Spokane Area Jewish Family Services is thrilled to present the 21st annual Spokane Jewish Film Festival! SJFF 2025 will take place Jan. 25-26 and Feb. 1-2 in person and online Jan. 26-Feb. 1. We’ll kick off this year’s festival with an opening night reception and Zoom Q&A at the Magic Lantern Theatre, where all in-person screenings will take place. The virtual festival will include films we're screening online only!

Schedule of the Event :

January 25, 2025

Carla the Rescuer

Embark on an extraordinary journey with Carla Peperzak, a courageous Jewish member of the Dutch resistance during WWII, whose message of hope resonates today. As a teenager in Amsterdam, Carla risked everything to aid fellow Jews, forging ID cards and providing shelter from the brutal Nazi regime and their collaborators. Growing up alongside Margot Frank, sister of Anne, Carla witnessed the harrowing realities of the Holocaust, enduring the loss of three-quarters of her extended family. Yet from this unimaginable tragedy Carla eventually emerged with an unwavering determination to speak out against injustice — a mission she continues steadfastly at 101 years of age.

Runtime: 88 minutes

Jack and Sam

Jack and Sam is a poignant documentary about two Holocaust survivors miraculously reunited after 80 years. Now in their late 90s, they are spending the precious time they have left rekindling their friendship and educating others about the dangers of hatred. Mixing documentary, archival, and breathtaking animation, this heartwarming story explores the enduring power of connection and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable adversity.

Runtime: 20 minutes

January 26, 2025

Lyd

A sci-fi documentary that follows the rise and fall of Lyd — a 5,000-year-old metropolis that was once a bustling Palestinian town until it was conquered when the State of Israel was established in 1948. As the film unfolds, a chorus of characters creates a tapestry of the Palestinian experience of this city and the trauma left by the massacre and expulsion.

Runtime: 78 minutes

February 1, 2025

Shoshana

Shoshana is a political thriller from acclaimed director Michael Winterbottom that unfolds during the British Mandate in 1930s Tel Aviv. The film follows two British police officers, Thomas Wilkin and Geoffrey Morton, in their hunt for poet and Zionist activist Avraham Stern, who is plotting to evict British authorities.

Runtime: 121 minutes

February 2, 2025

We Should Eat

We Should Eat humorously touches on age-old familial irritations: kvetching, the intricacies of raising preteen daughters, existential dread -- and, of course, the perpetual struggle to figure out what to order for dinner.

Runtime: 9 minutes

Running on Sand

Aumari, a young Eritrean refugee living in Israel, is about to be deported back to his home country. After a spontaneous escape attempt at the airport, he is mistaken for a Nigerian striker, who is supposed to arrive at the same time. Aumari seizes the opportunity and benefits from his change of identity as the new key acquisition for Israel's Maccabi Netanya soccer team. Despite the absence of any soccer talent, Aumari tries to heal the divisions of his struggling team, while a tender romantic bond with the charmingly unconventional daughter of the team owner is growing.

Runtime: 104 minutes

Just the Tip

As a female filmmaker, the topic of male circumcision is not something Jessie Kahnweiler ever thought she’d be interested in, and as a Jew, she just assumed she would circumcise her child if she had a boy. But then she fell in love with a guy who isn't Jewish, and the issue -- well, it came up.

Runtime: 14 minutes

Date : January 25-26 and February 1-2, 2025

Time :
January 25 and February 1, 2025 at 7:00pm
January 26 and February 2, 2025 at 2:00pm

Location : Magic Lantern Theatre, 25 W. Main Ave, Spokane, Washington, 99201, Spokane, WA 99201

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