33rd Annual San Diego International Jewish Film Festival

Schedule:
Sunday, January 29, 2023
11:00am: Complimentary Tickets - 2023 SDIJFF Preview Day - Reception
New to the festival experience this year, we are hosting the SDIJFF Preview Day on Sunday, January 29. It’s your chance to identify the films you most want to see and to make plans with friends for February! Come to the LFJCC for a viewing experience in the Garfield Theatre and see trailers from the festival films – and stick around for a nosh.

Wednesday, February 15, 2023
1:00pm: Our Sons - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
The deaths of three IDF soldiers—immigrant volunteers from the US and France-in the 2014 Gaza invasion initiate a storm of protest and competing views of duty vs. sacrifice to Israel. Their funerals became a testament to the strong ties between the diaspora and Israel.

4:00pm: Neighbours - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
A young Kurdish boy lives in a middle-eastern village where children are subjected to political ideologies with no understanding of their ramifications.

2022 Spokane Jewish Cultural Film Festival: Audience Award, Best Feature) | 2021 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival: San Francisco Film Critics Jury Prize | Boston Jewish Film Festival: Audience Award | 2021 Warsaw Jewish Film Festival: Special Jury Mention

7:00pm: Remember This - UNDERWRITER ONLY - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
David Straithairn gives a riveting one-man stage performance as Jan Karski, the Polish diplomat who tried to save Jews during WWII.

Thursday, February 16, 2023
10:00am: Deadly Deception at Sobibor - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
Under the forest that once was Sobibor, an Israeli archaeologist unearths artifacts that reveal victims’ identities and previously unknown details about this camp. Contains Holocaust material.

1:00pm: Apples and Oranges - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
350,000 youngsters from around the world, motivated by ideology and adventurism, volunteered on kibbutzim during the 1970s and1980s and now reflect on their experiences.

4:00pm: Schächten - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
In this Nazi-hunting detective thriller, a survivor’s son tracks down and puts a Mathausen guard on trial, with serious repercussions. Contains Holocaust material.

7:00pm: Karaoke - OPENING NIGHT FILM - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
Meir and Tova’s “fun-loving” new neighbor shows them what they’ve been missing and what they didn’t know about each other.

Ophir Awards (Israeli Academy Awards): Nominated for 14 Ophir awards including Best Film

Opening Night Film

Friday, February 17, 2023
10:30am: Alegría - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
At odds with her family over religion, Alegria faces a difficult choice when her daughter makes Aliyah in order to marry an Orthodox man.

1:30pm: Haute Couture - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
Esther, nearing retirement from the House of Dior, takes a rebellious young girl under her wing, giving them both hope for a better life.

San Francisco Jewish Film Festival: Honorable Mention, San Francisco Critics Jury Prize

Marla Bennett Tribute

Saturday, February 18, 2023
7:00pm: Farewell, Mr. Haffmann - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
A jeweler’s assistant, hoping to better himself and help his Jewish employer, finds himself in a complicated position as he navigates his marriage, the Nazis and the war. Starring Daniel Auteuil. Mature audiences.

San Francisco Jewish Film Festival: Audience Award, Best Narrative

Sunday, February 19, 2023
1:00pm: Four Winters - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
Meet Resistance fighters who survived the Holocaust in the forests: subverting German operations, stealing food and weapons, performing surgery outdoors.

Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival: Tied for Audience Award | 2022 Toronto Jewish Film Festival, Best Documentary, Holocaust | Recipient of Steven Spielberg’s Jewish Story Partners Grant

4:00pm: More Than I Deserve - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
A mother and son, Ukrainian immigrants to Israel, struggle to navigate their new country in social, religious and political ways, learning much about themselves on this journey.

Ophir Awards (Israeli Academy Awards): Nominated for seven Israeli Academy Awards | Jerusalem Film Fest: Best Screenplay

7:00pm: April 7, 1980 - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
This suspenseful drama of the attack on Kibbutz Misgav Am showcases the lives of individuals as they try to save their community and children.

Monday, February 20, 2023
10:00am: Amen Amen Amen: A Story for Our Times - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
A magnificent Torah scroll made for an Arab? Yes—for Sheik Zayed, the founder of the UAE, whose central principle is religious pluralism and tolerance.

Lipinsky Family Foundation Student Day

1:00pm: Exhibition on Screen: Lucian Freud: A Self Portrait - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
Meet artist Lucien Freud and his powerful paintings as he, and others, explore his life and history, and give insights into his art.

4:00pm: Where Life Begins - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
When her Orthodox family travels to southern Italy to harvest citrons for Succoth, Esther has a chance to explore independence as a young adult with coming of age desires.

7:00pm: Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
Learn the rich and complex backstory of Leonard Cohen’s years spent laboring over the lyrics of his perhaps most-famous song.

Bryna Kranzler Tribute

Tuesday, February 21, 2023
10:00am: Edge of Light - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
A Polish Gentile enlists his town’s help to restore a Jewish cemetery destroyed after WWII, a true act of tikkum ulum.

1:00pm: Finding Light - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
Choreographer Stephen Mills creates a dance piece that expresses the pain, strength and hope of Holocaust survivor Naomi Warren.

4:00pm: The Man In The Basement - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
In present-day Paris, a difficult tenant causes legal and personal problems for his landlord and family as both struggle to manage a dangerous situation.

7:00pm: MGSDII Emerging Filmmaker Residency Award Winners: All Those Beginnings & He Can Sleep on the Couch
Community Reception 6:00pm - 7:00pm

Plus A Reception after the film screening:

Join us for a special Israeli reception with the filmmakers, desserts, wine and beer.

All Those Beginnings
MGSDII Emerging Filmmaker Residency Award Winners: Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival Murray Galinson San Diego-Israel Initiative (MGSDII)

Nimrod, an Israeli who studies in Germany, visits his childhood home. He reveals his grandfather's holocaust diary and it forces him to face both personal memories and the history of his Jewish family.

He Can Sleep on the Couch
A young woman living in her own Garden of Eden with her boyfriend in Jerusalem has taken a vow not to leave their apartment until she finishes her novel. Mature audiences.

Wednesday, February 22, 2023
10:00am: Dead Sea Guardians - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
Save the Dead Sea! With magnificent cinematography, watch a Palestinian, Jordanian and Israeli bond as they work to raise awareness by swimming across the sea.

1:00pm: Reckonings - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
The film explores the historical considerations of financial reparations for Holocaust survivors, who should be included in this group, and how much money to demand. Contains Holocaust material.

4:00pm: A Radiant Girl - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
A young Jewish girl aspires to become an actress during the Occupation of France when changes around her are complex and not always visible.

7:00pm: Rock Camp - CENTERPIECE FILM - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
Watch average people jam with real rock stars at Rock Camp and learn that there is much more to rock and roll than music and a good time.

Key West Film Festival: Winner, Music Documentary

Thursday, February 23, 2023
10:00am: The Conference - The Art of Un-War - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
The Conference
The Wannsee Conference set out the Nazis’ Final Solution. Who attended and how their plan was to be enacted are explored in this revealing film. Contains Holocaust material.

The Art of Un-War
The film explores the life and inspirations of Artist Krzysztof Wodiczko who has developed socially engaging art for over five decades.

New Jersey International Film Festival: Winner, Best Documentary film | Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival: Special Mention, Jury Winner.

1:00pm: 9th Circuit Cowboy, The Long Good Fight of Harry Pregerson - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
This biopic explores Judge Harry Pregerson’s personal life and career as a lawyer, a district court judge, and ultimately one of the most admired appellate judges in the United States.

4:00pm: Chess Story - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
Nazi occupied, Vienna , Austria (1938): Dr.Josef Bartok is trapped in solitary confinement, maintaining his sanity by disappearing into a world of chess - one move at a time. WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES.

7:00pm: Brothers - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
Two Polish brothers risk severe punishment in Nazi-controlled Europe when they hide two Jewish brothers during the Holocaust. Contains Holocaust material.

Friday, February 24, 2023
10:30am: Searching For Gerda Taro - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
Taro, relatively unknown until now, was a pioneer in war photography, covering the Spanish Civil War with her partner, Robert Capa.

1:30pm: Cinema Sabaya - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
Jewish and Palestinian women learning to be filmmakers also learn a great deal about themselves and each other.

Jerusalem Film Festival: Audience Award and Best Israeli First Feature

Saturday, February 25, 2023
7:00pm: Barren - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
An Ultra-Orthodox couple who cannot conceive finally do, under complex religious and moral circumstances. For mature audiences.

Sunday, February 26, 2023
1:00pm: Valiant Hearts - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
An unlikely pair of art curators shelter six children in Chambord Chateau during WWII, beset by visits from Nazis and other dangers.

2022 JxJ Festival (Washington Jewish Film and Music Festivals): Audience Award Winner, Narrative

4:00pm: March '68 - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
Warsaw, Spring 1968: student protests bring a Jewish woman and Polish man together as lovers, but crisis ensues in their relationship under Communist rule.

7:00pm: The Replacement - CLOSING NIGHT FILM - David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre
Closing Night Reception from 5:30pm - 7:00pm

Two police misfits, an inept older detective and an impulsive new officer, uncover a decades-old conspiracy in a sleepy seaside town.

Date: February 15 - 26, 2023

Location: David and Dorothea Garfield Theatre - 4126 Executive Dr La Jolla, CA 92037

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