Sacramento Jewish Film Festival

The Sacramento Jewish Film Festival returns to the Crest Theater for three exciting days of international and American film screenings. Nine feature films, in multiple genres, will be shown, including a number of award winners. Five short films, a family program, an in-person director’s talk, a live music performance, and post film discussions will also be offered. Over 125 films were reviewed to put together the diverse and compelling program. The program will appeal to the Jewish community and anyone who enjoys fictional and documentary films about interesting people.

The full film program, film trailers, and more information can be found here.

Thursday night starts with a music-themed program with two award-winning documentaries, Joe’s Violin and Itzhak about violinist Itzhak Perlman, with a live violin performance in between. The second program on Thursday documents a real family’s adaption while one parent is in sexual transition.

Saturday night has the documentary Sammy Davis Jr: I’ve Gotta Be Me and is followed by a modern thriller, Shelter; two women, one Mosad agent, the other a Lebanese informant trying to evade Hezbollah in a safe house in Germany.

Sunday is all day long with a number of themes and programs, including a morning family program with a humorous and dramatic film about discovering a grandfather’s holocaust survival story. That film is followed by a documentary about a great granddaughter’s search for her holocaust victim ancestor’s significant artistic legacy, followed by a live director’s talk. The day continues with three comedic and dramatic films about Israeli-Palistinian dynamics, and a comedic drama about an elderly Argentinian man’s return to Poland to find the childhood friend who helped save him during the holocaust. The day finishes with a complex drama about themes of family, religious, and psychological conflict, in contemporary Israel, by acclaimed director Avi Nesher.

Thursday, March 7:
Strings of a People: The Jewish Violin
-6:30pm: Joe’s Violin
-7:15pm: Itzhak

Love is Love
-8:55pm: A Kiss is a Kiss
-9:12pm-10:25pm: Family in Transition

Saturday, March 9:
Welcome Aboard: Becoming Jewish
-6pm: Pre-Program Reception
-7:15pm: Welcome and…Our Condolences
-8pm: Sammy Davis Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me

Perils of Identity and Asylum
-9:55pm-11:30pm: Shelter

Sunday, March 10:
Discovering Family
-10am-Noon: The Samuel Project

Uncovering Artistic Treasures
-12:30pm-2:15pm: Chasing Portraits

Israeli-Palestinian Dynamics
-2:30pm: Open Your Eyes
-2:50pm: Across the Line
-3:20pm-4:45pm: The 90-Minute War

Fulfilling a Promise
-5:05pm-6:42pm: The Last Suit

Family and Faith in Conflict
-7pm-9pm: The Other Story