Schedule:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024:

7:00 pm - Kidnapped

Based on incredible true events, this gripping drama tells the story of a young Jewish boy whose abduction from his parents by the Vatican fuelled outrage in 19th-century Italy, and triggered a global scandal. The family’s struggles to have their son returned take a political dimension, supported by public opinion and the international Jewish community, but Pope Pius IX stands resolute as the Church aims to consolidate its increasingly wavering power.

Thursday, February 01, 2024:

7:00 pm - Left Alone Rhapsody – The Musical Memoir of Pianist John Bayless - OPENING NIGHT FILM 

At 25, John Bayless, Leonard Bernstein’s protege, debuted at Carnegie Hall. His astounding technical prowess initiated a 30-year concert and recording career as pianist, composer, and improvisor. Then, at 54, he suffered two major setbacks, and the music stopped. This film chronicles John’s career and amazing recovery, his conversion to Judaism, and new piano technology that allows John to play again.

Guest Speakers: John Bayless, Film Subject and Stewart M. Schulman, Director

SPECIAL PERFORMANCE BY: John Bayless/Pianist

Friday, February 02, 2024:

10:00 am - Without Precedent: Supreme Life of Rosalie Abella

MARLA BENNETT TRIBUTE:

The daughter of Holocaust survivors, Rosalie Silberman Abella was determined early on to defend the rights of those who faced injustice. Her family relocated to Toronto, where she studied law and, at 29 years old, was appointed a judge. As Abella talks about her illustrious career, it is clear that her vision for an inclusive, diverse, and equitable Canada resonates to this day.

1:00 pm - Sabotage: Golda’s War Diaries

Sabotage:

In January 1945, less than two weeks before the evacuation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, four forced-laborer women maintained an underground operation in the munitions workshop. Based on the diary of one of these women, this film tells the story of feminine heroism, camaraderie, resistance, and, finally, tragedy. Contains Holocaust material.

Saturday, February 03, 2024:

6:45 pm - Remembering Gene Wilder

Remember Willy Wonka, Leo Bloom in “The Producers,” and Dr. Frankenstein in “Young Frankenstein”? Here is the full life of Gene Wilder, comedian and mensch, complete with dozens of film clips, uproarious outtakes, narration by Wilder himself, and commentary by Mel Brooks and others who knew him well. This film is a joyful celebration of the life and work of one of our great artists.

Sunday, February 04, 2024:

12:00 pm - Less Than Kosher: Shiva Baby

At 20, Viv was a promising young singer. At 30, her failing music career has forced her back into her mother's basement. But when this self-proclaimed "bad Jew" reluctantly becomes the substitute Cantor at her family's synagogue, she’s thrown into a wild ride of drugs, lust, tense family drama, self-discovery and “Judeo-pop” music.

4:00 pm - The Burning Cold

Winter of 1943. In Andorra, a small country in the Pyrenees, Antonio and Sara are expecting their first child. When a family of Jews fleeing Nazi persecution arrives in the valley, the locals will find their lives disrupted and filled with a sense of fear and unease. Sara will have to face her own contradictions and decide whether to follow her head... or her conscience. The past, along with all the secrets that have remained buried under the snow for so many years, are about to surface. The burning cold has reached the mountains.

7:00 pm - The Monkey House

Avi Nesher, award winning Israeli director's new film! Amitai Kariv, a once-successful Israeli novelist, seeks to reinvigorate his career with an inventive scam. He hires a would-be actress to impersonate a Masters literature student researching his novels, but the subterfuge gets out of hand, and a variety of twists and turns that could expose Kariv ensues.

Monday, February 05, 2024:

10:00 am - Generation 1.5

Russian immigrants who came to Israel as children and teens have made a positive impact on Israel as doctors and high tech workers. Now young adults, they discuss their difficult transition to Israel which involved discrimination and sacrifice, and their current feelings about being citizens with a rich background from another culture.

1:00 pm - 5th Paragraph - Invalids: Grossman

In the USSR, the 5th Paragraph referred to long-standing discrimination faced by Soviet Jews, who were denied access to higher education and certain jobs due to suspicions of dual loyalty. The film, based on Zoom interviews with 20 Israeli immigrants, reveals the stark contrast between Soviet propaganda and the reality faced by Soviet Jews.

4:00 pm - Children of Nobody

Youth from broken homes have one last chance for a somewhat normal life with adult guidance at Margalita’s house in Tel Aviv. But their future is endangered when the city, the property owner, plans to sell it to a businessman who wants to build a boutique hotel. In response, Jackie tries to “fight city hall” and save the other young men.

7:00 pm - Murray Galinson San Diego-Israel Initiative (MGSDII) Emerging Israeli Filmmaker Artist in Residence

Letter to a Pig

A beautifully styled, emotionally charged story about a Holocaust survivor, Haim, sharing his memories of the horrors to a classroom of teenage students.

Tuesday, February 06, 2024:

10:00 am - My Father's Secrets

Lipinsky Family Foundation Student Day

Based on Michel Kichka’s autobiographical graphic novel, this animation film, in which two young Jewish brothers growing up happily in Belgium in the 1960s want to know about their father’s past, is about breaking the silences that often prevail between the survivors of the Holocaust and their children. 

1:00 pm - Prophets of Change

In a land defined by conflict and division for centuries, a new generation of artists is reframing the conversation. In this documentary, Israeli and Palestinian musicians unite to break a cycle of fear and distrust in this inspiring, hopeful look at the universal language of song.  They come from all walks of life and a wide range of styles, including rap, hip-hop, and heavy metal. Faced with condemnation and even death threats, these musical activists together forge a call to action and blueprint for peace.  Penetrating and highly energetic, this sonic portrait of courage and compassion swells with a fist-pumping soundtrack of modern Middle Eastern music, and all-star roster of narrators including J.K. Simmons, Forest Whitaker, Sarah Silverman and more.

4:00 pm - The Goldman Case

Pierre Goldman, a left-wing activist, was tried twice and sentenced to life imprisonment, but was mysteriously murdered. Georges Kiejman, a young lawyer, defends him in the second trial. But very quickly, their relationship becomes strained. Goldman, elusive and provocative, risks the death penalty and makes the outcome of the trial uncertain.

7:00 pm - Shoshana

In 1930s Tel Aviv, a brand-new European Jewish city under the Mandate, a British Palestine policeman loves Shoshana, a progressive feminist who supports the Haganah. But the Stern Gang and the Irgun are players in this political landscape also, and everyone is forced to choose sides in their hopes to build a new society. Stars Douglas Booth, Irina Starshenbaum and Harry Melling (Harry Potter, The Queen's Gambit).

Wednesday, February 07, 2024:

10:00 am - Hope Without Boundaries

THE KEN

THE KEN is a captivating documentary that tells us the remarkable journey of a resilient and vibrant Jewish community that has flourished for half a century in the heart of San Diego, California. With its roots tracing back to Tijuana, Mexico, this tight-knit community has grown and thrived, becoming a symbol of resilience and cultural diversity. 

1:00 pm - Charlotte

This is the remarkable true story of German-Jewish artist Charlotte Salomon who escaped the Nazis for two years. Her masterpiece, “Life? or Theater?” which is shown here through her art works, was created while she lived in the south of France from 1941-43.

4:00 pm - Story of Annette Zelman

Romeo and Juliet in 1942. She was Jewish; he was Catholic. Annette and Jean wanted to get married, but Jean’s parents were opposed. Annette Zelman was reported to the Gestapo by her fiancé’s father and, though he tried to undo his denunciation of her, she was ultimately sent to Auschwitz.  Based on a true story.

7:00 pm - The Catskills

Take a walk down memory lane to see how Jews developed a fabulous mountain resort area to rival the restricted Gentile getaways. Here are the Concord, Grossingers, and bungalow colonies with food, golf, activities and great entertainment and stories that resounded through generations.

Guest Speaker: Dr. Samantha Goldstein

Samantha Goldstein has taught comedy, literature and creative writing for over two decades. She has a Ph.D in Literature from UC San Diego, where she created and taught a course called The Yada Yada Factor: Jewish Humor from the Catskills to Seinfeld. For the past 13 years, she has directed and acted in comedies in San Diego theater and film, and is trained in stand-up comedy, improv, and comedic public speaking.

Thursday, February 08, 2024:

10:00 am - Children of Peace

Children who were brought up in a utopic social experiment in the only community in the world where Palestinians and Israelis chose to live together in co-existence. "Oasis of peace" is a utopic dream that shattered into reality. Arabs and Jews have lived in ongoing conflict for over a century. A group of dreamers decided to challenge everything they know about their nationalities and histories and founded a village in 1970s Israel as a social experiment. The film follows the many children who were brought up in this unique environment. 

1:00 pm - Israel Swings For Gold

In 2021, Israel’s baseball team competed in the Olympics for the first time. With no media allowed in the Olympic Village, the players record their own experiences. Mostly newly-minted Israelis, they log unexpected battles against global anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. These filmmakers directed the award-winning documentary "Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel,” shown at our festival.

4:00 pm - The Shadow Of The Day

In 1930’s Italy, Luciano, a wounded World War I veteran and Fascist sympathizer (like most Italians at the time) runs a classy restaurant overlooking the town’s ancient square. When Anna suddenly appears and is hired as a waitress, romance blooms, but Anna’s dangerous secret may spell disaster for everyone.

7:00 pm - Bella

In the patriarchal 1970’s, Bella Abzug challenged the rule of men and entered Congress with her trademark hat, and Bronx swagger. She battled for credit cards for women, equality for the LGBTQ community, and trail blazed a path for leadership that reflected the diversity of the country.

Friday, February 09, 2024:

10:00 am - Women of Valor

In the Haredi community, a woman’s obligation is to marry and bear children, and serve as primary breadwinner while her husband studies religious texts. Haredi political parties in Israel forbid women to seek public office. Fed up with the status quo, Esty Shushan is fighting to change that. She co-founded a nonprofit calling for representation of Orthodox women in the Knesset, taking their case to the UN women’s rights committee and the Israeli Supreme Court. 

1:00 pm - Martha Liebermann - A Stolen Life

In 1943 Berlin, at 85 and Jew, Martha’s only choice was to go abroad or suffer the fate of most Jews. Her world-famous husband Max Liebermann’s valuable pictures still give her protection, but for how much longer? Martha's friends pressure her to escape with Hanna Solf's resistance group. But several unforeseen events interfere, possibly trapping Martha.

Saturday, February 10, 2024:

7:00 pm - Serial (Bad) Weddings 3 - CLOSING NIGHT FILM

Distressed that three of their daughters have married men of different religions and cultures, Claude and Marie hope their fourth daughter will make a more “reasonable” choice.

Sunday, February 11, 2024:

10:00 am - To Be Announced Film #1

This film screening will be announced during the 2024 SDIJFF. After it is announced tickets will be available.

12:30 pm - To Be Announced Film #2

This film screening will be announced during the 2024 SDIJFF. After it is announced tickets will be available.

Date: January 31, 2024 - February 11, 2024

Location:

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

Click here for Tickets

Click here for More Information