2024 FILM SELECTIONS
Films categorized by date of screening.
Ticket links, description and film trailers below!
Buy your tickets here!
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19
OPENING NIGHT GALA!
GUNS & MOSES
World Premiere!
Directed by Salvador Litvak
Written by Nina Davidovich and Salvador Litvak
Produced by Lee Broda, Salvador Litvak, Isen Robbins, Aimee Schoof
Drama-Thriller/USA/2024/93 minutes
A high-octane mystery thriller starring Mark Feuerstein (Defiance), Neal McDonough (Minority Report), Alona Tal (Broken City), with Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future) and Dermot Mulroney (Shameless).
SYNOPSIS: Moses Zaltzman is a beloved off-beat Hasidic rabbi in a small town in the California high desert. When his congregation is violently attacked, police quickly accuse a young white nationalist who threatened them in the past, but Rabbi Mo thinks the troubled teen may be innocent. With no one else willing to investigate, Rabbi Mo becomes the detective, and as the bodies pile up, he becomes a modern day resistance fighter and must learn how to use a gun. At the heart of the film is the unexpected bond between the rabbi and an antisemite, as well as Mo’s looming fear that he won’t pull the trigger if he has to… and that he will.
- Q&A with director Salvador Litvak, writer Nina Davidovich, actors Mark Feuerstein, Michael B. Silver, Mila and Juju Brener, and other special guests
- Wednesday, June 19th
- 7:00 pm – Doors Open for Red Carpet, Dessert Reception
- 7:45 pm – Show begins
- Saban Theatre
8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills - In partnership with the Temple of the Arts, Saban Theatre, Magen Am, Jewish Journal, Accidental Talmudist, AishLA, Herzog Wine Cellars, Bullets & Bagels, Pico Shul and Temple Beth Am
- Reception sponsored by Accidental Talmudist, Lieder’s, Herzog Wine Cellars, Kleinlerer Wines and Legacy Entertainment.
THURSDAY, JUNE 20
NINA IS AN ATHLETE
West Coast Premiere!
Written & Directed by Ravit Markus
Documentary/2024/Israel/72 minutes/Hebrew and Russian with English subtitles
Open captions and audio description
Join LAJFF, the Museum of Tolerance and American Friends of Tel Aviv University for the West Coast Premiere of “Nina is an Athlete” followed by a Q&A with inspiring filmmaker Ravit Markus in person and Nina Gorodetsky on zoom.
On the cusp of turning 40, Israeli wheelchair badminton champion Nina Gorodetsky, has her first and maybe last, chance to participate in the Paralympics. However, she is negotiating a ticking biological clock both as a mother and as an athlete. What would she be willing to sacrifice to realize her Olympic dream? Nina shows true determination and perserverence as she keeps her eyes on the prize. Her commitment to achieve what she wants, no matter the obstacles is compelling and uplifting. She is a bad ass!
OFFICIAL SELECTION at SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
- Thursday, June 20
- 6:30 pm – Reception hosted by American Friends of Tel Aviv University
- 7:30 pm – Screening
- Museum of Tolerance
9786 W. Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles - In partnership with the Museum of Tolerance and American Friends of Tel Aviv University and the Consulate General of Israel
- Reception sponsored by American Friends of Tel Aviv University
THURSDAY, JUNE 20
TREASURE
Special Screening
Directed by Julia von Heinz
Starring Lena Dunham (Girls) and Stephen Fry (Gosford Park)
Drama/Germany, France, Poland/2024/112 minutes/English
An American journalist Ruth who travels to Poland with her father Edek to visit his childhood places. But Edek, a Holocaust survivor, resists reliving his trauma and sabotages the trip creating unintentionally funny situations.
Father and daughter reunite, reconcile and chart a course for Poland in what becomes a fascinating study of father-daughter relationships. Ruth (Lena Dunham), a neurotic businesswoman from New York, takes her father Edek (Stephen Fry), a charmingly stubborn Holocaust survivor, on a journey to his family home. While Ruth’s fascination with delving into the past provides roads to conquer her own demons, Edek’s hesitation to confront his past is fueled by nightmares and a fear that persists beneath his brave facade.
Fry and Dunham challenge each other to reach stunning heights as their characters unpack generational trauma and find solace in vices.
OFFICIAL SELECTION at TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
- Thursday, June 20, 7:00 pm
- Laemmle’s Town Center
17200 Ventura Blvd., Encino
SATURDAY, JUNE 22
YANIV
Written by Ben Ducoff and Amnon Carmi
Starring Ben Ducoff, Annabel Steven, Eli Boskey
Q&A with director Amnon Carmi and actors Annabel Steven and Eli Bosley in person! They may even have a few card tricks up their sleeves!
What do a New York public high school, an Israeli card game, and a school musical have in common? The creative mind of New York City–based filmmaker and producer Ben Ducoff.
A high school teacher in the Bronx, Barry Bernstein (Ben Ducoff),whose school is facing budget cuts to its arts curriculum, loses the funding needed for the school musical. He convinces his best friend and fellow statistics teacher Jonah (Eli Bosley)—secretly a card-counter and recovering gambling addict—to help him cheat at an underground card game called Yaniv run by the Hasidic Jewish community. They infiltrate but the plan goes awry with mounting consequences, and chaos, comedy, and adventure ensue. Then help comes at an unexpected time from the least likely of people.
- Saturday, June 22
- 7:15 pm Yaniv game in theater
- 8:00 pm
- Lumiere Music Hall
9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills
UNSPOKEN
West Coast Premiere!
Written & Directed by Jeremy Borison
Drama/2024/USA/91 minutes/English
Starring Charlie Korman and Michael Zapesotsky and Katherine Kamhi
LAJFF celebrates diversity and PRIDE month with the West Coast Premiere of “UNSPOKEN.”
Q&A with filmmaker Jeremy Borison and actors Charlie Korman and Katherine Kamhi.
UNSPOKEN follows the story of Noam (charmingly played by Charlie Korman), a closeted teenager in a religious community who discovers that he might not be alone. When he finds a love letter written to his grandfather presumably by another man before the Holocaust, he sets out to find this mysterious person and uncover his grandfather’s identity as well as his own.
- Sunday, June 23, 1:00 pm
- Laemmle’s Town Center
17200 Ventura Blvd., Encino
SUNDAY, JUNE 23
GUNS & MOSES (Second screening)
Please refer to description above on June 19
Q&A with Director Salvador Litvak and guests
- Sunday, June 23, 4:00 pm
- Laemmle’s Town Center
17200 Ventura Blvd., Encino
SUNDAY, JUNE 23
AUCTION
Starring Alex Lutz
Drama/France/ 2024/91 Minutes/French with English subtitles
Q&A with Holocaust scholar Michael Berenbaum!
A drama about Nazi looted art
Based on true events, veteran French director, Pascal Bonitzer depicts the highbrow world of Parisian auctioneers at the famous (and fictional) Scottie’s auction house, where hotshot opportunist wheeler-dealer André Masson (Alex Lutz) receives a letter concerning the discovery of a painting in the home of a factory worker in the suburbs on the Alsatian border. Said painting, by Austrian Expressionist Egon Schiele, had been long assumed lost — condemned and destroyed as “degenerate art” by the Nazis in 1939. Masson’s first reaction is to believe that it can only be a fake, a copy. He decides to make the trip to examine it and against all odds, the painting turns out to be the masterpiece gone missing. This could undoubtedly be the turning point of his career, but after a brief investigation, he realizes that he has in his hands a looted work of art.
SUNDAY, JUNE 23
SPOTLIGHT PROGRAM!
COLLEYVILLE
North American Premiere!
Written & Directed by Dani Menkin
Documentary/USA/2024/English/ 80 mins
Q&A with Director Dani Menkin (On The Map, Dolphin Boy), Rabbi Charlie and hostages in the film, moderated by Richard Hirchhaut, Regional Director of American Jewish Committee
Introduction to the film by Jeffrey Abrams, Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League
Four hostages were held by a gunman at the congregation Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville, Texas on Saturday, January 15, 2022. A few months later, for the first time, all of the hostages and their families are telling filmmaker Dani Menkin their horrifying stories on camera.
Story Overview:
Colleyville, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth, has a history of being ranked the safest city in Texas. It is so peaceful and safe that (almost) no one has ever heard about it…
On January 15, 2022, Colleyville, the town, home to Jews, Christians, and Muslims, experienced a horrifying terror attack that shook the little town and the world.The synagogue live-streamed its services via Facebook, and the streaming continued throughout the hostage situation, viewed by more than 4,000 people.
The entire media around the world followed the breathtaking drama.
More than 200 local, state, and federal law enforcement officials, including a SWAT team, were at the scene, including 70 FBI hostage negotiators and rescue operatives.
- Sunday, June 23, 7:30 pm
- Museum of Tolerance
9786 W. Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles
- In partnership with the Museum of Tolerance and American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League and the Conulate General of Israel
MONDAY, JUNE 24
Closing Night!
World Premiere!
SONG OF ASCENT
MATISYAHU Documentary Live in Wartime Israel,
10/7 & Beyond
Join LAJFF for the CLOSING NIGHT for the WORLD PREMIERE of this unforgettable new film from MATISYAHU.
Followed by a Q&A with MATISYAHU and filmmakers.
World Premiere!
Producer/ Director/ Filmmaker/ DP/ Editor – Shlomo Weprin
Additional Producers: Matthew Miller, Adam Weinberg, Jonathan Boyer & David Katzin
Documentary/2024/Israel/90 mins
The feature-length documentary/live concert film will chronicle the experiences of singer-songwriter, and culture sensation, Matisyahu since the Oct 7th massacre in Israel. Song of Ascent depicts Matisyahu’s most recent US tour bookended by two meaningful trips to Israel, and follows his experience at several Kibbutzim, the Nova Festival site, hospitals, and other locations essential to bearing witness to the Oct 7th massacres. Throughout the film, Matisyahu puts on three large shows in Israel just before and after having three of his US tour dates canceled by anti-Israel protestors, thrusting Matisyahu into a unique role of speaking up for, and defending not just himself, but for the Jewish people during these difficult times.
Matisyahu’s first visited Israel when he was 16; a trip that sparked a connection to his Jewish roots. These roots ultimately birthed the popular, spiritual, world-renowned artist he has become and is celebrated throughout the live music footage.
- Monday, June 24, 7:30 pm
- Saban Theatre
8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills - In partnership with the Temple of the Arts, Saban Theatre, the Consulate General of Israel, Creative Community for Peace, If You Heard What I Heard, Pico Shul, Happy Minyan
Trailer coming soon!
