Boulder Jewish News Arts, Culture, Events, Lifestyles, Holidays, Synagogues, Education
Another season of outstanding cinema and stimulating conversation comes to Boulder October 26 – November 2
The 13th annual Boulder Jewish Film Festival, which runs October 26 – November 2 at the Dairy Arts Center, offers an entertaining and thought-provoking selection of films. Many of this year’s films will make you smile and all are sure to spark conversation. As always, we hope you stay for the enlightening 20-minute talkbacks following every screening.
Several of our films this year explore the power of art – for good and evil. These titles reveal how artists both reflect and shape our world, from Leni Riefenstahl to Art Spiegelman, from Brian Epstein to Charles Grodin.
Our cinematic world tour includes stops in Sweden, London in the Swinging Sixties, modern day Iran, post-October 7 Israel, a Chabad community in the American west, and Germany during and after the Holocaust. We explore the far-flung worlds of competitive judo and international art, underground gambling in Hasidic New York and Israel’s modern Mizrahi community.
We look forward to seeing you as we illuminate the Jewish experience around the world, across cultures, and throughout history.
WATCH OUR TRAILER:
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets go on sale Sunday, October 5 at 8 am. Purchase tickets online at thedairy.org, in person at the Dairy’s Box Office, or call 303-444-7328. If a film is sold out, please email jodi@boulderjcc.org to be placed on the waitlist or informed of any additional screenings.
Learn more about the festival at boulderjcc.org/boulderjewishfilmfestival
Yaniv – Festival Opener with Actor and Cowriter Ben Ducoff in person
Sunday, October 26, Noon and 3:30 in the Boe
Yaniv Card Party in the Lobby, 2-3:30
In this cheeky, high-spirited first film from Amnon Carmi, a high school teacher in the Bronx (Ben Ducoff) loses funding for the school musical and decides to win the money playing in an underground card game run by the Hasidic Jewish community, an improbable plan that goes hilariously awry. A hoot!
Midas Man – Opening Night
Sunday, October 26, 6:30 pm in the Boe
(Also Saturday, November 1, 3:30 pm in the Grace Gamm)
Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (“The Queen’s Gambit”) stars in this lively, nostalgic biodrama as the charming, visionary “fifth Beatle” Brian Epstein, an entrepreneur who discovered, managed and championed the Fab Four on their meteoric rise, while battling his own demons as a gay man from a wealthy, disapproving family in the swinging ‘60s. Behind-the-scenes story of the Beatles.
Shorts Program 1
Monday, October 27, 3 pm in the Grace Gamm
This year the festival offers two separate collections of short films from up-and-coming filmmakers, featuring narrative, documentary and animated films from around the world. Sure to sell out quickly, the popular shorts programs are curated by Judith Dack and the Shorts Selection Committee.
Charles Grodin: Rebel with a Cause
Monday, October 27, 6:30 pm in the Grace Gamm
Much more than a showbiz bio of a beloved actor, comedian and talk show host known for his dry wit and deadpan delivery, which captivated audiences in films such as “The Heartbreak Kid” and “Midnight Run,” this heartfelt tribute also pays homage to a remarkable humanitarian who devoted his later years to freeing wrongfully convicted prisoners. Heartwarming and endearing.
Of Dogs and Men
Tuesday, October 28, 3 pm in the Grace Gamm
This unique, hypnotic blend of fiction film and documentary follows a teenage girl who returns to her devastated kibbutz to look for her dog, lost in the recent terrorist massacre of October 7, encountering real-life survivors as she wanders a landscape scarred by horror, searching for a shred of hope. Healing from trauma.
Technion 10²
Tuesday, October 28, 6:30 pm in the Grace Gamm
One hundred years ago, a modest scientific and technological program opened on Mount Carmel in Haifa. Today, the fabled Technion is one of the leading research institutions in the world, having played a vital role in the start-up nation’s achievements. The making of modern Israel.
Shorts Program 2
Wednesday, October 29, 3 pm in the Grace Gamm
This year the festival offers two separate collections of short films from up-and-coming filmmakers, featuring narrative, documentary and animated films from around the world. Sure to sell out quickly, the popular shorts programs are curated by Judith Dack and the Shorts Selection Committee.
The Ring – Centerpiece Selected by the Festival’s Advisory Committee
Wednesday, October 29, 6:30 pm in the Grace Gamm
Famed Israeli actor, comedian, screenwriter and director Adir Miller portrays the son of an ailing Holocaust survivor who embarks on a sentimental journey with his estranged daughter to recover the ring that miraculously saved his mother’s life in World War II. Poignant and popular drama. Talkback with Professor Paul Shankman.
Riefenstahl
Thursday, October 30, 3 pm in the Grace Gamm
This relevant documentary explores the infamous German filmmaker’s controversial artistic legacy and her complicity in glorifying the Nazi regime through her formidable talent, offering a disturbing and highly relevant portrait of profound self-delusion and evasion of responsibility. When art becomes propaganda. Talkback with Professor Paul Shankman.
Bliss
Thursday, October 30, 6:30 pm in the Grace Gamm
An unconventional, highly original love story set in the Mizrahi community in the Galilee from one of Israel’s most prominent filmmakers, this award-winning family drama stars Israel’s national treasure Sasson Gabai (“Shtisl,” “Kugel,” “The Band’s Visit,” “Tehran”) and Israeli Oscar-winning actress Assi Levi as a couple struggling to maintain their humor and deep affection under extreme pressure. An acting tour de force.
Tatami
Friday, October 31, Noon in the Grace Gamm
(Also Sunday, November 2, 2:30 pm in the Grace Gamm)
The first feature film to be co-directed by an Iranian and an Israeli filmmaker, this stunning sports drama and suspenseful political thriller follows a female Iranian judoka willing to risk all to win the gold medal at the World Judo Championships, even if it means defying the Supreme Leader. Important and timely.
The Plunderer: The Life and Times of a Nazi Art Thief
Friday, October 31, 3 pm in the Grace Gamm
American historian Jonathan Petropoulos forms an uneasy relationship with his sly-as-a-fox subject, an unrepentant player in the international art world who evaded punishment for stealing countless masterpieces from prominent Jewish families during World War II. Full of shocking surprises.
Midas Man
Saturday, November 1, 3:30 pm in the Grace Gamm
Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (“The Queen’s Gambit”) stars in this lively, nostalgic biodrama as the charming, visionary “fifth Beatle” Brian Epstein, an entrepreneur who discovered, managed and championed the Fab Four on their meteoric rise, while battling his own demons as a gay man from a wealthy, disapproving family in the swinging ‘60s. Behind-the-scenes story of the Beatles.
Guns and Moses
Saturday, November 1, 7 pm in the Grace Gamm
In this polished, high-concept, and all-too-relevant crime thriller – a fictional genre film inspired by the Poway shootings – a rabbi in the American west takes up arms to defend his community after a fatal attack devastates his congregation. This stylized Hasidic western is sure to provoke strong reactions.
Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse
Sunday, November 2, Noon in the Grace Gamm
His life and work having been shaped by his Holocaust-survivor parents, the irreverent creator of “Maus” – the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize – revolutionized comics by exploring dark, complex themes. Portrait of a fascinating and influential artist. Talkback with Jim Vacca.
Tatami
Sunday, November 2, 2:30 pm in the Grace Gamm
The first feature film to be co-directed by an Iranian and an Israeli filmmaker, this stunning sports drama and suspenseful political thriller follows a female Iranian judoka willing to risk all to win the gold medal at the World Judo Championships, even if it means defying the Supreme Leader. Important and timely.
Swedishkayt: Yidlife Crisis in Stockholm – Closing Night with Smorgasbord Reception at 5 pm
Sunday, November 2, 6:30 in the Grace Gamm
In this entertaining and eye-opening Yiddish-inflected escapade, popular Canadian comedy duo Eli Batalion and Jamie Elman travel to Sweden for a performance, unearthing an incredibly rich hidden treasure trove of Jewish culture. Who knew? Talkback with Katarina Schare.
