Tucson International Jewish Film Festival

Purchase Tickets online below or call the Welcome Desk 520.299.3000.
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The Tucson International Jewish Film Festival (TIJFF)  promotes independent, international film and its capacity to promote Jewish culture and celebrate cultural diversity.
The 27^th annual festival will bring 21 outstanding Jewish films from around the globe to local screens.
More than 3,000 festival attendees support and inspire this robust arts community.
The TIJFF is proud to be one of the longest-running Jewish film festivals in the country and one of the longest-running film festivals in Arizona.

Film Schedule: (Doors open 30min prior to start time)

Ticket Prices:

Film Descriptions:

HAROLD & LILLIAN: A HOLLYWOOD LOVE STORY SaddleBrooke Kick-off (39900 S. Clubhouse Dr 85739) Sunday, January 7, 3:00pm, $5 cash only at the door (no pre-sale) USA, 2016, 94 min., English Two unsung heroes working in the Hollywood system for six decades, storyboard artist Harold Michelson and film researcher Lillian Michelson, left an indelible mark on classics by Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski and many more. Through an engaging mix of love letters, film clips and candid conversations with the couple, Danny DeVito, Mel Brooks, Francis Ford Coppola and others, this charming documentary from Academy Award®-nominated director Daniel Raim offers a moving portrait of a marriage and a celebration of the unknown talents that help shape the films we love. Presented by SaddleBrooke & the Northwest Division, Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Also screening Monday, January 15, 1:00pm at the The J

Opening Night @ The Loft Cinema (3233 E. Speedway Blvd 85716) Thursday, January 11, 7:00pm, $10 Online ticket sales are now closed. Tickets at the door only beginning at 5:30pm. >> DOORS OPEN AT 6:30pm << SHELTER Israel, 2018, 93min., Hebrew/Arabic/German/English with subtitles ARIZONA PREMIERE! In this subtle thriller, a female Mossad agent is sent to protect a female Lebanese informer in a safe house in Hamburg, Germany. The relationship that evolves between the women is tested with the threat of terror, deception, and a surprising turn of fate. If you like Homeland and Fauda, you will love this one!  Presented by The Loft Cinema. Media sponsor: Tucson Local Media

Friday, January 12, 1:00pm CHALLAH RISING IN THE DESERT: THE JEWS OF NEW MEXICO USA, 2017, 84 min., English WORLD PREMIERE! Amidst New Mexico’s unique Jewish community, the five-braided challah represents five waves of settlement including Conversos escaping the Spanish Inquisition 400 years ago, German Jewish pioneers of the Santa Fe Trail in the 1800s, scientists of the 1940s at Los Alamos and the counterculture of the 1960s.  This film is part of the series, Frontier Jews, documenting Jewish communities in the border region of the American Southwest.  Special Guest: Producer/Director Isaac Artenstein.  Made possible by the Bob Polinsky Memorial Media Arts Fund.

Saturday, January 13, 7:30pm HARMONIA Israel, 2016, 98 min., Hebrew/Arabic with subtitles A modern and layered adaptation of the biblical tale of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, set in the world of the Jerusalem Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor Abraham and his wife Sarah, the orchestra’s harpist, cannot have children. Hagar, a young horn player from East Jerusalem who joins the Western Side Orchestra, offers to have a baby with Abraham for the couple. The child grows estranged from Sarah as the thin line of family balance is shaken.  Presented by Cookie Little & Family and Anne & David Lowe

Sunday, January 14, 1:00pm MONKEY BUSINESS: THE ADVENTURES OF CURIOUS GEORGE’S CREATORS USA, 2017, 81 min., English Hans and Margret Rey, a German-Jewish couple who narrowly escape Nazi-occupied France on makeshift bicycles, secretly carry the unpublished Curious George manuscript with them. Forced to live in Brazil while they await visas to the United States, the couple eventually sail into New York harbor to start life anew and create a children’s book classic. Special Guest: Cartoonist and Rey Foundation Executive Director Nat Scrimshaw. Presented by Sarah Iden & Marc Herman in memory of Lola & Marvin Herman. Media sponsor: PBS Kids-Arizona Public MediaAll are invited to meet Curious George and explore Curious George books in Hebrew and English with PJ Library, and enjoy themed games and activities. Parents can stay or drop their children off in the Jewish Heritage Center while they attend the film “Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George’s Creators” in the Ballroom. The Curious George Meet and Greet is free, open to the public and includes childcare. If parents want to see the film they must purchase tickets. This program is sponsored by Arizona Public Media and PBS Kids.

Sunday, January 14, 3:30pm FANNY’S JOURNEY France/Belgium, 2016, 94 min., French with subtitles Following her father’s arrest, 13-year-old Fanny leaves Nazi-occupied France with her younger sisters for an Italian foster home for Jewish children. When the Nazis arrive in Italy, their caretakers organize the departure of the children to Switzerland. When they are suddenly left on their own, a brave and resourceful Fanny leads this band of orphans on a trek toward the Swiss border in the hopes of freedom. Presented by Fay Green & Family Media Sponsor: Arizona Jewish Life Magazine

Sunday, January 14, 7:00pm THE ESSENTIAL LINK: THE STORY OF WILFRID ISRAEL Israel, 2016, 82min., Hebrew/German/English From filmmaker Yonatan Nir (My Hero Brother), comes the search for a mysterious hero- Wilfrid Israel. As the owner of the largest department store in Berlin and a member of one of Germany’s most prominent Jewish families at the time of Hitler’s rise to power, Wilfrid Israel helped save thousands of Jewish children through the Kindertransport operation and secured escape for hundreds of his employees and their families from Nazi Germany. This documentary brings to the surface a story that seems to have disappeared from history. Presented by the Weintraub Israel Center Media Sponsor: Arizona Jewish Post

Monday, January 15, 1:00pm, HAROLD & LILLIAN Repeat presentation, see description above

Monday, January 15, 3:30pm MR. PREDICTABLE Israel, 2016, 91 min., Hebrew with subtitles Adi has been a nice guy, a doormat, his entire life. This changes when he meets Natalia, who entices him into a life of emotions, passion, and romance. Now he has to choose between love and reason, dreams and reality, Natalia and family. Presented by Talya Simha Fanger-Vexler (Legendary Properties)

Monday, January 15, 7:00pm AN ACT OF DEFIANCE Netherlands, 2017, 123 min., English/Afrikaans In this riveting historical drama, Nelson Mandela and his inner circle of Black and Jewish supporters face a possible death sentence for conspiracy to commit sabotage after they are arrested by the apartheid South African government during a raid in the town of Rivonia during the summer of 1963. Bram Fischer, a sympathetic lawyer, risks his career and freedom to defend these men. Presented by Mary and Barry Ganapol

Tuesday, January 16, 5:00pm BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LAMARR STORY USA, 2017, 90 min., English A ravishingly beautiful actress of the 1930s and 40s, Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian Jewish emigre whose scandalous nude scene in the 1933 film Ecstasy led to a glittering Hollywood life. Behind the scenes, this glamour icon’s ground-breaking, but completely uncredited inventions, are the basis of cell phone and Bluetooth technology. Dealing with repercussions of both sides, her later years become reclusive, impoverished and almost forgotten.  Showing with:A PAGEANT FOR SURVIVORS Israel, 2017, 4 min., English/Hebrew w/ subtitles Each year, Haifa, Israel, plays host to a beauty pageant. But the contestants aren’t what you’d expect. Each one is a Holocaust survivor. And last year’s winner—84 year-old Rita Berkowitz—is set to pass her crown on to the new queen. For her, the pageant is a way for survivors from all over Israel to come together and celebrate being alive.Media Sponsor: The Desert Leaf

Tuesday, January 16, 7:30pm THE FREEDOM TO MARRY USA, 2016, 86 min., English The profound, emotional, untold story of how same-sex marriage became law of the land. THE FREEDOM TO MARRY follows Evan Wolfson, the architect of the movement, civil rights attorney Mary Bonauto and their key colleagues on this multi-decade long battle, culminating in a dramatic fight at the United States Supreme Court. More than the saga of one movement’s history, this is an inspiring tale of how regular people can change the world.Presented by JPride This film is supported in part by funds from the LGBT&S Alliance Fund, a fund held at the Community Foundation of Southern Arizona.

Wednesday, January 17, 5:00pm THE GUYS NEXT DOOR USA/Italy, 2016, 74min., English/Italian with subtitles Raised in a Jewish family, Rachel and her husband Tony are a traditional married couple living in the Boston suburbs with their three teenage children. But there’s nothing traditional about Rachel’s decision, at 41, to become a surrogate for Erik, her friend from college, and his husband Sandro, twice within two years. THE GUYS NEXT DOOR explores the intimate struggles and possibilities that creating family brings.Showing with:#WhoWeAre: Chris & Gabe Lopez Chris Lopez always knew there was something different about her youngest child, Gabe. Assigned female at birth, Gabe felt like he was a boy. In 2015, the Lopez family attended Camp Born This Way for transgender, gender creative, and gender non-conforming youth here in Tucson. StoryCorps and Upworthy partner to share this part of their story.Presented by Reveille Men’s Chorus. This film is supported in part by funds from the LGBT&S Alliance Fund, a fund held at the Community Foundation of Southern Arizona.

Wednesday, January 17, 7:30pm THE CHILDREN OF CHANCE France, 2015, 90min., French with subtitles Whisked away in an ambulance with a broken leg, a young boy is separated from his family just as they are arrested by police in Nazi-occupied France. Diagnosed with tuberculosis, he finds friendship, camaraderie and safety in the shelter of an isolated children’s hospital. Based on a true story.Showing with: BANK ROBBERY USA, 2017, 3 min., Silent Film From local cinematographer Eitan Penner and Director Quincy Gause comes this short film project from the Tucson J’s 2017 Summer Camp whose theme was “Lights, Camera, Camp J!” Starring the J’s Campers from Giborim 2.Dedicated in memory of David Caplan, z”l, for his participation on the TIJFF committee.  Presented by Alliance Francaise de Tucson and Marc Herman & Monique Steinberg.

Thursday, January 18, 1:00pm ORIENTED Israel, 2015, 86min, Arabic/Hebrew/English with subtitles Explore the lives of three gay Palestinian friends in Tel Aviv as they field being outsiders of both their national and sexual identities, while dealing with Israeli friends and Jewish boyfriends during a challenging time: the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict. These men, part of an often ignored subset of Middle Eastern society, seek community, love, and an outlet to express their quest for equality through art.  This film is supported in part by funds from the LGBT&S Alliance Fund, a fund held at the Community Foundation of Southern Arizona.

Thursday, January 18, 5:00pm @ The UA Hillel (1245 E. 2nd St 85719) TICKLING GIANTS Egypt, 2016, 111 min., English Known as ““the Jon Stewart of Egypt,” Bassem Youssef, an established heart surgeon, uses the power of satire to speak for the people and against a repressive government. His unexpected path leads to choices, actions, and repercussions that make him one of the most famous men in the Arab world.  FREE with a Student ID. This event is open to all ticket holders, standard film ticket prices apply to non-students.  Presented by Larry & Goldie Goldstein

Friday, January 19, 1:00pm 1945 Hungary, 2017, 91 min., Hungarian with subtitles On a summer day in 1945, an Orthodox man and his grown son arrive in a small village in Hungary while the villagers prepare for the wedding of the town clerk’s son. The townspeople – suspicious, remorseful, fearful, and cunning – expect the worst and behave accordingly. The town clerk fears the men may be heirs of the village’s deported Jews and expects them to demand their illegally acquired property back, originally lost during World War II. But some secrets can’t be buried…   Presented by Donna & Raymond Dennison

Saturday, January 20, 7:30pm ON THE WATERFRONT USA, 1954, 108 min., English Leonard Bernstein’s only original film score can be found in this classic film, starring Marlon Brando as an ex-boxer getting mixed up with mobsters while working on the docks of Hoboken’s waterfront.The Tucson J is proud to partner with the Tucson Desert Song Festival “Bernstein at 100”, a celebration of the life and Music of Leonard Bernstein, January 16 – February 4, 2018. Jamie Bernstein, daughter of Leonard Bernstein will introduce the film and take questions following the film. Presented by The Arizona Daily Star

Sunday, January 21, 10:30am Closing Brunch (separate ticket required) Closing Brunch Menu includes: French Tuna Nicoise, baby greens, baguettes, hard boiled eggs, croissants, assorted jams and butter, tomato slices, seasonal fruit, blintz souffle with compote, and of course… a variety of flavored mayonnaise spreads 11:30am film  MONSIEUR MAYONNAISE Australia, 2016, 94 min., English/French with subtitles Australian artist and film-maker, Philippe Mora, investigates the secret past of his father’s clandestine role in the French Résistance in WWII and his mother’s miraculous escape en route to Auschwitz. Creating an audacious comic book about his parents, this road movie features artists, real life heroes, Nazi villains … and baguettes with lashings of tasty French mayonnaise!  Presented by The Hacienda at the River.Join us for a special closing presentation, including a tasty French buffet before the film (brunch requires a separate purchased ticket of $18.)

2018 Tucson International Jewish Film Festival
Benefits of Giving

The TIJFF is a 501(c)3 nonprofit fueled by volunteers, sponsors, ad sales, and ticket revenue.
YOU make an impact on the success of this program. All donations are appreciated and can be made online or call 520.299.3000 for us to help process your gift.
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SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES HERE

Donations paid by November 17th will be acknowledged in festival brochure.
Donations received after the 17th will be acknowledged digitally.
Please note that contributions made from donor-advised funds are not eligible for benefits.

Gifts of any size are always appreciated!
Questions? Please contact
Shira Brandenburg
Director, Tucson International Jewish Film Festival
sbrandenburg@tucsonjcc.org
520.299.3000 x 147