Austin Jewish Film Festival Announces Full Film Slate Including Three World Premieres

The Austin Jewish Film Festival has announced its 2024 Festival lineup, which includes three world premiere titles, Q&A events with filmmakers from around the globe, and parties, all conveniently located at the Dell Jewish Community Center. 

Noteworthy events include the opening night film Guns and Moses with visiting filmmaker and screenwriter, Sal Litvak. One of their many free programs will be the world premiere of Seeds for Change made by Austin's very own Mike O'Krent. Something totally fun and different will be a Yaniv Popup Club  based on a popular Hasidic card game, following the screening of the new comedy Yaniv, along with co-screenwriter and lead actor, Ben Ducoff. And closing night will feature Dani Menkin's powerful new documentary Colleyville with Menkin (and possibly other special guests) in person. Of course that only scratches the surface of what the festival has to offer.

The 22nd Austin Jewish Film Festival will occur in person October 31 - November 10, 2024, followed by an online session November 15 - 24. Check out the Sizzle Reel Preview for 2024 and see what treats are in store. 

Guns & Moses

Southwest Premiere

Opening Night Film Reception, with drinks and food.

Director/Writer: Salvador Litvak

Moses Zaltzman is a beloved Hasidic rabbi in a dusty desert town. When his congregation is violently attacked, police quickly arrest a young white nationalist who threatened them in the past, but Rabbi Mo thinks the troubled teen may be innocent. With no one else willing to investigate, Rabbi Mo becomes the detective, and as the bodies pile up, he must learn how to use a gun in order to battle the real enemy. At the heart of the film is the unexpected bond between the rabbi and an antisemite, as well as Mo's looming fear that he won't pull the trigger if he has to… and that he will. AJFF will present an in person Q&A with the director, Salvador Litvak, after the movie.

 

Iron Ladies

World Premiere 

Director: Aoife Kelleher

The previously untold story of a group of young Jewish housewives and ‘mums', who, at the height of the Cold War, took on the might of the USSR in defense of the rights and freedoms of Soviet Jews… and won. The 35s were an international network of women with no political power or experience, who simply refused to stand idle in the face of Soviet tyranny and persecution of their co-religionists. Starting with demonstrations and protests, they progressed to a series of clandestine visits behind the Iron Curtain, worthy of a spy novel, posing as tourists in order to support and find out about the conditions of so-called ”Refusenik” Jews. Helped by a top-secret Israeli Government agency, Nativ, these trips helped fuel political campaigns that secured the release of key dissidents, opening fissures that led to the eventual liberation of over a million Soviet Jews. For decades, the women kept their activities secret, but now, in their seventies and eighties, they are finally ready to talk.

 

Song of Ascent 

Southwest Premiere

Director/Writer:Shlomo Weprin

A powerful documentary/concert film chronicling famous Jewish musician Matisyahu's profound journey amidst the aftermath of the October 7th massacre in Israel. Bookended by two poignant trips to his ancestral homeland, the film captures Matisyahu's controversial US tour, where he faced cancellations and protests due to rising anti-Israel sentiment. Witness Matisyahu's intimate experiences at Kibbutzim, the Nova Festival site, rehab centers, and other locations deeply impacted by the tragedy. Through it all, Matisyahu performs three electrifying shows in Israel, becoming a defiant voice for Jewish people worldwide.

 

The Glory of Life

Southwest Premiere

Directors: Georg Maas, Judith Kaufmann

Because of the power of love, the last year of Franz Kafka's life becomes his happiest. He has never before been able to allow himself to experience intimacy, but he is now suffering from tuberculosis and becoming dependent on his overbearing family.  The worldly wise Dora Diamant accepts him as he is and he accepts her. The two meet in 1923 on the Baltic Sea coast, where he is convalescing and she is working in a Jewish Volksheim. Together they go to Berlin and, when Franz's health deteriorates rapidly, to a sanatorium in Austria. Barely a year after they meet, he dies. The memory of their time together will shape Dora for the rest of her life.

Auction

Southwest Premiere

Director/Writer: Pascal Bonitzer

André Masson, an auctioneer at Scottie's, receives a letter from a lawyer claiming that a blue collar worker in the suburbs of Mulhouse owns a painting by Egon Schiele. André's first reaction is to believe that it can only be a fake. He decides to make the trip to Mulhouse anyway and against all odds, the painting turns out to be a masterpiece gone missing in 1939. This could undoubtedly be the turning point of his career, but after a brief investigation, he realizes that he has in his hands a looted work of art.

Seeds for Change

World Premiere

Free Event

Director/Writer: Mike O'Krent

”Recent reports from the U.S. government are telling us that we have a limited amount of time to take the steps that are necessary to control climate change…our very existence is at risk. In the end, climate change will be controlled by agriculture.” Way ahead of their time, Mark Feedman and Chela Lightchild through their work with the Peace Corps in the early 1970s, discover and put into practice a sustainable solution to climate change. Mike O'Krent presents this movie about a prescient couple whose groundbreaking work influenced many, including former Austinites Rosalie and Joe Oliveri, in attendance along with director Mike O'Krent. 

Yaniv

Central Texas Premiere 

Director/Writer: Amnon Carm

A high school teacher in the Bronx loses funding for the school musical and convinces his fellow statistics teacher—secretly a recovering gambling addict—to help him cheat at an underground card game run by the Hasidic Jewish community. The plan goes awry with mounting consequences, but help comes at an unexpected time from the least likely people.This event comes with a twist. We'll not only show this screwball comedy and have the lead actor/co-screenwriter with us, but we'll have our very own Yaniv Popup Club following the film for you to try this fun card game yourself. This has been a big hit on the international Jewish Film Festival circuit. Lead actor and co-screenwriter Ben Ducoff will be at the festival to conduct a Q&A and coordinate the Yaniv Popup Club, and Johnny Pickles Distillery will have spirits tastings to make the event even better!

Running on Sand

Texas Premiere

Director: Adar Shafran

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 soccer player, 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 the team of ‘Maccabi Netanya'. Despite the absence of any soccer talent, Aumari is able to cover up and heal the divisions of his struggling team, while a tender romantic bond with the charmingly unconventional daughter of the team owner grows.

All About the Leftkoviches

Central Texas Premiere

Director/writer: Ádám Breier

The generous but stubborn boxing coach, Tamás, gets along well with everyone but his own son. They have not spoken since the boy, Iván, moved to Israel and became orthodox. When Tamás' beloved wife, Zsuzsa, dies unexpectedly, Tamas allows his son to sit Shiva in his house as long as he brings his grandson Ariel with him. As past conflicts resurface, they embark on an unexpected journey of self- reflection and reconciliation. Father and son are obliged not just to face their old grievances during the one-week religious mourning, but to help Ariel deal with his own grief and his obsession that grandma's spirit is still in the house.

Nor by Day, Nor by Night

Central Texas Premiere

Director/Writer: Phinehas Veuillet

A "born again" Sephardic family tries to integrate within the insular Ashkenazi ultra-orthodox community in Bnei Brak. Their son Raphael, a prodigy, is not accepted into a prestigious yeshiva. His mother, Ahuva, tries to handle the situation peacefully, but his father, Shmuel, a handyman with great faith, struggles to come to terms with this disappointment. Shmuel fights to change this decree, leading to the family's ostracization and their children's expulsion from local institutions. A dramatic event shakes both the family and Haredi society, probing their shared faith. The film explores the struggles of Baalei Teshuva, their faith, their escape from the past, and the personal cost of their journey.

Colleyville

Central Texas Premiere

Closing Night Film Reception, with drinks and food.

Director/Writer: Dani Menkin

Colleyville, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth, has a history of being ranked the safest city in Texas. It is so peaceful and so safe that (almost) no one has ever heard of it until January 15, 2022, when a terrorist seized Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville. The synagogue live-streamed its services via Facebook, and the streaming continued throughout the hostage situation. More than 200 local, state, and federal law enforcement officials, including a SWAT team and 70 FBI hostage negotiators and rescue operatives, were called in. For the first time, all of the hostages and their families tell their stories on camera. Menkin, a superb storyteller whose latest film is no exception, will be in attendance for this closing night event.

AJFF also has many quality shorts. Please see the full schedule here. 

This year's Festival will take place at the Dell Jewish Community Center in Northwest Austin. Individual passes and tickets are now on sale.

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