Welcome to the 6th Annual Joyce Forum Jewish Short Film Festival

Schedule of Events

October 12, 2023

7:00 PM - Program 1

6:00 PM: Wine & Cheese Reception at David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre

The Caretaker

Runtime: 18 minutes
Director: Roland Puknat
Based on true events, when all Jewish and "degenerate" art is ordered to be confiscated from the Kunsthalle Museum in Hamburg, a mild-mannered caretaker risks his life to save some of the art from destruction.

The Artichoke Season

Runtime: 9 minutes
Director: Orna Rottenberg
Precocious, French-born Rosalie recalls her life in a Jerusalem slum, and the mental illness experienced by her mother when her father deserts the family. Mature Themes.

One Look From Above

Runtime: 15 minutes
Director: Nati Avital
A young woman entering the mikveh (ritual bath) for conversion to Judaism is shocked and horrified when she notices one of the supervising rabbis eyeing her inappropriately. Mature Themes.

One Last Wish, Based on "What, Of this Goldfish, Would You Wish?" by Etgar Keret

Runtime: 10 minutes
Director: Galia Osmo
In this animated retelling of The Fisherman and the Fish folktale, a lonely fisherman is granted three wishes from a magical goldfish. After using two wishes to help others in need, he must make a difficult choice for his final wish.

We Are The Proof

Runtime: 12 minutes
Director: Bernard Dichek
The adult children of Holocaust survivors tour former displaced person's camps where their parents lived after the war — all in idyllic German settings. There they find some common bonds with their German hosts.

In the Garden of Tulips

Runtime: 14 minutes
Director: Julia Elihu
During the height of the Iran-Iraq war, a young Jewish woman takes a final, dangerous drive of escape through the Iranian countryside with her father. Guest speaker: Director Julia Elihu

October 13, 2023

10:30 AM - Program 2: Light lunch to follow at David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre

Time Out

Runtime: 20 minutes
Director: Rita Borodiyanski
A female Israeli soldier from a Russian-immigrant family captures a troubled young Palestinian woman at an IDF checkpoint. Although they have no common language, they find many commonalities.

Hive No.10

Runtime: 17 minutes
Director: Anna Anat Gofman Banai
Jonathan returns from kindergarten and announces that he wants to raise bees. This surprising request evokes painful memories for his mother of her own childhood in Russia.

Why I Didn't Report

Runtime: 14 minutes
Director: Ronnie Zidon
After naming her rapist online, a crime journalist is interrogated by a young policewoman and the station chief. Suddenly the accuser becomes the accused. Mature Themes.

Voices in the Void

Runtime: 18 minutes
Director: Juan Pablo De Gamboa
This animated film tells the story of the Melchior family's escape from occupied Denmark in 1943 and the Danish compatriots, particularly clergy and fishermen, who risk their own lives to help the family flee.

Bris

Runtime: 19 minutes
Director: Tamar Kay, Nachman Picovsky
In 1989 Kiev, 8-year-old Max is pressured to undergo a secret circumcision before the family immigrates to Israel. A justly frightened Max must decide if this is worth not disappointing his beloved father. Based on a true story. Mature Themes.

1:30 PM - Program 3 at David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre

Ibach

Runtime: 8 minutes
Director: Rachel Weinberg
Following the escape of a Jewish family and their beloved piano from Nazi Germany in the 1930s to Philadelphia, the piano is lovingly restored four generations later.

Fledge

Runtime: 16 minutes
Director: Hani Dombe , Tom Kouris
In this animated fantasy, young immigrant Elina is shocked when feathers begin to grow on her body. Trying to fit in with her peers, she is forced to choose between belonging and self-acceptance.

Sentence

Runtime: 19 minutes
Director: Or Getz
A caring but pushy mother does everything in her power to help her child speak at his graduation ceremony, not realizing the consequences of her misguided actions.

Hold My Hand

Runtime: 9 minutes
Director: Dean Marriott
In 1939 young Esther was evacuated from Berlin to London in the Kindertransport program. Years later, meeting her great-granddaughter's boyfriend brings back memories of this traumatic time, and enables her to fulfill an outstanding promise.

Start New Game

Runtime: 29 minutes
Director: Shai Ezra
After an ugly fight over a video game, 17-year-old Gil's younger brother packs his bags and runs away from home. While Gil and his single father enlist the police and the community in a search for the missing boy, their own relationship is transformed.

October 14, 2023

4:00 PM - Program 4: Free Screening at David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre

Parachutist

Runtime: 8 minutes
Director: Daniel Ambaya
The film depicts the life of a downtrodden Ethiopian immigrant family through the eyes of the young boy Eli, who tries to live out his dream of becoming a parachutist by playing with plastic bags.

Requiem for a Fish

Runtime: 33 minutes
Director: Gadi Rimer
In a touching testament to his grandfather, an amateur diver he never met, director Gadi Rimer delivers a portrait of a unique Israeli pioneer.

The Peacock That Passed Over

Runtime: 4 minutes
Director: Max Goldberg
A peacock mysteriously appeared on the grounds of a synagogue in Leeds, England four years ago, and never left. This whimsical film explores the responses from various members of this Yorkshire community.

Reality Show

Runtime: 16 minutes
Director: Bar Friedman
After a music reality show contestant brings cameras into his parents' home for an interview, the parents are asked to stage an argument to make it more interesting, revealing more than intended.

Sevap/Mitzvah

Runtime: 20 minutes
Director: Sabina Vajra?a
During WWII in Nazi-occupied Bosnia, a Muslim woman and her husband risk everything to save her Jewish childhood friend and family. Inspired by a true story. Guest speaker: Director Sabina Vajra?a, Invited

7:30 PM - Program 5: Closing Night at David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre

Pitom

Runtime: 19 minutes
Director: Sean Paneth
Moshe, a shy man with a stuttering disorder, reunites with his childhood talking puppet for a ventriloquist stand-up show. What happens next shocks everyone.

BrownWhite

Runtime: 10 minutes
Director: Ruchama Ehrenhalt
Weaving interviews of Israeli bi-racial children and their lived experiences with research findings, this fascinating exploration reveals that identity is more complicated than brown or white.

Day Eight

Runtime: 11 minutes
Director: Inbal Voitiz Sass
Shira, after sitting through the traditional seven days of shiva after losing a loved one, finds that the eighth day is the most difficult, as she struggles to return to normalcy in time for her daughter's birthday.

The Bus Savior

Runtime: 15 minutes
Director: Fanny Ben David
Amit Shahar collects old buses. A child of divorce, his bus trips to visit his father as a child created a life-long fascination resulting in this strange, cumbersome hobby.

13 Driver's Licenses

Runtime: 27 minutes
Director: Ryoya Terao
The discovery of 13 driver's licenses confiscated from Jewish citizens in 1938 leads a German town to face their Nazi past. Local high school students and their teacher research the fates of the owners of the licenses.

Date: October 12-14, 2023

Cost: $19.95

Location:
Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS,
4126 Executive Drive,
La Jolla, CA 92037.

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