25th New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival Lineup: Exciting Dramas, Powerful Documentaries, Timeless Classics, and Must-See Romantic Comedies – only at the ASF
Opening on 7 May, the 25th New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival (NYSJFF) is showcasing a rich collection of incredibly relevant films from different eras and areas of the world to the ASF at the Center for Jewish History. Each in their own genre and style, these films—including seven NY, North American, and World premieres—not only offer exceptional insight into the richness of Greater Sephardic Jewish culture, but also tackle universal issues that help us all better understand the world that we live in.
“I am thrilled to be working with Filmmaker Na’ama Keha, a past Pomegranate Award honoree who joined us this year as the Artistic Director, and the Team who put their hearts and brains into making this 25th Film Festival exceptional,” said Raquel Benatar Laredo, a Vice President of the American Sephardi Federation, who is leading the NYSJFF Committee.
Sunday’s retrospective showcases four classics: Radu Mihaileanu’s poignant drama LIVE AND BECOME deals boldly with issues of assimilation, redemption, and self-discovery, while tracing the spiritual journey of an Ethiopian Christian in Israel who passes himself off as a Jew. The one-of-a-kind Ladino musical documentary FROM TOLEDO TO JERUSALEM features the legendary Israeli singer and actor Yehoram Gaon in a captivating melodic odyssey that delves into the rich cultural heritage of Sephardic exiles. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, Menahem Golan’s unforgettable musical, KAZABLAN, starring Gaon, is playing at the NYSJFF in an exclusive rare screening. And Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz’s heart-wrenching GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM focuses on one Moroccan Sephardic woman’s desperate efforts to divorce her long-time husband, who refuses to let her go.
Click here to watch the 25th NYSJFF’s Trailer
Monday’s Opening Night will feature the Pomegranate Awards Ceremony and a headline performance. Stay tuned for this year’s Pomegranate Award Honorees!
The next days of the Festival will offer an extraordinary celebration of creativity, inspiration, and entertainment. 9-11 May are going to be packed with an outstanding range of captivating films, featuring Q&A sessions with renowned directors, producers, and actors as well as thought-provoking panels on pertinent themes. The program also includes rare short films and special evening After Parties.
“We are proud to feature films that honor our past, celebrate our present, and preserve our future through explorations of Ladino and other Jewish languages and cultures, as well as Sephardic communities in Israel, India, Iraq, France, Morocco, and other countries. Films that confront the challenges of antisemitism, representation, and continuity. Special thanks to our indefatigable Executive Director Jason Guberman, who worked day and night, literally, to make the impossible happen,” added ASF VP Raquel Benatar Laredo.
The 25th edition of the NYSJFF is dedicated to Ike, Molly and Steven Elias.
The Pomegranate Award is sculpted by renowned Baghdad-born artist Oded Halahmy.
Book your Passes & Tickets
VIP Festival Pass – $600
(includes Opening Night, Closing Night, All Screenings at the ASF – Center for Jewish History and Parties)
Film Pass – $225
(includes Closing Night and All Screenings at the ASF – Center for Jewish History)
Opening Night and Pomegranate Awards Ceremony – $225
After Parties – $125
Single Screening – $18
All Access Online – $225
(includes 15 films selected from the Festival and online exclusives streaming from Sunday, 14 May 14 to Thursday, 18 May)
Schedule at a Glance
12PM: FROM TOLEDO TO JERUSALEM
90min, Israel, 1988, Musical Documentary
Directed by Shmuel Imberman
In Ladino with English subtitles
In this captivating musical odyssey, the mysterious and passionate Ladino songs of Spanish Jewry are performed by the mesmerizing vocals of legendary Israeli singer Yehoram Gaon.
2PM: LIVE AND BECOME
140 min, France, Belgium, Italy, Israel, 2005, Drama
Directed by Radu Mihaileanu
In French, Hebrew, Amharic with English subtitles
The magnificent, epic story of an Ethiopian boy who is airlifted from a Sudanese refugee camp to Israel in 1984 during Operation Moses.
8PM: GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM – Tribute to Ronit Elkabetz, A”H
122min, Israel, France, Germany, Drama
Directed by Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz
In Hebrew, French and Arabic with English Subtitles
The third in a trilogy focusing on the unhappy marriage of Viviane Amsalem, this expertly written, brilliantly acted film documents the painful five-year process of one woman attempting to obtain a divorce.
5pm: KAZABLAN – 50th Anniversary Screening
122min, Israel, 1973, Musical
Directed by Menahem Golan
In Hebrew with English subtitles
Israel’s West Side Story unfolds when Kazablan (Yehoram Gaon), a Sephardic Jew from Casablanca, courts Rachel, an Ashkenazi Jew, cultures clash amidst expressions of pride and prejudice.
Monday, 8 May
11AM: The Guards of Memory (حراس الذاكرة)
70min, Morocco, 2023, Documentary
Executive Producer: Wonder Bros
Producer: Mimouna Association
Directed by Said Belli
In Darija, French, and Hebrew with English subtitles
World Premiere
In the city of Fez, the homeland of the RIF (Rabbi Yitshak El Fassi), the refuge of the RAMBAM (Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimoun), and the resting place of Solika Hatsadika (Solika Hatchuel), Moroccan Jews are on verge of vanishing.
7:00pm: Opening Night
Featuring the Pomegranate Awards Ceremony and a headline musical performance.
Tuesday, 9 May
2:00pm: NEIGHBOURS
124min, France, Switzerland, 2021, Drama
Directed by Mano Khalil
In Kurdish with English subtitles
With a delicate sense of humor and satire, the film depicts a childhood experience in a Kurdish-Syrian village, all while managing to find light moments between the Assad dictatorship and dark drama.
5:00pm: JE T’AIME RONIT ELKABETZ – Tribute to Ronit Elkabetz, A”H
72min, Israel, 2022, Documentary
Directed by Moran Ifergan
In Hebrew with English subtitles
North American Premiere
A cinematic essay film about one of the greatest Israeli filmmakers of all time, Ronit Elkabetz, with a focus on her fashion.
8PM: MATCHMAKING
98min, Israel, 2022, Romantic Comedy
Directed by Erez Tadmor
In Hebrew with English subtitles
New York Premiere
Cultural clashes and hilarity ensures as an Ashkenazi Yeshiva boy tries to overcome the system to marry his love, a Moroccan Sephardic Seminary girl, in this first Orthodox Bourekas Rom-Com.
Wednesday, 10 May
2PM: WORDS THAT REMAIN
52min, France, Israel, 2022, Documentary
Directed by Nurith Aviv
In French and Hebrew with English subtitles
US Premiere
Six people recall the languages that cradled their childhoods: Judeo-Spanish (Ladino), Judeo-Arabic, or Judeo-Persian.
5PM: ANTISEMITISM
120min, Canada, France, Israel, 2020, Documentary
Directed by Ilan Ziv
In French with English subtitles
New York Premiere
Director Ilan Ziv unravels the dark history of antisemitism in France that set the stage for the Dreyfus Affair, the Holocaust, and the modern wave of anti-Jewish sentiment, including the murders of Ilan Halimi and Mireille Knoll.
8:00PM: PARIS BOUTIQUE
82min, Israel, France, 2019, Romantic Comedy
Directed by Marco Carmel
In English, Hebrew, French, Arabic and Spanish with English subtitles
New York Premiere
Louise (a Jewish lawyer from Paris) and Neta (a savvy cab driver from Mahane Yehuda) navigate the winding alleys of the Old City in a comedy of errors, forging an unlikely friendship while unraveling a mystery in the magical heart of Jerusalem.
Thursday, 11 May
2PM: THE MISSING TALE
84min, Hungary, 2022, Documentary
Directed by Klára Trencsényi
In English, Hebrew and Hungarian with English subtitles
New York Premiere
An intimate journey from Eastern Europe to India and Israel revealing the magical story of the last Jews of Cochin.
5PM: THE SPECIALS
114min, France, 2019, Drama
Directed by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache
In French with English subtitles
Two shining stars of modern French social comedy, Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache, treat a difficult subject (cases of extreme autism) with grace and humour.
8PM: QUEEN OF THE DEUCE
78min, Greece, Canada, USA, Switzerland, 2022, Documentary
Directed by Valerie Kontakos
In English and modern Greek with English subtitles
With a cigarette in hand and bags of money stashed away, here is Chelly Wilson (aka Rachel Serrero), a Sephardic Jew from Thessaloniki (Salonika) who escaped the Holocaust and became a taboo-breaking entrepreneur in the 1960s and 1970s.
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