Jewish Film Festival Jewish Film Festival

2022 Film Guide

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Festival Sections
  • Awakenings: Stories of Transformation
  • JFI Supported Films
  • Next Wave
  • Present Tense: Contested Histories
  • Radiant Truths: Seeing Beyond Ourselves
  • Short Films
  • Special Presentations
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Venues
  • Albany Twin
  • Castro Theatre
  • Digital Screening Room
The Crossing
The Crossing
After surviving a pogrom, 13-year-old Kyona and her younger brother Adriel flee, embarking on a suspenseful journey to cross the border to safety in this animated feature with glorious fairytale-like imagery.
The Faithful: The King, The Pope, The Princess
The Faithful: The King, The Pope, The Princess
What does it mean to worship an image? This witty essay film takes us from Graceland to the Vatican to Kensington Palace over the course of 20 years to investigate three of the most photographed people of all time
Farewell, Mr. Haffmann (Centerpiece Narrative)
Farewell, Mr. Haffmann (Centerpiece Narrative)
In this transfixing wartime drama starring Daniel Auteuil, a Parisian jewelry shop under Nazi occupation becomes the site of a volatile, domestic secret between three ordinary people.
The Forgotten Ones
The Forgotten Ones
Michale Boganim’s beautiful and thoughtful film about the second class treatment of three generations of Mizrahi Jews in Israel raises questions of identity and belonging.
Grossman
Grossman
Through a series of intimate interviews, David Grossman, one of Israel’s most acclaimed authors and the recipient of the 2017 Man Booker International Prize, reflects on how his family has inspired his writing.
Haute Couture
Haute Couture
When Esther (Nathalie Baye), a Parisian seamstress on the verge of retirement, offers a troubled young woman an internship at Dior, their disparate lives become as entangled as the threads in their needlework.
Jews in Shorts: Documentary Program I
Jews in Shorts: Documentary Program I
This year’s assortment of eclectic and potent documentary shorts takes us all over the world: from New York and California, to Germany, Israel, and Poland.
Jews in Shorts: Documentary Program II
Jews in Shorts: Documentary Program II
In their own way, each of these short documentaries presents subjects who are trying to make the world a fairer and more equitable place.
Jews in Shorts: Narrative Program I
Jews in Shorts: Narrative Program I
These powerful works of fiction pack an emotional punch and share one thing in common: the legacy of the Holocaust.

Download the SFJFF42 Program Guide
Special Presentations
SFJFF42's Special Presentations honor stories big and small, illuminate the diversity of Jewish experiences, champion freedom of expression, and delight with their wit and charm. This year’s special screenings feature virtuosic performances, partnerships with fellow arts organizations, untold histories and uncomfortable truths, and more.
JFI Supported Stories
The Jewish Film Institute champions emerging and established filmmakers telling bold stories about Jewish life, culture, and identity through our Filmmaker Residency and Completion Grants programs. SFJFF42 is proud to showcase this dynamic group of films that received JFI support in their creation.
Next Wave Films
JFI Next Wave is a community of Bay Area filmmakers with an eye on the up and coming, and it is a platform for films and filmmakers that challenge and expand our ideas of Jewish storytelling. These films explore modern life and identity through a Jewish lens, often dealing with subjects like art, music, travel, social justice and more.
Take Action Films
Today's national conversation and political moment has inspired a powerful revolution of filmmakers applying their trade to the moment’s most pressing issues. Focusing on issues like climate change, abortion rights, and the fight against white nationalist violence, these films respond to the urgency of our times and embolden us to take concrete action to repair the world.
Awakenings: Stories of Transformation
As we return to the movies, SFJFF42 is highlighting stories that reflect our current moment of personal and societal awakening. What moves us from a space of inertia to action, in our lives and in the world? Who do we become when we pass the point of no return? These films ask those questions, and leave it to the audience to come up with the answers.
Present Tense: Contested Histories
Our current moment is one of grappling with history. Questions of whose stories become the popular narrative, and whose remain hidden from view, are frontline conversations in communities around the world. These films reexamine commonly accepted truths with a fresh lens, unearthing aspects of the past that illuminate our present reality.
Radiant Truths: Seeing Beyond Ourselves
What if, instead of being threatened by perspectives that challenge our own, we embraced the possibility that they have something to teach us? These films embody the idea of “multiple truths” by sharing a multiplicity of (sometimes contradictory) ideas and experiences.
Short Films
Don't miss the thirty-one short films in this year's program, each of which tells a big story. All narrative shorts compete for the SFJFF Film Movement Award and all documentary shorts compete for the juried Best Short Documentary Award, the winner of which is eligible for the Academy Award in Documentary (Short Subject).
Streaming Films
For those who prefer an at-home viewing experience, SFJFF42 offers more than a dozen programs online, available in the JFI Digital Screening Room from August 1–7, 2022. Selected titles include repeat presentations from the in-person Festival and stellar titles only streaming online.