From the hearts and minds of Stephen King and Mike Flanagan comes THE LIFE OF CHUCK, the extraordinary story of an ordinary man. This powerful tale celebrates the life of Charles 'Chuck' Krantz as he experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us. Critics call the film "a life-affirming masterpiece" and "a stunning celebration of the moments that make life worth living."

Wednesday, July 30

Thursday, July 31

City banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) arrived at Shawshank Prison in 1947. Convicted of two brutal murders, he received a double life sentence and discovers that when they send you to Shawshank State Prison for life, that is exactly what they take.

Within the confines of Shawshank, Andy forms an unlikely friendship with the prison "fixer" Red (Morgan Freeman). He also becomes popular with the Warden and the prison's guards, as Andy is able to use his banking experience to help the corrupt officials amass personal fortunes. With an extraordinary twist in the tale, Andy finds that survival comes down to a simple choice: get busy living or get busy dying...

Wednesday, July 30

Thursday, July 31

From the hearts and minds of Stephen King and Mike Flanagan comes THE LIFE OF CHUCK, the extraordinary story of an ordinary man. This powerful tale celebrates the life of Charles 'Chuck' Krantz as he experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us. Critics call the film "a life-affirming masterpiece" and "a stunning celebration of the moments that make life worth living."

Thursday, July 31

City banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) arrived at Shawshank Prison in 1947. Convicted of two brutal murders, he received a double life sentence and discovers that when they send you to Shawshank State Prison for life, that is exactly what they take.

Within the confines of Shawshank, Andy forms an unlikely friendship with the prison "fixer" Red (Morgan Freeman). He also becomes popular with the Warden and the prison's guards, as Andy is able to use his banking experience to help the corrupt officials amass personal fortunes. With an extraordinary twist in the tale, Andy finds that survival comes down to a simple choice: get busy living or get busy dying...

Thursday, July 31

Miriam director Josie Andrews and The Orange at the Seder director Jacob Combs expected to attend

Dig into these short, sweet, and sometimes spicy films that explore the hallowed Jewish ground of mealtime.

Featuring:

Unholy
The Auschwitz Bagel
Fire At Will
Friday Night Flop
Miriam
Orange at the Seder
Food for the Chosen People

Friday, August 1

Playing as part of the 45th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival

In The Divine Sarah Bernhardt, the life of the world’s first star of stage and screen is told in multiple acts, jumping through time as Bernhardt (a magnetic Sandrine Kiberlain) recounts her relationship with the actor Lucien Guitry (Laurent Lafitte). Bernhardt and her wild inner circle (including Amira Casar as Louise Abbéma) revel in eccentricity and opulence in Paris, yet against the backdrop of the Dreyfus Affair, Bernhardt, in all her modernity and defiance, also rages against injustice and rising antisemitism—even persuading Émile Zola to write his infamous “J’Accuse…!” Director Guillaume Nicloux enchants the viewer just as Bernhardt charmed her lovers and acolytes, including a young Sigmund Freud, played by Nico Rogner. The flair and finesse of Nicloux’s script (cowritten with Nathalie Leuthreau) and the sumptuous décor by art director Olivier Radot make for a riveting portrait. This story of love and conviction in times of societal and political upheaval is a delightful visual spectacle and majestic drama. —Karina Curry

Friday, August 1

Playing as part of the 45th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival

Directors Udi Nir, Sagi Bornstein, and participant Efrat Tilma expected to attend

Efrat Tilma eventually takes the plunge. Set against the gritty and vibrant backdrop of 1960s Tel Aviv, her life unfolds to the soaring arias of the world’s greatest operas. The camera follows her remarkable journey—a story of love triumphing over ignorance—as one of Israel’s first openly transgender women. At 14, Efrat realized she was meant to be a woman. Rejected by her family and brutalized by police while wandering the streets, she found refuge in the hidden world behind the curtains of Tel Aviv’s Sabra Club. There, among female impersonators and glittering illusions, she discovered a space where she could finally be herself. Her journey continued through Brussels, Berlin, and Paris, where she found guidance, love, and admiration on stage, lip-syncing to icons like Audrey Hepburn and Shirley Bassey. When Efrat returned to Israel in 2005, she embraced a new role. As transgender rights came under threat, she transformed once more—this time into an activist. Marching with her community, raising her voice at rallies, she declared with fierce conviction: “We will not be silent.” —Janis Plotkin

Saturday, July 12

Playing as part of the 45th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival

Bati and Lazer, a young ultra-Orthodox couple in Jerusalem, lead a seemingly perfect life with three children, a loving marriage, and a strong place in their tight-knit community. But when Lazer is blackmailed with photos exposing an affair with his male study partner, the cracks in their carefully structured world begin to show. As Bati navigates Lazer’s sexuality and his attempts to change for her, her world slowly expands, and she begins to question the boundaries of love, faith, and duty. Screenwriter Mindi Ehrlich, drawing from her own experience within the Haredi community, crafts a quietly powerful narrative about personal reckoning and spiritual tension, delving into themes of identity, desire, and liberation. Director Nir Bergman brings the story to life with the help of layered performances and careful attention to emotional detail. A compelling portrait of personal truth amidst rigid societal structures, Pink Lady is a deeply felt exploration of identity and choice within a world where deviation is rarely discussed. —Johanna Gustin

Saturday, August 2

Tamara and Adam’s baby is due in four weeks, but their building in Tel Aviv is scheduled to be demolished in two. Intent on giving her daughter a more stable childhood than she had herself, and feeling priced out of the big city, Tamara has researched apartments in Haifa, near Adam’s family. Their schedule is full, but the gas tank is nearly empty, and their day-long quest to find a home will test them as individuals and as a couple. Anat Malz’s perceptive first feature is layered with contrasts, with the natural, charismatic performances of her two leads at the center. Impending parenthood means growing up for Tamara, as she longs to see a bright future in each apartment they visit. Meanwhile, Adam is reluctant to leave city life behind—and even more reluctant to return to his hometown. Each one is running from something, but it’s uncertain whether, at this point in their lives, running is bringing them closer together or further apart.

Bay Area Premiere

Saturday, August 2

Director Jesse Zigelstein and actors Jonas Chernick and Romi Shraiter expected to attend

It’s said that a well-balanced life rests, like a stool, on three legs: home, love, and work. If any one of these is insecure, life wobbles; and if all three are broken…well, everything comes crashing to the floor. Jesse Zigelstein’s bittersweet comedy explores what happens to a smart but struggling middle-aged writer when all three legs of his stool collapse simultaneously. Our sensitive, borderline nebbish antihero is Toronto novelist Joel (Jonas Chernick, deftly balancing his character’s self-deprecating scholarly charm with his maddening self-absorption). We quickly learn that his marriage has fallen apart, he’s in a sorry bachelor pad, and he’s facing long-term career malaise as an adjunct college instructor. Despite apparent success adapting to his new single status—no-strings-attached booty calls with a pretty colleague, the attention (or is it pity?) of friends and family—Joel is on the fast track to a midlife crisis. Only his straight-talking mother (Mimi Kuzyk, a scene-stealer) seems to have an answer. The rest of us get to discover: can Joel’s flair for analyzing literary characters help him fix his own life? —Peter Stein

Saturday, August 2

On October 7, 2023, David Cunio and members of his family were among those abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz. While some from the community have returned and others have perished, David remains a hostage in Gaza. In this powerful, contemplative documentary, Tom Shoval chronicles the Cunio family’s persistence in the face of tragic uncertainty, while employing filmmaking as a way to process his own grief over his friend’s absence. David and his twin brother, Eitan, starred in Shoval’s first feature, Youth, released in 2013. Clips from the film, along with making-of footage and tapes the brothers shot of their daily lives, display David’s talent, personality, and vitality. In the present day, Eitan returns to their now-unlivable homes, recounting in wrenching detail the day everything changed, and Shoval reflects on their first artistic collaboration, appalled by the recklessness he now sees in the choreographed violence of fiction filmmaking. A Letter to David is an intensely personal exploration of the devastating consequences of war and startling reflections between life and art. —Laura Henneman

Sunday, August 3

The creatives behind acclaimed Aviva, My Love (SFJFF 2007), writer/director Shemi Zarhin and actors Asi Levi and Sasson Gabay reunite to deliver this warm and wise character drama. Set in contemporary Israel, Bliss is an insightful glimpse into the lives of an adoring couple as shame and past regrets encroach on their comfortable routines. Effi and Sassi run their days like a well-oiled machine, shuttling between multiple part-time jobs and preparing pastas in their home kitchen to sell for extra income. Amid their busy schedules, there’s plenty of laughter, and despite their age difference and financial challenges, they’re clearly deeply in love. But the surprise arrivals of Sassi’s beloved grandson and a mysterious figure from Effi’s past begin to expose cracks in their foundation. Zarhin’s richly detailed script reveals each character’s personal histories and challenges organically, and superb performances draw the audience into the enduring love between a couple continually choosing each other. —Laura Henneman

Sunday, August 3

Defying easy classification as a pioneer of interdisciplinary art in downtown New York in the ’60s and ’70s, visionary composer and performer Meredith Monk routinely pairs dance, theater, film, and installations in her unique performances. Considering the human voice an instrument with a unique ability to emote beyond words, her music centers her three-octave range as she transitions between whispers, ululations, guttural sounds, and lullabies. Now in her seventh decade of creativity, she ponders how such singular work can go on without her. Intertitled chapters, based largely on the artist’s works, segue playfully between archival performances, home movies, and family photos, present-day footage, and animated sequences based on her dream journals. Candid interviews with friends, collaborators, and admirers, including David Byrne, Björk, and Philip Glass, add context, while Monk herself provides an intimate glimpse into her studio, personal life, and process with her trademark intelligence. —Lori Donnelly

2024 JFI Completion Grants: Albert & Judith Goldberg Award for Jewish Arts & Culture

California Premiere

Sunday, August 3

Closing Night

Director Rachel Israel, actor Sara Podemski, and producer Shai (Samuel) Korman expected to attend

Communing with nature, forging lifelong friendships, and bonding over campfire confessions: summer camp can change your life. But sometimes there are also faulty septic systems, flatulent bunkmates, and compulsory lice checks. Irreverent, hilarious, and heartfelt, The Floaters leans into its relatable comedic premise and updates the teen camp comedy for today’s audience and multiple generations. Kicked out of her band on the eve of their European tour, Nomi has no excuse not to accept the invitation when her childhood best friend Mara recruits her as a fill-in counselor at Camp Daveed. Needing cash flow for major repairs, Mara has accepted a Maccabiah Games challenge from wealthy rival Camp Barak and tasks Nomi with directing their team’s theatrical performance. While Nomi’s artistic sensibilities forbid yet another predictable production of Fiddler, allowing the misfit campers to create an original work could spark an existential crisis. In collectively crossing lines, the reluctant thespians and their rogue leader discover that camp can be more than just a way to pass the summer—and that people, like art, can surprise you. —Laura Henneman

West Coast Premiere

Sunday, August 3

Gillian Anderson (Sex Education), Vanessa Kirby (The Crown), and Ben Foster (Lone Survivor) lead the cast in Tennessee Williams’ timeless masterpiece.

As Blanche’s fragile world crumbles, she turns to her sister Stella for solace – but her downward spiral brings her face to face with the brutal, unforgiving Stanley Kowalski.

From visionary director Benedict Andrews, this acclaimed production was filmed live during a sold-out run at the Young Vic Theatre in 2014.

★★★★★ “An absolute knock-out. Raw, emotional, and deeply unsettling.” - Telegraph

Monday, August 4

With the idiosyncratic American fable Harold and Maude, countercultural director Hal Ashby fashioned what would become the cult classic of its era. Working from a script by Colin Higgins, Ashby tells the story of the emotional and romantic bond between a death-obsessed young man (Bud Cort) from a wealthy family and a devil-may-care, bohemian octogenarian (Ruth Gordon). Equal parts gallows humor and romantic innocence, Harold and Maudedissolves the line between darkness and light along with the ones that separate people by class, gender, and age, and it features indelible performances and a remarkable soundtrack by Cat Stevens.

Wednesday, August 6

Death & Taxes is a feature documentary about family, wealth, inequality and the American Dream, viewed through the lens of the estate tax and the very personal story of a father and son at odds over what kind of inheritance we want to leave our kids and our country. Filmmaker Justin Schein’s father, Harvey Schein, liked to say he lived the so-called “American Dream” -rising from poverty in Depression-era Brooklyn to great financial success as one of America’s top CEOs of the 1970s. But Harvey Schein, who ran the American arm of Sony for many years, also spent the last 20 years of his life fixated on trying to keep his hard-earned wealth from the taxman—an obsession that almost broke the Schein family apart. More broadly, inherited wealth and the tax system that shields it have badly distorted American democracy, perpetuating racial and economic inequity in the country. Filmed over more than 20 years and weaving intimate family footage with interviews with prominent experts from all sides of the debate, Death & Taxes tells this crucial story through the tale of one American family.

W/ Filmmaker Justin Schein and Guests in Person

Thursday, August 7

For his first studio picture, filth maestro John Waters took advantage of his biggest budget yet to allow his muse Divine to sink his teeth into a role unlike any he had played before: Baltimore housewife Francine Fishpaw, a heroine worthy of a Douglas Sirk melodrama. Blessed with a keen sense of smell and cursed with a philandering pornographer husband, a parasitic mother, and a pair of delinquent children, the long-suffering Francine turns to the bottle as her life falls apart—until deliverance appears in the form of a hunk named Todd Tomorrow (vintage heartthrob Tab Hunter). One of Waters’ most hilarious inventions, Polyester is replete with stomach-churning smells, sadistic nuns, AA meetings, and foot stomping galore.

Presented with Odorama!

Wednesday, August 13

Thursday, August 14

For his first studio picture, filth maestro John Waters took advantage of his biggest budget yet to allow his muse Divine to sink his teeth into a role unlike any he had played before: Baltimore housewife Francine Fishpaw, a heroine worthy of a Douglas Sirk melodrama. Blessed with a keen sense of smell and cursed with a philandering pornographer husband, a parasitic mother, and a pair of delinquent children, the long-suffering Francine turns to the bottle as her life falls apart—until deliverance appears in the form of a hunk named Todd Tomorrow (vintage heartthrob Tab Hunter). One of Waters’ most hilarious inventions, Polyester is replete with stomach-churning smells, sadistic nuns, AA meetings, and foot stomping galore.

Presented with Odorama!

Thursday, August 14

Las Vegas... Running from a troubled past and possessed of a raw and riveting dancing talent, Nomi Malone is soon introduced to the arena of the sensual, pulsating stage shows on the legendary Strip and the powerful men and women who run them. One of those drawn to Nomi's beauty and talent is Zack, the ambitious entertainment director at the Stardust. Another is Cristal, the glamorous, coke-snorting star of the stage show "Goddess," who may make her...or break her. As the complex bonds of passion, jealousy and love form between them, Nomi is drawn deeper into the world she so desperately desires and the allure of the spotlight she craves. It's a world of passion, power and personal moral choices where everything--and everyone--has a price.

Friday, August 15

Saturday, August 16

Las Vegas... Running from a troubled past and possessed of a raw and riveting dancing talent, Nomi Malone is soon introduced to the arena of the sensual, pulsating stage shows on the legendary Strip and the powerful men and women who run them. One of those drawn to Nomi's beauty and talent is Zack, the ambitious entertainment director at the Stardust. Another is Cristal, the glamorous, coke-snorting star of the stage show "Goddess," who may make her...or break her. As the complex bonds of passion, jealousy and love form between them, Nomi is drawn deeper into the world she so desperately desires and the allure of the spotlight she craves. It's a world of passion, power and personal moral choices where everything--and everyone--has a price.

Saturday, August 16

While assuming the role of a dutiful guardian in the country, Jack lets loose in town under a false identity. Meanwhile, his friend Algy adopts a similar facade. Hoping to impress two eligible ladies, the gentlemen find themselves caught in a web of lies they must carefully navigate.

Three-time Olivier Award-winner Sharon D Clarke is joined by Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who; Sex Education) in this joyful reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s most celebrated comedy.

★★★★★ “A flawless piece of comic theatre” - Broadway World

Monday, August 18

Charles Dickens' classic tale of a waif in 19th Century England comes alive brilliantly in this Oscar-winning musical. Fleeing a life of workhouse servitude, Oliver (Mark Lester) arrives in London to seek his fortune. During his adventures, Oliver meets a gallery of unforgettable Dickens low-lifes.

Wednesday, August 20

Thursday, August 21

Charles Dickens' classic tale of a waif in 19th Century England comes alive brilliantly in this Oscar-winning musical. Fleeing a life of workhouse servitude, Oliver (Mark Lester) arrives in London to seek his fortune. During his adventures, Oliver meets a gallery of unforgettable Dickens low-lifes.

Thursday, August 21

Jacques Tati’s gloriously choreographed, nearly wordless comedies about confusion in an age of high technology reached their apotheosis with PlayTime. For this monumental achievement, a nearly three-year-long, bank-breaking production, Tati again thrust the lovably old-fashioned Monsieur Hulot, along with a host of other lost souls, into a baffling modern world, this time Paris. With every inch of its superwide frame crammed with hilarity and inventiveness, PlayTime is a lasting record of a modern era tiptoeing on the edge of oblivion.

Wednesday, August 27

Thursday, August 28

Jacques Tati’s gloriously choreographed, nearly wordless comedies about confusion in an age of high technology reached their apotheosis with PlayTime. For this monumental achievement, a nearly three-year-long, bank-breaking production, Tati again thrust the lovably old-fashioned Monsieur Hulot, along with a host of other lost souls, into a baffling modern world, this time Paris. With every inch of its superwide frame crammed with hilarity and inventiveness, PlayTime is a lasting record of a modern era tiptoeing on the edge of oblivion.

Thursday, August 28

The Vogue Theatre presents the 25th anniversary of Groove. A film by Greg Harrison.

On Friday, a single e-mail blips through the Internet. The word spreads quickly through the city: the party is on. Saturday evening, two hundred people secretly converge at an abandoned San Francisco warehouse. As the sun sets the records start spinning, setting into motion a night that no one will forget. Meet David, a Midwest transplant who spends his time alone, overworked and with little social life. That night, his brother Colin invites him to GROOVE because he has a surprise for his new girlfriend, a young raver sprite Harmony , and he wants David there. David reluctantly agrees and is shocked when Colin proposes to Harmony at the party. In the ensuing celebration, they take Ecstasy and suddenly, David is thrust into the world of the San Francisco underground. In a chance encounter, David meets longtime New York raver Leyla and makes an unlikely connection. But as the party rages on, Colin reveals a deep secret, one that threatens to destroy his relationship with Harmony. When the sun rises the party disappears, and the chaos of the last twelve hours changes the two brothers forever.

Friday, August 29

Saturday, August 30

The Vogue Theatre presents the 25th anniversary of Groove. A film by Greg Harrison.

On Friday, a single e-mail blips through the Internet. The word spreads quickly through the city: the party is on. Saturday evening, two hundred people secretly converge at an abandoned San Francisco warehouse. As the sun sets the records start spinning, setting into motion a night that no one will forget. Meet David, a Midwest transplant who spends his time alone, overworked and with little social life. That night, his brother Colin invites him to GROOVE because he has a surprise for his new girlfriend, a young raver sprite Harmony , and he wants David there. David reluctantly agrees and is shocked when Colin proposes to Harmony at the party. In the ensuing celebration, they take Ecstasy and suddenly, David is thrust into the world of the San Francisco underground. In a chance encounter, David meets longtime New York raver Leyla and makes an unlikely connection. But as the party rages on, Colin reveals a deep secret, one that threatens to destroy his relationship with Harmony. When the sun rises the party disappears, and the chaos of the last twelve hours changes the two brothers forever.

Saturday, August 30