2019 films will be announced on April 9th!

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2018 FILM SELECTIONS
Films categorized by date of screening.

Click on the photos to see each film’s trailer

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REINVENTING ROSALEE
Los Angeles Premiere!
Documentary/USA/2017/87 minutes
Directed by Lillian Glass

Rosalee Glass, a Holocaust survivor taken prisoner to a Russian gulag in Siberia during WW2, shares her story of survival and transforms her destiny by living her life to the fullest. In her 80’s, she started an acting career, in her 90’s, won ‘Miss Congeniality’ in a Senior beauty pageant, was seen by millions in a Super Bowl commercial, wrote a book sharing her secrets to a long life, and dares to ride Alaskan Sled Dogs at 100. 

• Q&A with Rosalee & Lillian Glass!
• Sponsored by Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills
• In partnership with Hadassah and Chai Village
• Thursday, April 26, 7:30 pm 
• Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills

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Celebrating the life of Jewish Emigre, the Austrian Director Max Reinhardt
with a special presentation of his film,

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM   

Comedy/Romance/Fantasy/USA/1935/145 minutes
Directed by Max Reinhardt
Written by William Shakespeare        
Stars: James Cagney, Dick Powell, Ian Hunter, Olivia de Havilland, Mickey Rooney 

Academy Award for Best Film Editing, Academy Award for Best Cinematography  

A tribute to Jewish émigré Max Reinhardt

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Max Reinhardts death, LAJFF will, in cooperation with the Austrian Consulate General – feature this masterpiece.

One of the most important and innovative directors of the first half of the 20th Century, Max Reinhardt (born Goldmann) had a decisive impact in theatre and film reaching from Europe to America. In Salzburg in 1920, he launched the Salzburg Festival, today one of the worlds most famous and influential festivals. Reinhardt was celebrated in Europe as a genius. In 1938, after fleeing certain death under the Nazis regime, he continued his visionary work as an émigré in Los Angeles, where he founded the California Film Festival at the Hollywood Bowl. There he directed his only film in America, A Midsummer Nights Dream. The film was nominated for four Oscars. All the while, the film was banned in Germany and became a symbol of resistance against Fascism.

• Introduction by Consul General Andreas Launer
• Pre-film discussion with Reinhardt experts, Dr. Helga Rabl-Stadler, President of the Salzburg Festival, Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, Stan Taffel, President of Cinecon, moderated by Gert Korentschnig, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Kurier
• Sponsored by the Austrian Consulate General in Los Angeles
• Co-sponsored by Pamela & Randol Schoenberg
• Thursday, April 26
• 6:00 pm – Reception
• 7:00 pm – Show begins 
• Landmark Regent Theatre, Westwood

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THE LAST SUIT (El último traje)
Los Angeles Premiere!
Drama/Argentina/2017/88 minutes
Directed and written by Pablo Solarz
Spanish, Yiddish, German, Polish with English subtitles  

At 88, Abraham Bursztein is seeing his place in the world rapidly disappear. His kids have sold his Buenos Aires residence, set him up to move to a retirement home, and disagree on how to handle his fading health. But Abraham survived the Holocaust, made a successful life in a foreign land, and isn’t about to quietly fade away. Instead, he plots a secret one-way trip to Poland, where he plans to find the Christian friend who saved him from certain death at the end of World War II, and to keep his promise to return one day. Comedic and poignant in equal measure, from Argentina to Europe on the journey of a lifetime, Abraham is accompanied by extraordinary characters he meets along the way, who both help him and need his help. A standout among these is the iconic Spanish actress Angela Molina, as the proprietor of the Madrid hotel.

With its klezmer-driven score, evocative cinematography and fleet pacing, THE LAST SUIT approaches its weighty themes with a light touch that illuminates a serious story. And in its mix of Spanish, Yiddish, German and Polish, it is a globe-trotting surprise, a late-in-life road movie with planes, trains and heart.  

Preceded by

THE DRIVER IS RED  
Short-Animation/USA/2017/15 minutes
Directed & Animated by Randall Christopher

Set in Argentina 1960, this true crime documentary follows the story of secret agent Zvi Aharoni as he hunted down one of the highest ranking Nazi war criminals on the run.

• Q&A with Randall Christopher & Jared Callahan
• Saturday, April 28, 8:00 pm 
• Laemmle’s Town Center, Encino

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THE SAMUEL PROJECT
World Premiere!
Dramatic Comedy/USA/2018/93 minutes
Directed by Marc Fusco
Produced by Steve Weinberger
Starring: Hal Linden, Ken Davitian & Ryan Ochoa

Honoring Hal Linden with the Marvin Paige Hollywood Legacy Award.

Eli (Ryan Ochoa), a teenager gets to know his grandfather Samuel (Hal Linden) for the first time when he makes him the subject of a senior year animated art project. With dreams of becoming a professional artist, Eli discovers that his grandpa was heroically saved from Nazi capture in Germany by a young woman when he was a boy. After hesitating, Samuel agrees to tell the story he hasn’t told in over 75 years. To his dismay, Eli is assigned to complete his project with an eccentric classmate Kasim, an electric guitar wielding school misfit.

• Q&A with Hal Linden, Ken Davitian, Ryan Ochoa and cast, moderated by Danielle Berrin, senior writer at Jewish Journal!
• Sponsored by the Goldrich Family Foundation & the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust
• Saturday, April 28, 8:00 pm
• Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills

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ABOVE THE DROWNING SEA  
Documentary/USA/2017/92 minutes
Directed by Rene Balcer & Nicola Zavaglia

The dramatic escape of thousands of European Jews to Shanghai, who found safe harbor from the Nazi menace, is revealed in the affecting ABOVE THE DROWNING SEA. As Hitler advanced, Jewish families sought refuge in any country that would accept them. With every door closed, Ho Feng-Shan, the Chinese Consul in Vienna, courageously defied his own government and the Gestapo by issuing visas to the refugees. Arriving on China’s eastern coast, the exiles faced new trials in a remote, unfamiliar land, caught up in its own civil war and chaos from foreign invasion. This remarkable story of heroism and humanity comes to life through the voices of actors Julianna Margulies, Tony Goldwyn and Nick Mancuso, as well as accounts by the refugees and their Chinese neighbors who recall their harrowing experiences and the remarkable friendships forged across cultures. 

Won the Golden Dragon Award for Best Documentary at the Ferrara Film Festival, Nominated for the Knight Award for Documentary Achievement at the Miami Film Festival

 

• Introduction by Natan Pakman | Associate Regional Director of the ADL
• Sponsored by Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center
• Community Partner: Anti-Defamation League Asian Jewish Initiative
  
  

• Sunday, April 29, 11:00 am 
• Laemmle’s Playhouse, Pasadena

HEAVEN IS A TRAFFIC JAM ON THE 405  
Documentary/USA/2017/40 minutes  
Directed by Frank Stiefel

2018 Academy Award Winner for Best Documentary Short! 

An extraordinary documentary portrait of LA artist Mindy Alper, whose astonishing body of work reveals a lifetime of struggle with debilitating mental illness and family dysfunction. Her only consistent means of communicating has been to channel her self-awareness into remarkable drawings and sculpture. Through an examination of her work, interviews, and the building of an eight foot papier-mache bust we learn how she has emerged from a life of darkness to a life that includes love, trust and laughter. From director Frank Stiefel (Ingelore, 2008).

• Q&A with the director Frank Stiefel & Mindy Alper.
  

Frank Stiefel director, producer and writer,came to filmmaking late in life, spending most of his career in the commercial production. In 2009, Stiefel made his first documentary, “Ingelore”, about his mother, a deaf Holocaust survivor, which premiered at LAJFF and aired on HBO.

Mindy Alper is a Los Angeles based artist whose work is represented by the Rosamund Belsen Gallery, one of the most prestigious galleries in Los Angeles.

• Community Partners: International Documentary Association
  and MorningStar Commission
• Introduction by filmmaker Lynn Roth

Preceded by

STITCHERS: Tapestry of Spirit 
Documentary Short/Canada/2017/15 minutes
Directed by Tassie Notar

One woman’s ambitious project to create the entire Torah, in needlepoint. Over 1,000 stitchers in almost 20 countries, are each stitching a portion, in the hope that the final work will become a inspiring traveling museum exhibit.

• Sunday, April 29, 3:00 pm 
• Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills

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Student filmmakers make you think. These are the inspiring stories told through the lens of a new generation. A mix of vibrant storytelling, this exceptional collection highlights very Jewish and personal stories of local Holocaust survivors and those fighting to prevent future genocides told through the eyes of students. Join us as we celebrate young filmmakers at Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust for the Voices of Hope: Student Film Showcase.Sponsored by Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust.

• Sponsored by the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust
  
• Sunday, April 29, 3:00 pm 
• LA Museum of the Holocaust

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HEADING HOME: The Tale of Team Israel  
Los Angeles Premiere!
Documentary/Israel/Japan/USA/South Korea/2017/85 minutes
Directed by Daniel Miller, Jeremy Newberger, Seth Kramer

FAMILY FRIENDLY FILM!

A stirring story of sports, patriotism and personal growth, HEADING HOME charts the underdog journey of Israel’s national baseball team competing for the first time in the World Baseball Classic. After years of defeat, Team Israel finally ranks among the world’s best in 2017, eligible to play in the prestigious international tournament. Their line-up included several Jewish American Major League players—Ike Davis, Josh Zeid and ex-Braves catcher Ryan Lavarnway—most with a tenuous relationship to Judaism, and never having set foot in Israel. Their odyssey takes them from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem where they are greeted as heroes, to Seoul where they must debunk their has-been, wannabe reputations. As their “Mensch on a Bench” mascot tags along, the team does much soul-searching, discovering the pride of representing Israel on the world stage.

• Q&A with Jenn Decker, wife of Cody Decker and former journalist for Sports Illustrated & Josh Rawitch, Vice President, Communications of the Arizona Diamondbacks, formerly of the Los Angeles Dodgers
• Sponsored by Shirley and Phil Sniderman, Susan and Mike Vizvary, and Brad and Andrea Sniderman
  

SEEING ALLRED  
Documentary/USA/2018/96 minutes
Directed by Sophie Sartain & Roberta Grossman
Produced by Marta Kauffman, Robbie Rowe Tollin, Hannah Kauffman Skloff Canter

GLORIA ALLRED IN PERSON!   

To some, Gloria Allred is a feminist prone to tawdry theatrics; to others she’s the most effective and fearless women’s rights attorney in America. In this intimate, warts-and-all documentary, one thing is certain: Allred’s 40-year devotion to asserting, protecting and expanding the rights of women is unwavering and her influence unassailable. And as the #MeToo movement gathers steam and powerful men fall, Allred declares: The fight has only just begun.

• Q&A with filmmakers Roberta Grossman & Sophie Sartain
• Producers in attendance Marta Kauffman & Robbie Rowe Tollin
• Sponsored by Temple Israel of Hollywood
• Sunday, April 29, 7:00 pm 
• Temple Israel of Hollywood 

A CALL TO REMEMBER: The David Schaecter Story   
West Coast Premiere!

Documentary/USA/2017/30 minutes
Directed by Ken Winikur
Produced by Michael Berenbaum  

Born in a small village in Czechoslovakia, David Schaecter was a young boy when the Nazi’s rose to power in Germany and is the only member of his family to survive the Holocaust. In this revealing documentary, David takes us on a journey — from his bucolic childhood where his family grew grapes for winemaking, to the struggle for survival he and his brother Jakob faced in Auschwitz, and finally, to David’s dramatic escape as the Allies invaded. As David pieced his life back together following the war, he was determined to remember those who were lost and became a founding member of the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach.  

Preceded by

116 CAMERAS
Documentary/USA/2017/15 minutes
Directed by Davina Pardo

Shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. This film follows Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss, Anne Franks stepsister, taking part in a groundbreaking project to preserve her memories. Facing a rapidly diminishing population of survivors, the USC Shoah Foundation embarks on an ambitious initiative to capture testimony as interactive holograms. Using innovative technology, users have virtual conversations with Holocaust survivors serving to educate generations to come.

THE LAST SUPPER (Das letzte Mahl)
World Premiere!

Drama/Germany/2017/83 minutes
Directed by Florian Frerichs 

German with English subtitles 

On the day Adolf Hitler comes to power, the German-Jewish family Glickstein comes together for a family dinner. Most of them however (like so many other Germans at that time) don´t take the Nazis seriously. When young Leah reveals her plans to emigrate from Berlin to Palestine, her family starts disputing. Her father Aaron can´t see any reason to leave Germany, the country of their ancestors and the country he risked his life for during the first world war. 
But when Michael, Leah´s younger brother, indicates that he actually is an ardent admirer of the national socialist movement, the family is on the brink of being torn apart…‘The last supper’ is a very personal and intimate chamber play – but also a warning letter to a world in which populists and demagogues are on the rise.  

• Q&A with the director Florian Frerichs from Berlin!
  
• Sponsored by the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany
• Co-sponsor by the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust
• Monday, April 30, 7:30 pm
• Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills 

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THE SAMUEL PROJECT
World Premiere!
Dramatic Comedy/USA/2018/93 minutes
Directed by Marc Fusco
Produced by Steve Weinberger
Starring: Hal Linden, Ken Davitian & Ryan Ochoa

Eli (Ryan Ochoa), a teenager gets to know his grandfather Samuel (Hal Linden) for the first time when he makes him the subject of a senior year animated art project. With dreams of becoming a professional artist, Eli discovers that his grandpa was heroically saved from Nazi capture in Germany by a young woman when he was a boy. After hesitating, Samuel agrees to tell the story he hasn’t told in over 75 years. To his dismay, Eli is assigned to complete his project with an eccentric classmate Kasim, an electric guitar wielding school misfit.

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BRIDE OF FINKLESTEIN  

Short Comedy/USA/2015/21 minutes
Directed by Michael Schlesinger  

Starring Cantor Phil Baron of Valley Beth Shalom!

When their car runs out of gas on a dark and stormy night, Biffle and Shooster make their way to the “kestle” of mad scientist Dr. Finklestein, who’s about to create a new bride for himself. Despite being aided by a hunchbacked assistant and a gorilla, he still needs someone to help complete the experiment. And guess who that someone is.

And

WENDY’S SHABBAT  
Documentary Short/USA/2017/10 minutes 
Directed by Rachel Myers  

This is a story of rediscovering the joys of community again in older age, and in the longing for ritual, however unorthodox it may appear. There are themes of love, of ritual and of community – all within the context of a heartwarming scene at Wendy’s.

• Community Partner: Cafe Europa
• Sponsored by Chana & Phil Bell in honor of Sophie & Max Lazar

• Tuesday, May 1, 12:30 pm
• National Council of Jewish Women

Irrepressible comic legend Carl Reiner and other celebrity nonagenarians regard the secret of vitality and longevity, in IF YOU’RE NOT IN THE OBIT, EAT BREAKFAST. This Hollywood reunion-like collection of delightful, freewheeling conversations challenges notions about aging. Joining the camaraderie are Mel Brooks, Dick Van Dyke, Alan Bergman, Kirk Douglas, Norman Lear and Betty White, and non-showbiz cohorts who still greet each morning raring to go. Offering years of insights and anecdotes, these spry seniors are as sharp, vigorous and engaged as ever, demonstrating there is still plenty of life to live after 90. Bookended by swinging performances of “The Best is Yet to Come” by Tony Bennett, and Oscar-winning composer Alan Bergman’s “Just Getting Started,” this inspirational, genial gem shows how the twilight years can truly be the happiest and most rewarding.

• Q&A with composer Alan Bergman (Yentl, Tootsie), director Danny Gold (100 Voices), and producers, moderated by Michael Schlesinger, classic film and music expert
  Please note: Carl Reiner will participate in Q&A via skype (due to emergency dental work scheduled for tomorrow.) But he’ll be there….
• Rugelach sponsored by Factor’s Famous Deli!
• Wednesday, May 2, 7:30 pm
• Ahrya Fine Arts Theater, Beverly Hills

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