A Celebration of Israeli Short Film
Sunday, February 18 · 2:30 PM
Simon Family JCC on the Reba & Sam Sandler Family Campus
Tickets: Suggested donation of $18
All funds raised will benefit UJFT’s Israel Emergency Fund
In memory of the victims of October 7
The Virginia Festival of Jewish Film holds in our thoughts the tragic events of October 7, 2023, when over 1,200 people were murdered in southern Israel. Additionally, our thoughts extend to the hostages who died in captivity in Gaza and to the members of the IDF who have fallen in the line of duty, defending the people of Israel since the start of the war. In their honor, we present these four short films.
The Boy was written and directed by filmmaker Yahav Winner, who was murdered by Hamas terrorists while helping his wife and their newborn daughter escape. All of these films, born from the depths of Israeli reality, provide an unfiltered glimpse into what daily life is like in Israel.
The Boy
Director Yahav Winner z”l ● 25 min ● Israel ● 2023 ● Hebrew with English subtitles
Avinoam and Barak, father and son from a kibbutz bordering the Gaza strip, each face an approaching war in their own way. Barak wants to stop everything, and Avinoam wants to stop Barak. One night, when Barak disappears, Avinoam is forced to accept that his child needs help.
Sirens
Director Erez Tadmor ● 22 min ● Israel ● 2017 ● Hebrew with English subtitles ● VIEW TRAILER
As missiles rain down on Tel Aviv, a frustrated Israeli couple faces a series of misadventures after an early morning call from the fertility doctor in this frantic, funny, and surprise-filled Israeli Academy Award winner for Best Short Film.
Asa Turns 13
Director Sali Elimelech ● 30 min ● Israel ● 2017 ● Hebrew with English subtitles
As Asa prepares for his bar-mitzvah, he must also cope with his mother’s death. He embarks on a sad and sometimes humorous journey through the neighborhoods of Netivot, a southern Israeli town where his mother's grave, which he has never visited, is waiting for him at the end of the street.
Dear God
Directors Erez Tadmor & Guy Nattiv ● 13 min ● Israel ● 2014 ● Hebrew with English subtitles ● VIEW TRAILER
Dear God depicts romantic Jerusalem seen through the eyes of Aaron, a guard at the Western Wall. One day, a beautiful, mysterious woman puts a note between the holy stones, and Aaron decides to fulfill her deepest wish.