It’s time to get ready for one of the Bay Area’s top cinema events: the 36th annual San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (SFJFF36), which opens July 21, and runs through August 7 at five locations throughout the Bay Area. Here’s an early peek at the fest:
- 51 features (33 Documentaries, 18 Narratives) from 13 countries (but mostly from the US and Israel).
- 2 programs of short films (Jews in Shorts), a web series and first two episodes of a thrilling television miniseries.
- 14 world, North American or US premieres.
- celebrity appearances by Norman Lear, Robert Klein, Adam (s0n of Leonard) Nimoy and a passel of filmmakers.
I’ll return with my my four top recommendations from the festival on July 20. Here’s a tease:
- A both funny and thought-provoking documentary about what would seem to be the most unfunny subject possible.
- An addictive taste of an upcoming television miniseries that has the elements of the whodunit, the paranoid thriller, the perfect crime movie and the espionage procedural.
- The world premiere of an entirely fresh and imaginative examination of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict .
- An epic romance with both an exploration of identity and a moral choice.
One of the most appealing features of the SFJFF36 is that, wherever you live in the Bay Area, the fest comes to you. SFJFF36 will present 27-51 films at each of the main venues – the Castro in San Francisco, CineArts in Palo Alto and the Roda Theater at the Berkeley Rep. The festival will also screen at least 14 movies at both the Rafael in San Rafael and the Piedmont in Oakland.
You can peruse the entire program and buy tickets and passes at San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. The fest also offers a handy iPhone app available from the App Store: sjff36. You can follow the Festival on Twitter at @SFJewish Film; and, of course, you can follow my coverage at @themoviegourmet.