In October, the Jewish International Film Festival returns to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Gold Coast and New Zealand for a run of dates that will feature 60 international premiere features and documentaries. The festival has become known for showcasing diverse cinema and engaging audiences both from the Jewish community and beyond. Every film, selected by Festival Director, Eddie Tamir, has an Australia premiere. The award-winning programme will showcase works from Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, France, as well as a range of films from Israel, and more.
Feature highlights include Son of Saul, an acclaimed Hungarian drama that follows a father’s quest for redemption amidst the horrors of Auschwitz. Natalie Portman’s directorial debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness, based on the memoir of Israeli novelist and journalist, Amos Oz, will also see its Australian debut. Other features include Shemi Zarhin’s dramady, The Kind Words, and Fauda, the cult Israeli TV series that depicts both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The festival also sees the debut of Experimenter, that revisits the controversial 1960s experiments of social psychologist, Stanley Milgram, and stars Peter Sarsgaard and Winona Ryder. There’s also To Life!, which features Germany’s Hannelore Elsner as an aging cabaret singer whose unlikely bond with a young man gives both new meaning. Further films include Germany’s Labyrinth of Lies, Félix and Meira from Canada, French smash hit, Serial (Bad) Weddings and My Shortest Love Affair.
The Jewish International Film Festival will feature several outstanding documentaries alongside these films such as the critically feted Censored Voices, which reveals provocative recordings of Israeli soldiers from the battlefield of 1967’s Six-Day war. Also featured are documentaries Beyond the Fear from Latvia, the engrossing Seed of Life, as well as Australia’s own On the Banks of the Tigris: The Hidden Story of Iraqi Music, a musical odyssey exploring the history of Iraqi music.
The Jewish International Film Festival will screen around Australia in October. For more information, check out the official website at: www.jiff.com.au
FESTIVAL DATES
SYDNEY: 28 October – 18 November, Event Cinemas, Bondi Junction
MELBOURNE: 4 – 29 November, Classic Cinemas, Elsternwick
PERTH: 31 October, 1 & 8 November, Event Cinemas, Morley
NEW ZEALAND: 15 & 22 November, Academy Cinemas, Auckland
GOLD COAST: November – Dates TBC, Venue TBC
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