben-Gurion, Epilogue

Friday, February 9

1:00 PM

Rabbi Wolff: A Gentleman Before God

Politics, Israeli History

9

Global Jewry, Rabbinate

10

Saturday, February 10

7:00 PM

Sammy Davis, Jr: I've Gotta Be Me

Sunday, February 11

10:15 AM

Shalom Bollywood

Biography, Music, American Jewry

11

Sunday, February 11

12:30 PM

German & Jews

Post-Holocaust, Contemporary Germany

13

Monday, February 12

5:30 PM

Land of Milk and Funny

Comedy, Israel, American Jewry

16

Tuesday, February 13

5:30 PM

My Hero Brother

Disability, Contemporary Israel

19

Thursday, February 15

5:30 PM

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story

Saturday, February 17

7:00 PM

Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George's Creator

Sunday, February 18

11:00 AM

Cuba's Forgotten Jewels: A Haven in Havana

Monday, February 19

12:30 PM

After Auschwitz: The Stories of Six Women

Monday, February 19

8:00 PM

Monsieur Mayonnaise

8:00 PM

An Israeli Love Story

Wednesday, February 14

5:30 PM

Sunday, February 18

Cinema, India

13

Women, Hollywood

21

Holocaust Themes, Children's Books

23

Holocaust, Latin America

24

Holocaust, American Jewry

29

Holocaust, Family

30

Israeli History

21

Let Yourself Go

Romance, Psychoanalysis

20

5:30 PM

The 90 Minute War

Israeli/Palestinian Conflict

27

Saturday, February 17

7:00 PM

Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George's Creator

Holocaust Themes, Children's Books

23

Monday, February 19

8:00 PM

Monsieur Mayonnaise

Holocaust, Family

30

Saturday, February 10

9:15 PM

Mr. Bernstein

Post-Holocaust, Music

12

Sunday, February 11

8:00 PM

Anna

Contemporary Israel, Lust, Women

15

Sunday, February 18

12:30 PM

Ave Maria

Comedy, Conflict

25

Sunday, February 18

12:30 PM

Wig Shop

Drama, Love, American Jewry

25

Sunday, February 18

12:30 PM

Hounds

Drama, Art, Israeli Society

25

Sunday, February 18

12:30 PM

The Chop

Comedy, Jewish/Arab Relations

25

Sunday, February 18

12:30 PM

An Average Story

Sunday, February 18

5:30 PM

Siberia

rOMANCe Wednesday, February 14

COMeDy bIOgrAPhy ShOrTS

p31

Denver Jewish Film Festival

February 7 - 19, 2018

Comedy, Israeli Society

25

Immigration, Contemporary Israel, Orthodoxy

27

schedule & index

SuBGEnRE

SEE PAGE

Post-Holocaust, Crime, TV Miniseries

28

Drama, Israeli Society, Military

6

Politics, Israeli History

9

TeLeVISION Sunday, February 18

8:00 PM

The Body Collector

DISCOVer ISrAeL Saturday, February 3

7:00 PM

Foxtrot

Thursday, February 8

5:30 PM

Ben-Gurion: Epilogue

Saturday, February 10

9:15 PM

Past Life

Music, Post-Holocaust

12

Sunday, February 11

5:15 PM

Between Worlds

Medicine, Israeli/Palestinian Conflict

14

Sunday, February 11

8:00 PM

Anna

Contemporary Israel, Lust, Women

15

Sunday, February 11

8:00 PM

A Quiet Heart

Monday, February 12

5:30 PM

Tuesday, February 13 Tuesday, February 13

Music, Contemporary Israel

15

Land of Milk and Funny

Comedy, Israel, American Jewry

16

5:30 PM

My Hero Brother

Disability, Contemporary Israel

19

7:30 PM

Beneath the Silence

Israeli History, War, PTSD

19

Wednesday, February 14

8:00 PM

An Israeli Love Story

Saturday, February 17

9:00 PM

Our Father

Sunday, February 18

12:30 PM

Ave Maria

Sunday, February 18

12:30 PM

Hounds

Sunday, February 18

12:30 PM

An Average Story

Sunday, February 18

3:00 PM

Sunday, February 18

5:30 PM

Sunday, February 18

5:30 PM

The 90 Minute War

Monday, February 19

3:00 PM

In Between

Wednesday, February 7

7:30 PM

Bye Bye Germany

Thursday, February 8

8:00 PM

1945

Saturday, February 10

9:15 AM

Saturday, February 10

9:15 PM

Sunday, February 11

12:30 PM

Germans & Jews

Sunday, February 11

3:00 PM

Remember

Monday, February 12

7:30 PM

Paradise

Thursday, February 15

7:45 PM

Riphagen: The Untouchable

Saturday, February 17

7:00 PM

Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George's Creators

Sunday, February 18

11:00 AM

Cuba's Forgotten Jewels: A Haven in Havana

Sunday, February 18

8:00 PM

The Body Collector

Monday, February 19

12:30 PM

After Auschwitz: The Stories of Six Women

Monday, February 19

3:00 PM

The Children of Chance

Monday, February 19

8:00 PM

Monsieur Mayonnaise

Holocaust, Family

30

Saturday, February 11

3:00 PM

Remember

Post-Holocaust, Crime

14

Thursday, February 15

7:45 PM

Riphagen: The Untouchable

Holocaust, Crime

22

Saturday, February 17

9:00 PM

Our Father

Contemporary Israel, Crime, Nightlife

24

Sunday, February 18

3:00 PM

Shelter

Sunday, February 18

8:00 PM

The Body Collector

Saturday, February 10

7:00 PM

Sammy Davis, Jr: I've Gotta Be Me

Saturday, February 10

9:15 AM

Saturday, February 10

9:15 PM

Sunday, February 11

8:00 PM

A Quiet Heart

Israeli History

20

Contemporary Israel, Crime, Nightlife

24

Comedy, Conflict

25

Drama, Art, Israeli Society

25

Comedy, Israeli Society

25

Shelter

Thriller, Politics, Cime

27

Siberia

Immigration, Contemporary Israel, Orthodoxy

27

Israeli/Palestinian Conflict

27

Contemporary Israel, Young Adults

30

Post-Holocaust

8

Post-Holocaust, Eastern Europe

9

Mr. Bernstein

Post-Holocaust, Music

12

Past Life

Music, Post-Holocaust

12

Post-Holocaust, Contemporary Germany

13

Post-Holocaust, Crime

14

hOLOCAUST

Holocaust

16

Holocaust, Crime

22

Holocaust Themes, Children's Books

23

Holocaust, Latin America

24

Post-Holocaust, Crime, TV Miniseries

28

Holocaust, American Jewry

29

Narrative, Holocaust, Children

29

ThrILLerS

Thriller, Politics, Cime

27

Post-Holocaust, Crime, TV Miniseries

28

Biography, Music, American Jewry

11

Mr. Bernstein

Post-Holocaust, Music

12

Past Life

Music, Post-Holocaust

12

Music, Contemporary Israel

15

MUSIC

info & tickets: maccjcc.org/film | box office: 303.316.6360

p32

seating policy & print sources: 22nd DJFF 2018 22nd Denver Jewish Film Festival Seating Policy

all seating is reserved Unlike most film events, our festival has a reserved seating policy which works much like any live theatre or concert event, where each patron has an individually numbered seat for each film. This means that if patrons are seeing multiple films, they may need to move seats after each showing. Patrons that purchase tickets in advance may request the same seat (if it is available), but they will need to exit the theatre and present their ticket separately for each film.

Reserve a specific seat each time you purchase a ticket.

Doors will open approximately 20 minutes prior to each screening. Please come early so you can locate your seat number and row. Late-comers will be seated at the discretion of the ushers.

The theatre will be emptied after each screening in order to clean and conduct a sound check for the next film. Please help us keep the festival running on time by leaving the theatre promptly. Handicapped seating is available. To reserve handicapped seating please contact the box office at 303.316.6360.

Free parking for the DJFF is available in other MACC/JCC lots to the south and west of our venue; street parking on Dahlia, Alameda and the neighborhood to the north of our location is also free.

22nd djff print sources 1945 Menemsha Films Neil Friedman neilf@menemshafilms.com

Ben Gurion: Epilogue Go2Films Hedva Goldschmidt hedva@go2films.com

Land of Milk and Funny Avi Liberman aviliberman@pipeline.com

Mr. Bernstein Z Films, Inc. Francine Zuckerman fzuckerman@gmail.com

The 90 Minute War Norma Productions Elisha Amir elisha@norma.co.il

Beneath the Silence Go2Films Hedva Goldschmidt hedva@go2films.com

Cuba’s Forgotten Jewels: A Haven in Havana National Center for Jewish Film Lisa Rivo lisarivo@brandeis.edu

My Hero Brother Omer Har-shai office@myherobrother.org

A Quiet Heart Green Productions Maya Weinberg dist@greenproductions.co.il

Between Worlds Go2Films Hedva Goldschmidt hedva@go2films.com

Germans & Jews First Run Features Marc Mauceri marcm@firstrunfeatures.com

After Auschwitz: The Stories of Six Women BCP Films Jon Kean jon@bcpfilm.com

The Body Collector NL Film Lotteke Plante lotteke.plante@nlfilm.tv

Hounds Michelle Pose mposedist@gmail.com

Paradise Film Movement Maxwell Wolkin maxwell@filmmovement.com

An Average Story Go2Films Hedva Goldschmidt hedva@go2films.com

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story Zeitgeist Films Nancy Gerstman nancy@zeitgeistfilms.com

In Between Film Movement Maxwell Wolkin maxwell@filmmovement.com

Past Life Samuel Goldwyn Taylor Devorsky taylor@samuelgoldwyn.com

An Israeli Love Story Go2Films Hedva Goldschmidt hedva@go2films.com

Bye Bye Germany Film Movement Maxwell Wolkin maxwell@filmmovement.com

Let Yourself Go Menemsha Films Neil Friedman neilf@menemshafilms.com

Rabbi Wolff: A Gentleman Before God 7th Art Releasing Jake Bart jake@7thart.com

Anna IsraeliFilms Dana Goren israelifilms@gmail.com

The Children of Chance Other Angle Pictures Camille Melissari camille.oap@gmail.com

Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George’s Creators Passion River Films Kurt Beadling Kurt@passionriver.com

Remember A24 Spencer Lindenman spencer@a24films.com

Ave Maria Incognito Films Eric Dupont eric.dupont@gmail.com

The Chop Salaud Morisset Zoé Rossion festival@salaudmorisset.com

Monsieur Mayonnaise 7th Art Releasing Jake Bart jake@7thart.com

p33

Denver Jewish Film Festival

Our Father Transfax Film Productions Sara Cohen sara@transfax.co.il

Riphagen: The Untouchable Pupkin Aster Reinboud aster@pupkin.com

February 7 - 19, 2018

Sammy Davis, Jr: I’ve Gotta Be Me Menemsha Films Neil Friedman neilf@menemshafilms.com Shalom Bollywood Menemsha Films Neil Friedman neilf@menemshafilms.com Shelter Menemsha Films Neil Friedman neilf@menemshafilms.com Siberia Go2Films Hedva Goldschmidt hedva@go2films.com Wig Shop Jessica Neuman ceebsnu@gmail.com

22nd DJFF 2018 22nd Denver Jewish Film Festival

sponsors FESTIVAL TITLE SPONSORS Sturm Family Foundation FESTIVAL PRESENTING SPONSORS Joanne Singer Peter Kudla EXECUTIVE PRODUCER SPONSORS Scott’s Liquid Gold Strear Family Foundation Gary & Teresa Yourtz Foundation The Perlmutter, Cook and Dansky Family Jane E & Stanton Rosenbaum Susan Mathews, LIV Sotheby’s International Realty

DIRECTOR SPONSOR Krista & Mark Boscoe and Ryley Carlock & Applewhite Scott Robinson, Argonaut Celeste Grynberg Dr. Hilary & Rabbi Eliot Baskin, All About Braces and Colorado Orthodontics Carol & Irwin Wagner Gabriela & Peter Gottlieb Jennifer Kane LEADING ACTOR SPONSOR Geri & Meyer Saltzman Mindy Levy & Steven Peckar Marsha & Gary Blum Lisa & Dr. Lynn Taussig Joyce & Gary Pashel

Joanne & Arthur Kleinstein Roberta & Dr. Melvyn Klein Betsy Mordecai & Gareth Heyman SUPPORTING ACTOR SPONSORS Kathy Neustadt Stephen Replin & Bernita Cornfield Jeffrey Reiss Renee and Martin Gross Family Foundation

DJFF SPECIAL THANKS Robyn Loup Kathy Neustadt Michael Rudnick Dr. Irwin E. and Sandra Vinnik Endowed Memorial Fellowship Fund

SPONSORED BY

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS AND PARTNERS

2018 DJFF PRE-SCREENER COMMITTEE Adena Sladek Alan Wernz Aliza Saper Ann and Jere Ross Ann and Michael Hart Arlene Stein Belina Fruitman Bobby Sherman Brian and Klila Caplan Carol & Mike Sarche Cathy Cohen Christine Cordova C.J. Blakely Cooper Dahlen-Pagano Debbie Goodman Elizabeth Lamp Gary Blum Geri Saltzman Ilana Reis Ivan Beckoff Jackee Woodman

Jake Davis Jan Schorr Jan Spitzer Jan Steinhauser Jane Fruchtman Jerry Kopelman Marilyn Kopelman Jesse Blum Joanne Walker Joel Weissman Joyce Ackerman Judi Marcus Julia Walsh David Walsh Katy Hoth Larry Matten Lexie Robbins Matina Soutsos Noam Grinfeld Olga Guerra Paula Breese

Renee Brilliant Rick Mishkin Rinna Gordon Rosalie Martin Sam Churches Sam Marier Sarah Levy Stu Bellack Sue Fein Susan Krems Susan Scholl Tom Feldman Vicki Rottman

DJFF SELECTION COMMITTEE

MACC BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mark Boscoe, Chair Jennifer Kane Marcia Karshmer Art Kleinstein Susan C. Mathews Jeffrey Reiss Steve Replin Scott Robinson Emily Sturm Steve Wilson Amy Weiner

Kathy Neustadt, Chair Joanne Singer, Treasurer Sue Aaronson Nancy Alterman Terry Heller Steve Replin Geri Bader Saltzman Lisa Taussig Julie Turken Betsy Mordecai Heyman Robin Glickstein Ann Geldzahler

MACC STAFF Steve Wilson, Executive Artistic Director Amy Weiner, Director of Festivals Kellie Lambert, Director of Administration Dan Rib, Production Manager David Payne, Technical Director Trevor Fulton, Patron Services Manager Emily MacIntyre, Director of Education Becky Toma, PR, House Manager/ Volunteer Coordinator

info & tickets: maccjcc.org/film | box office: 303.316.6360

p34

We are Proud to Support the 2018 Denver Jewish Film Festival

Creative Solutions RCAlaw.com

Mark H. Boscoe mboscoe@rcalaw.com 303.813.6744

Continue Discovering Israel

WITh The MACC

at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Sloan’s Lake for a springtime JAAMM screening of an Israeli film on

Saturday, April 14, 2018 at 9:00 pm

11o1 t h a n n u a l

JAAMM Fest

Scott’s Liquid Gold is Proud to Support the 2018 Denver Jewish Film Festival

Scott’s Liquid Gold-Inc. Neoteric Cosmetics, Inc.

ScottsLiquidGold.com | NeotericCosmetics.com

&QNQTGU *WGTVC Subject of documentary Dolores

APRIL 10 - 15, 2018 A six-day showcase of documentaries, PCTTCVKXGU CPF UJQTV ƂNOU EGNGDTCVKPI VJG DGUV KP YQOGP EGPVTKE RTQITCOOKPI The festival is a part of the Denver Film Society’s year round Women+Film program, the mission of which is to promote films for, by, and about women to engage with the audience, build community, educate and inspire.

15+ films Panel Discussions In-Person Guests Receptions

Celebrate the art & contributions QH YQOGP ƂNOOCMGTU HTQO around the world!

VISIT DENVERFILM.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION SPONSORED BY:

Mizel Arts and Culture Center at the J 350 South Dahlia Street Denver, CO 80246-8102

non-Profit Org. u.S. Postage

PAID Denver, CO Permit no. 2027

SUNDAy

Family Show 1:00 PM