Win one of three double passes in our Jewish International Film Festival – Ticket Giveaway!
From 17 February to 24 March, the Jewish International Film Festival (JIFF) returns to the big screen for another round of spectacular Jewish cinema with star-studded features, gripping histories, true life dramas, stories of iconic Jewish trailblazers and more. ‘A Rich Life’ has three double passes up for grabs, which are redeemable at select Melbourne and Sydney Cinemas. Melbourne: Lido Cinema, Hawthorn (18 February-16 March), Classic Cinemas, Elsternwick (17 February to 16 March). Sydney: Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (18 February to 17 March).
How can you enter? Sign up to our Arts Newsletter below, the first three sign-ups will win a double pass.
JIFF 2021 activates cinema screens in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Canberra, with 51 films from 19 countries showcasing 29 feature-length films, 19 documentaries, and episodes from three TV series. A program of special events is scheduled for Melbourne and Sydney audiences: including but not limited to a pre-recorded Q&A with Yaron Zilberman, director of the opening night film Incitement; a digital Q&A with Shiva Baby director Emma Seligman; and historical tours of Sydney’s Ritz Cinema, and Melbourne’s Classic Cinemas.
Highlights from the 2021 JIFF program
The festival opens with Incitement, winner of Best Film at the Ophir Awards (Israel). Incitement is a timely film mirroring the radicalised final days of the Trump-era. Alan Pakula: Going for Truth, tells the deeply personal story of one of Hollywood’s greatest directors before his tragic death in 1998. The Last Vermeer, a post-World War II story follows an Army officer who investigates paintings that fell into Nazi possession during the war, starring Australian actor Guy Pearce as a notorious Dutch art dealer.
Ruth – Justice Ginsburg In Her Own Words, tells the story of Ruth Bader Ginsberg who despite being Jewish, a woman, and a mother – against all odds went from a top-of-the-class law graduate struggling to find work to a Supreme Court Justice who changed the world. Multi-award-winning film Asia draws focus to a girl determined to spend her final days as a rebellious free-spirited teenager despite her degenerative disease. Asia stars Primetime Emmy Award nominee Shira Haas (who played a leading role in the series Unorthodox). From the Toronto International Film Festival and South by South West comes Shiva Baby, a playful and sex-positive coming-of-age story.
World War II histories are revisited in When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, based on a best-selling trilogy for children, following a Jewish family fleeing Berlin in the 1930s, as seen through the innocent eyes a nine-year-old, and in Adventures of a Mathematician, which follows Polish-born mathematician, Stan Ulam, to the United States, where he helped build the hydrogen bomb as part of The Manhattan Project.
Cultural divides are explored in Breaking Bread, a documentary about the A-sham Food Festival, a yearly event in the mixed city of Haifa that invites Arab and Jewish chefs to set aside politics and collaborate on new dishes, and Golden Voices presents an absurd tragi-comedy about a veteran Soviet voice-dubbing duo struggling to make their way in Israel in new jobs at an erotic phone line and illegal dubbing operation.
Drama hits the screen in Persian Lessons. A Jewish man who, falsely claims to be Persian narrowly escapes execution and winds up teaching a camp officer how to speak Persian, despite not knowing a single word of it himself. Here We Are, presents another coming-of-age story. A father struggles to let go of his young adult son who is autistic and going into a specialised care home.
The JIFF comes full circle with the first two episodes of the global phenomenon Shtisel, season three. Shtisel is a heart-warming tale of a Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) family in Jerusalem, and their experiences of love and loss, and the ups and downs of life.
“From deeply personal documentaries on the trailblazers who changed the world, to touching true stories illuminating the untold stories from our history, as well as some truly impressive star-studded films, JIFF 2021 will reach all ages across the full spectrum of politics and religion,” says the Jewish International Film Festival’s Artistic Director, Eddie Tamir.
Visit the Jewish International Film Festival website for session times, locations and ticketing or download the full program of scheduled films and events here. Don’t forget to enter our giveaway by signing up to the Art Newsletter below, for your chance to win one of three double passes. Good luck!