Cherry Hill Volvo Jewish Film Festival

Patron Preview Party - Feature Short Film - East Coast Premiere

Ruth Fertig's grandparents survived the Holocaust but never talked about their experience. Years after they died, Fertig found a memoir her grandmother had written in the last years of her life and finally learned her grandparents' story. Yizkor uses her grandmother's words, brilliant animation, archival material, and Super 8 footage to tell that story, one of survival and resilience in the face of crushing loss.

Guest Speaker: Ruth Fertig, Director and Cherry Hill native.
Includes: Wine, hors d'oeuvres, and a private screening of Yizkor.

Comedic Documentary

The acclaimed director of The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg brings to life this remarkable story of television pioneer Gertrude Berg. Creator, writer, and star of The Goldbergs, TV's first family sitcom, Berg graced the cover of Billboard and earned the first Best Actress Emmy. She was a media trailblazer, with shows, cookbooks, and a clothing line - the Oprah, Martha, and Rachael Ray of her day.

When overweight Herzl and his three friends grow tired of dieting and "dictatorial thinness," they discover the world of Sumo, where "two fatsos in diapers and girly hairdos" are honored. Through their coach Kitano, a limber Japanese restaurateur who may be connected to the mob, the guys learn to accept themselves in this smart comedy.

In Restless Night, Saar, an elite IDF commando officer, and Ayala plan their wedding. But as the date nears, Saar suffers from flashbacks and anger. Dismissing this as prewedding jitters, Ayala slowly suspects that Saar is haunted by his military service. A powerful film about the personal cost of war.

The Fire Within: Jews in the Amazonian Rainforest

Documentary

The survival of spirit, belief, and heritage: this is the story of the Jewish community of Iquitos, Peru. Original Jewish traditions mixed with indigenous Amazonian life, creating an authentic and practically unknown Jewish tradition.

Guest Speakers: Rabbi Jerome David and Rabbi Aaron Krupnick

The Name My Mother Gave Me

Documentary - New Jersey Premiere

The Name My Mother Gave Me is a film about growth and self discovery. We follow Ethiopian and Russian Israelis whose leadership training in Israel culminates with a journey to Ethiopia. Considered on the fringe of Israeli society, in the Ethiopian highlands they discover their common experiences and commitment to their new home in Israel.

Feature Drama - New Jersey Premiere

A popular German high school teacher uses an experiment in social order to teach his students about fascism, but his lesson grows a life of its own. Through gripping realistic drama, witness the terrifying irony that average teenagers may welcome the very things they denounce. Inspired by true events from 1968.

Guest Speaker: Ron Jones - Teacher whose lesson plan inspired the film

Presented in conjunction with the Jewish Community Relations Council's Goodwin Holocaust Museum and Education Center

Documentary - New Jersey Premiere

Maya Angelou narrates this inspiring film about a brave group of people who fought Hitler with the only weapons they had: charcoal, pencil stubs, shreds of paper, and memories. These artists chose to make a compelling statement about the human spirit, enduring against unimaginable odds.

Feature Drama

Twelve senior citizens awake in their Galilee kibbutz to discover they've been left behind after the kibbutz's bankruptcy. Stunned and depressed, the old-timers organize and rebuild. Blending comedy, action, and romance, this moving film reveals the power of seniors who have been abandoned by society, left alone to determine their fate.

The Worst Company in the World

Comedic Documentary - Delaware Valley Premiere

Three divorced middle aged men work together in a small, failing insurance agency. They are intelligent, funny, and educated, but their company continually nears bankruptcy. This hilarious, touching film documents the attempts of the manager's son to join the motley crew and save his father's firm.

Pesya's Necklace

Feature Short Film

In Pesya's Necklace, 80-year old Pesya yearns to return to her parents' house in Poland. Traveling with her granddaughter, she wants to find a necklace which she and her sister hid on their way to Auschwitz. Pesya must now confront years of pain and decide whether to reveal her secrets.

Documentary

Rudolf Kasztner's direct negotiation with Adolf Eichmann saved almost 1,700 Jews during the Holocaust, yet some later branded him a traitor in his adopted country, Israel. An infamous trial declared that Kasztner "sold his soul to the devil," leading to his murder by a fellow Jew in 1957. This acclaimed new film addresses Kasztner's motivation and impact, through interviews with Jews Kasztner saved, as well as his family, political opponents, and assassin.

Guest Speakers: Director Gaylen Ross and "Kasztner Train" Survivors

Presented in conjunction with the Jewish Community Relations Council's Goodwin Holocaust Museum and Education Center.

Feature Drama - Program Includes Lunch - Advance Sales Only

Palestinian widow Salma and her new neighbor, Israel's Defense Minister, clash when Salma's lemon grove is deemed a threat to the minister's safety. With help from Ziad, a young lawyer, Salma fights to save her trees, sparking forbidden ties with Ziad and empathy from the minister's wife. A microcosm of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Guest Speaker: Israeli Arab Diplomat Raslan Abu Rukun, Deputy Consul General of Israel for the Mid-Atlantic Region

Feature Comedy - Adult Content - Delaware Valley Premiere

French cinema legends Gérard Depardieu (Cyrano de Bergerac, Green Card) and Fanny Ardant (The Secrets) reunite in this fresh romantic comedy about a middle class French couple during midlife crisis. Their vacation in Israel reconnects them with Judaism, reignites their romance, and leads to a radical decision for a new home, lifestyle, and misadventures. Will their marriage survive the culture clash?

Documentary

The Bedouin village of El-Sayed, in Israel's Negev desert, has the largest percentage of deaf people in the world, but there are no hearing aids in sight. Over time, unique signing has evolved as the most popular language in this society which accepts deafness as natural. Salim's decision to give his son a cochlear implant threatens the norm in this fascinating film.

Guest Speakers (discussion interpreted in ASL): Rabbi Daniel Grossman and Deborah Warshauer, certified sign language interpreter

Feature Family Drama - New Jersey Premiere

Twelve-year-old Eli's world is shattered when his father (Lior Ashkenazi, Walk on Water), a city architect, is charged with taking bribes. The family tragedy goes public, from the press to the school ground. Determined to save the dad he so admires amidst injustice, corruption, and pretense, Eli will form his own principles, rediscover his father, and taste bittersweet first love.

Feature Drama - Adult Content - New Jersey Premiere

A visually stunning and unforgettable film starring Stephen Dillane (John Adams, The Hours), Ayelet Zurer (Angels & Demons), and Rosamund Pike (An Education). While directing an archaeological dig in Nazi-occupied Poland, Athos discovers a little boy, Jakob, who is hiding after witnessing his family's massacre. Jakob doesn't know the fate of his beloved sister Bella - a mystery that will haunt him for life. As Jakob becomes a man, his family's tragedy and his longing for Bella consume him, coloring his relationships.