The Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival, now in its 28th year, includes thought-provoking films designed to make us laugh, cry, and bring the community together. The 2022 festival has it all – over 14 films including in-person screenings, virtual films, guest appearances, celebrations, panel discussions and more!
RESERVE YOUR EARLY BIRD
FESTIVAL PASS TODAY! 
EARLY BIRD FESTIVAL PASS: $99 ($129 Full Price)
available Sept 20 – Oct 18
Watch at home: virtual films available for streaming on-demand. Reserve tickets for any in-person screenings, including Opening & Closing Night films and parties*
Bring a guest – purchase one additional ticket per event before tickets open to the general public.
VIP EARLY BIRD FESTIVAL PASS: $149 ($179 Full Price)
available Sept 20 – Oct 18
Festival Pass PLUS invitation to pre-film program/meet & greet with Neva Small (“Chava”, Fiddler on the Roof), early arrival seating, snacks and beverages at all in-person screenings*, Film Festival Swag and snacks for streaming at home
VIRTUAL PASS: $79
on sale now
Watch at home: virtual films available for streaming on-demand
INDIVIDUAL TICKETS :
available October 3
Streaming: $12
In-person screenings (including Opening Night + Party): $15
Fiddler’s Journey VIP Ticket: $36
Closing Night Film + Party: $36
*Once purchased, passholders must reserve tickets to desired films and screenings. Past November 1st, reservations for in-person screenings will be subject to remaining availability. Virtual tickets must be reserved by November 20th at 7pm. For instructions on how to reserve your tickets, CLICK HERE. Note: Pass perks (reservations, snacks, etc.) DO NOT include the Free Movie Matinee screening of The Automat.
The JCC is committed to making our programming accessible. Please contact Riv Shapiro at rivs@minnesotajcc.org for sliding-scale ticket options.
OPENING NIGHT!
Karaoke & Opening Night Party
November 10, 2022
Capp Center St. Paul • 6:30 PM
Meir and Tova are a Sephardic, upper-middle-class couple, seemingly resigned to live out the rest of their semi-retirement in the banal comforts of an upscale apartment complex in a Tel Aviv suburb. When Itsik, a sexy bachelor from Miami, moves into the building’s penthouse, their lives are gleefully upended. Energized by their newfound friendship with Itsik, Meir and Tova undergo personal transformations, but will their relationship as a couple be a casualty of expressing their individual desires? When Itsik begins to pull away from Meir and Tova, the couple’s obsession with the bachelor grows into a full-blown identity crisis. With its title playing on the duality of the kitschy and the operatic that coincide within the social act of amateur singing, Karaoke is an optimistic portrait of midlife self-discovery, laced with both poignant wisdom and barbed humor. Minnesota Premiere!
Film followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with director Moshe Rosenthal.
Stick around for a special Opening Night party (with karaoke provided by Twin Cities Karaoke) following the screening!
2022 | Drama | 103 min | Hebrew | English subtitles | Mature content, smoking, drugs, sexual content
WALTER’S PICK!
Neighbours
November 13, 2022
Sabes Center Minneapolis • 2 PM
In a Syrian border village in the early 80’s, little Sero attends school for the first time. A new teacher has arrived with the goal of making strapping Panarabic comrades out of the Kurdish children. To enable paradise to come to earth, he uses the rod to forbid the Kurdish language, orders the veneration of Assad and preaches hate of the Zionist enemy- the Jews. The lessons upset and confuse Sero because his long-time neighbors are a lovable Jewish family. With a fine sense of humor and satire, the film depicts a childhood which manages to find light moments between dictatorship and dark drama. Little Sero gets involved in dangerous pranks with his friends, and dreams of having a television so he can finally watch cartoons. But he also experiences how the adults around him are increasingly crushed by the despotism, violence and nationalism which surround them.
The film was inspired by the director’s personal experiences, and so his bitter-sweet memories connect the Syrian tragedy to the present.
Film followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with director Mano Khalil.
2021 | Drama | 124 min | Kurdish, Arabic, English, Hebrew | English subtitles | Strong language, violence
FREE Movie Matinee
The Automat
November 14, 2022
Sabes Center Minneapolis • 1 PM
The 100-year story of the iconic restaurant chain Horn & Hardart, the inspiration for Starbucks, where generations of Americans ate and drank coffee together at communal tables. From the perspective of former customers, we watch a business climb to its peak success and then grapple with fast food in a forever changed America.
Reservations and pass perks are not included for this screening. All are welcome on a free, first-come, first-serve basis.
2021 | Drama | 79 min | English| English subtitles
Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen
November 17, 2022
Capp Center St. Paul • 6:30 PM
With great affection, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Daniel Raim captures the humor and drama of director Norman Jewison’s quest to re-envision the beloved stage hit Fiddler on the Roof as a wide-screen epic. At its heart, this delightful documentary becomes an exploration of how the experience of making Fiddler deepens Jewison as an artist and revives his soul.
Daniel Raim puts us in the director’s chair, drawing on a ton of behind-the-scenes footage and never-before-seen stills, as well as original interviews with Jewison, star Chaim Topol, Academy Award-winning composer John Williams, lyricist Sheldon Harnick, and the actresses who played Tevye’s daughters, Rosalind Harris, Michele Marsh, and Neva Small.
Followed by Q&A with Neva Small (“Chava” in the original Fiddler on the Roof film) In-Person
*VIP Festival Pass holders are invited to join us at the Capp Center St. Paul at 5 PM for a special pre-screening event with Neva Small. Includes refreshments, meet & greet, sing-along, and photo/autograph opportunity.
2022 | Documentary | 88 min | English | Brief gunshot
CLOSING NIGHT FILM & PARTY!
A Serious Man:
Thirteenth Anniversary
November 19, 2022
MSP Film at The Main Cinema
6:30 PM
Larry Gopnik, a Midwestern physics teacher, watches his life unravel over multiple sudden incidents. Though seeking meaning and answers amidst his turmoil’s, he seems to keep sinking.
This year marks thirteen years since the Coen Brothers released A Serious Man, which was filmed and takes place throughout the Twin Cities and features your cousin or dentist or cantor on the big screen. For Closing Night of Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival, the Minnesota JCC and the Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul (MSP Film) are throwing A Serious Man the Bar Mitzvah party it deserves! Come out to watch this beloved film on the big screen at The Main Cinema, followed by a Bar Mitzvah-themed party with light food, dancing, and beer & wine for purchase. Included in TCJFF Festival and VIP passes.
Guarantee your seat by purchasing a Festival Pass early!
Followed by A Serious Man Bar Mitzvah Party
2009 | Comedy/Drama | 105 min | English | Rated R
*This film is NOT available to stream as part of the Virtual Film Fest
Presented in partnership with MSP Film Society.
Virtual Film Lineup
Featuring documentaries, drama, comedy and two shorts blocks from around the world!
Virtual films must be purchased or reserved by November 20th and are available to unlock from November 11th – November 27th, unless otherwise noted. Once you unlock (begin watching) a film, you have 48 hours to finish it and then it is no longer available.
All virtual films will be geographically restricted to viewing in Minnesota.
200 Meters
A Palestinian father embarks on a perilous journey to reach his hospitalized son in this tense yet tender family drama about the human toll of oppression. Due to economics, construction worker Mustafa (a complex, compassionate Ali Suliman) and his wife live separated by the West Bank wall. After his son has an accident, Mustafa is denied access at an Israeli checkpoint due to a bureaucratic technicality, forcing him to hire a driver to smuggle him to the other side. Thrown in with a motley crew of strangers, desperate Mustafa must surmount myriad hurdles and indignities to be at his child’s bedside. A Venice Film Festival audience prize winner, writer-director Ameen Nayfeh’s superb debut feature is Jordan’s submission for the Best International Feature Film Oscar.
Film followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with director Ameen Nayfeh, courtesy of Austin Jewish Film Festival.
2020 | Drama | 96 min | Arabic | English subtitles | Language, smoking, brief violence
Alegría
The town of Melilla, an autonomous Spanish city on the north coast of Africa, provides a stunning backdrop to this family drama. Having turned her back on her Jewish heritage, Alegría lives a quiet life in Melilla where Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities converge. When her family arrives to organize her niece’s Orthodox Jewish wedding, Alegría must reconnect with her past. With her best friend and Moroccan helper, she endeavours to ensure that the wedding will be celebrated according to the unique traditions of Melilla. Based on the director’s own experiences, Alegría pays homage to a city whose blended culture reflects the characters’ interconnected dramas.
Film followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with director Violeta Salama.
2021 | Drama | 105 min | Spanish | English subtitles | Language, smoking
Minnesota Premiere
Cinema Sabaya
In this heartfelt ode to the unifying power of art, nine women register for a video workshop hoping to learn basic filmmaking techniques from young director Rona. As the strangers, both Arab and Jewish, share the raw footage they shoot each week with their classmates, they are confronted not only by the vast differences in their circumstances but also by striking points of connection. Growing closer, the students develop a strong, supportive community, even as they begin to grow suspicious of Rona’s motives. Drawn from filmmaker Orit Fouks Rotem’s experiences leading similar workshops in the Israeli towns of Acre and Givat Haviva, Cinema Sabaya is an unvarnished and genuinely engaging exploration of the joy of learning to see and to truly being seen.
Film followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with director Orit Fokus Rotem.
2020 | Drama | 92 min | Arabic, Hebrew | English subtitles | Mention of domestic abuse, mature content
***This film is available to unlock (begin watching) until November 20th, 11:59pm.***
Documentary Shorts
Limited only by their runtime, short films transcend traditional storytelling and are an important part of cinema, storytelling, and culture. Lineup Coming Soon!
Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen
With great affection, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Daniel Raim captures the humor and drama of director Norman Jewison’s quest to re-envision the beloved stage hit Fiddler on the Roof as a wide-screen epic. At its heart, this delightful documentary becomes an exploration of how the experience of making Fiddler deepens Jewison as an artist and revives his soul.
Daniel Raim puts us in the director’s chair, drawing on a ton of behind-the-scenes footage and never-before-seen stills, as well as original interviews with Jewison, star Chaim Topol, Academy Award-winning composer John Williams, lyricist Sheldon Harnick, and the actresses who played Tevye’s daughters, Rosalind Harris, Michele Marsh, and Neva Small.
2022 | Documentary | 88 min | English | Brief gunshot
Minnesota Premiere
Karaoke
Meir and Tova are a Sephardic, upper-middle-class couple, seemingly resigned to live out the rest of their semi-retirement in the banal comforts of an upscale apartment complex in a Tel Aviv suburb. When Itsik, a sexy bachelor from Miami, moves into the building’s penthouse, their lives are gleefully upended. Energized by their newfound friendship with Itsik, Meir and Tova undergo personal transformations, but will their relationship as a couple be a casualty of expressing their individual desires? When Itsik begins to pull away from Meir and Tova, the couple’s obsession with the bachelor grows into a full-blown identity crisis. With its title playing on the duality of the kitschy and the operatic that coincide within the social act of amateur singing, Karaoke is an optimistic portrait of midlife self-discovery, laced with both poignant wisdom and barbed humor.
Film followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with director Moshe Rosenthal.
2022 | Drama | 103 min | Hebrew | English subtitles | Mature content, smoking, drugs, sexual content
Minnesota Premiere
Lost Transport
In the spring of 1945 a German train deporting hundreds of Jewish prisoners from Bergen-Belsen is abandoned near a small German village occupied by the Red Army. The village quickly turns into a chaotic refugee camp, and the Soviets impose a quarantine to contain the typhus epidemic that has broken out on the train. No one is allowed to leave the village. But in this context of deep mistrust, desperation and revenge, an unexpected friendship emerges between the fearless Russian soldier Vera, the distrustful German village girl Winnie and the courageous Dutch Jew Simone (Hanna van Vliet), three women who could not be any more different from one another. Despite the traumas each has suffered in the war, they are forced by circumstance to help each other care for the sick, including Simone’s husband who is dying of typhus. Lost Transport provides a poignant example of how human beings can overcome the role of enemies that a war not of their own making has thrust upon them. Hanna van Vilet was named the Netherlands’ 2022 Shooting Star—one of 10 up-and-coming actors from Europe.
Film followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with director Saskia Diesing
2022 | Drama | 98 min | Dutch, English, German, Russian | English subtitles | Mature content, violence, brief nudity, smoking
Narrative Shorts
Limited only by their runtime, short films transcend traditional storytelling and are an important part of cinema, storytelling, and culture. Lineup Coming Soon!
Neighbours
In a Syrian border village in the early 80’s, little Sero attends school for the first time. A new teacher has arrived with the goal of making strapping Panarabic comrades out of the Kurdish children. To enable paradise to come to earth, he uses the rod to forbid the Kurdish language, orders the veneration of Assad and preaches hate of the Zionist enemy- the Jews. The lessons upset and confuse Sero because his long-time neighbors are a lovable Jewish family. With a fine sense of humor and satire, the film depicts a childhood which manages to find light moments between dictatorship and dark drama. Little Sero gets involved in dangerous pranks with his friends, and dreams of having a television so he can finally watch cartoons. But he also experiences how the adults around him are increasingly crushed by the despotism, violence and nationalism which surround them.
The film was inspired by the director’s personal experiences, and so his bitter-sweet memories connect the Syrian tragedy to the present.
Film followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with director Mano Khalil.
2021 | Drama | 124 min | Kurdish, Arabic, English, Hebrew | English subtitles | Strong language, violence
Minnesota Premiere
One More Story
This charming and uniquely Israeli Rom-Com, adapted from Omar Barak’s best-selling novel, Wedding Rush, marks the directorial debut of comedian, singer and actor, Guri Alfi (The Human Resources Manager, Shababniks, The Chef). The story-within-a story features Yarden (Dina Senderson of HBO Max’s Uri and Ella), an ambitious young writer for a daily newspaper, who confesses to a blind date about the Faustian bargain struck with her sleazy editor and lover, Amos (Lior Ashkenazi): in exchange for his help in publishing her book, she will undertake a series of columns about modern romance, based on the dating disasters of her best friend. What could possibly go wrong?
Film followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with producer Asaf Nawi, courtesy of Austin Jewish Film Festival.
2021 | Comedy | 92 min | Hebrew | English subtitles | Mature content, language
Minnesota Premiere
Rose
Actress and now debuting director, writer and composer Aurélie Saada pours a tremendous amount of personal nostalgia into Rose, a heightened emotional drama steeped in love for her North African Jewish roots, from music (all written by Saada) to food — the credits even include her recipe for “makroudh,” a date-filled cookie. The film stars legendary French actress Françoise Fabian (Luis Bunuel’s Belle de Jour and Eric Rohmer’s My Night at Maud’s) as a recent widow whose sorrow gives way to a deep thirst for life. This helps her realize that there is still time for her to redefine herself as a woman, all while emerging from under her children’s straight jacketing concerns. Rose is an all-embracing effusion of Jewishness, both Sephardi and Ashkenazi, that promises to be a sure-fire crowd-pleaser.
Film followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with director Aurélie Saada, courtesy of Austin Jewish Film Festival.
2021 | Drama | 102 min | French | English subtitles | Smoking, language, mature content
Minnesota Premiere
That Orchestra with the Broken Instruments
A broken string, fractured echo chamber, rusting valves. 100 musicians meet for four days of rehearsals. They speak different languages. Their instruments are broken.
An orchestra of professional and amateur musicians, young and old, set out on a journey against all odds, to a one-time concert.
The film traces the creative process from collecting the instruments, to workshops, to three composers and intensive rehearsals, to the night of the performance.
Hidden among the cracks, we discover a lyrical and engaging take on the members of the orchestra, on what is broken and whole and on the determined attempt, if only for a moment, to create harmony in a discordant city.
2021 | Documentary | 79 min | Hebrew, Arabic, English | Henbrew & English subtitles
Minnesota Premiere
Xueta Island
The beautiful island of Majorca is home to the Xuetas (pronounced Chuetas), descendants of the Jews forced to convert during the Spanish Inquisition. Despite their adoption of Catholicism, they faced continuous discrimination until the middle of the 20th century. This film looks at both the past and present difficulties faced by the Xuetas, through eye-opening interviews where people of Xueta heritage discuss both their desire to reclaim their Jewish heritage and their concerns about potential rejection by the international Jewish community.
Film followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with directors Dani Rotstein and Felipe Wolokita, courtesy of Austin Jewish Film Festival.
2021 | Documentary | 63 min | Spanish, English | English subtitles | Historical violence