24th annual Calgary Jewish Film Festival features world class films from November 2 – 17

Israeli A-listers Sasson Gabbai (L) and Asi Levy star in "Bliss," the opening night film at the 24th Annual Beth Tzedec Congregation Jewish Film Festival in Calgary. Adding even more star power to the event, acclaimed film director Shemi Zarhin has been invited to attend.

By Maxine Fischbein

(Calgary) – The Beth Tzedec Congregation Jewish Film Festival, taking place the first three weeks of November, will be rolling out the red carpet in Calgary on opening night, Saturday, November 2, for renowned Israeli director Shemi Zarhin. His film Bliss (Hemda in Hebrew) features two of Israel’s best-loved actors, Sasson Gabai and Asi Levy in “a moving, tender and insightful love story set against the diverse and delicate fabric of Israeli society.”

Zarhin, who has been invited to the festival to introduce his film and participate in a post-screening Q and A, is an acclaimed filmmaker whose films have garnered numerous Ophir Awards—Israel’s equivalent to the Oscars— as well as honours at international film festivals. Gabai and Levy have been nominated for Ophir awards for their stunning performances in Bliss, which was screened earlier this month at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Unfortunately, the introduction to the TIFF screening of Bliss on September 10 was disrupted by pro-Palestinian demonstrators who briefly commandeered the stage before being escorted out of the theatre by security as some in the audience chanted “Bring them home,” referencing the estimated 100 hostages remaining in Gaza following the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, nearly one year ago.

Both Shemi Zarhin and Sasson Gabai attended the Toronto screening. According to a report in The Times of Israel, Zarhin told Channel 12 News that “…the wretched horror show finished and the movie started and went on calmly and beautifully.”

Ironically, Bliss is not an overtly political film. Viewers are given glimpses of life in the Northern Galilee—notably the region of Israel supported by the United Jewish Appeal in both Calgary and Edmonton—including an endearing example of peaceful co-existence between Sassi (portrayed by Gabai), his grandson, and their Arab neighbour.

Two Zarhin films, Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi and Aviva, My Love, previously screened at the Calgary Jewish Film Festival to the delight of audiences here.

Zarhin, who wrote the screenplay for Bliss, is also the author of the award-winning novel Some Day, which, like Bliss—a heartwarming love story with Israeli tam—takes a deep dive into family and community dynamics.

Born in Tiberias, Zarhin graduated from film and TV studies at Tel Aviv University and teaches film studies at the Sam Spiegel Film Academy in Jerusalem.

On his planned visit to Calgary, Zarhin will be accompanied by his wife, Einat.

As always, the Beth Tzedec Congregation Jewish Film Festival offers world-class entertainment, engaging special guests, education, insight, and great nosh to fuel spirited post-film discussions.

“Usually, we have more documentaries than full-length features. This year, the opposite is true,” says festival founder and director Harvey Cyngiser, who works throughout the year to find the films that will resonate individually and collectively with local audiences. His committee begins pre-screening and discussing films right after Passover, and the lineup is typically finalized by late summer.

Cyngiser and his committee do not shy away from controversial and challenging topics.

A particularly charged discussion took place following the committee’s pre-screening of the documentary We Will Dance Again, by acclaimed Israeli filmmaker Yariv Mozer (who also directed the documentary Golda’s War Diaries, set to screen on Sunday, November 3).

We Will Dance Again, which will be screened on the evening of Sunday, November 10, is anchored in searing first-hand accounts of survivors of the October 7 Nova Music Festival massacre, deftly interwoven with cell phone video recordings and news coverage of the deadly Hamas terrorist attack that resulted in the tragic deaths of hundreds of young music lovers, the injury of many others and many  of the hostage takings that continue to haunt Israelis, the Jewish Diaspora and people of goodwill everywhere.

“Some committee members feel that the material is too graphic and that it is too soon to confront the enormity of the atrocities that the terrorists committed that day,” recalled Cyngiser, “but the majority agree that we, as a community, must empathize, listen and bear witness.”

As these words are written, Israelis and Diaspora Jews are reeling again following the brutal murders of six more hostages whose remains were recovered by the IDF on August 31 in the notorious tunnels beneath Gaza.

Among the dead was 23-year-old American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin, perhaps the most recognized of the hostages due to the courageous activism of his parents in Israel, the United States and the Vatican.

Goldberg-Polin’s left forearm was blown off when terrorists lobbed grenades into the shelter where he and other Nova attendees sought refuge in the midst of the unprecedented attack. Details of his experiences that day are explored in We Will Dance Again.

“The survivors featured in the film experienced unfathomable violence and cruelty. If they are willing to share their painful experiences, it is an obligation on our part to give that film voice,” Cyngiser says, though he urges the audience to make informed decisions about the appropriateness of each movie for themselves, and in particular, their children.

We Will Dance Again is co-sponsored by the Calgary Jewish Federation. Thanks to the generous financial support of Ron and Barb Krell and Joe and Sondra Spier, the special screening is being offered free of charge.

“It is our hope that the community will once again come together to memorialize those who were murdered, to stand in solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people, and to remind ourselves and each other that we will dance again,” Cyngiser said.

The community is also invited to a special pre-Kristallnacht screening of the American documentary 999: THE FORGOTTEN GIRLS on Thursday, November 7, co-sponsored by the Holocaust and Human Rights: Remembrance and Education Committee, Calgary Jewish Federation.

The Forgotten Girls were 999 Slovak women, mostly teens, recruited by their government to do volunteer work but, instead, illegally deported on the first Jewish transport to Auschwitz in March, 1942.

Adapted for the screen by best-selling author and historian Heather Dune Macadam from her book by the same name, the moving documentary pays tribute to the women, in large part through the testimony of some of the few who managed to endure the notorious death camp until liberation.

Everyone is welcome, free of charge, for the screening which will be preceded by a brief Kristallnacht program.

For the first time ever, Camp BB Riback is teaming up with the Film Festival on the afternoon of November 17 as co-sponsor of Running on Sand, a film that balances insights into the plight of migrant workers in Israel with a humorous plot based on a case of mistaken identity.

A special bonus screening sure to delight Calgarians is a six-minute short film produced during the 2024 Camp BB Riback season. The stars of When I Grow Up are Cochavim campers (ages 6 – 9) and camp staff. Directed by Jack Walker, Mads Fox and Sarah Giufride, the film pokes good-natured fun at camp staff, says BB-Riback Director Stacy Shaikin, who also serves as the Director of Engagement at Beth Tzedec.

JAC (Jewish Adult Calgary)—powered by Calgary Jewish Federation—will be front and centre as co-sponsors of two feature films on the evening of Saturday, November 16.  The film Seven Blessings, winner of 10 Ophir awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Actress, and directed by Ayelet Menahemi, was Israel’s submission to the 2024 Academy Awards for best international film.

Told in seven parts, each representing one of the seven meals where a bride and groom are blessed following a traditional Jewish wedding, this gem of a film captures the often humorous though increasingly tense family dynamics as a Moroccan-Jewish bride and her French-Ashkenazi husband navigate the fault lines caused by a fraught Jewish-Moroccan practice the repercussions of which threaten to overwhelm them. Can love conquer all?

The second JAC-sponsored feature, the American drama Unspoken, tells the story of Noam, a loveable modern Orthodox Jewish teenager who is gay but not out of the closet. When he finds a love letter to his grandfather that appears to have been written by another man, Noah sets out on a journey of discovery that tugs at the heartstrings.

This year’s Dr. Ralph Gurevitch Tikkun Olam screening, The Stronghold, is a riveting Israeli war film by director Lior Chefetz that tells the true story of an IDF unit tasked with defending an Israeli outpost in the Sinai during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

“The unit’s young and idealistic commander and the army doctor who is stationed with the unit confront a soul-shattering choice: a desperate, and likely hopeless last stand, or a perilous gamble that could betray everything they stand for.”

This year’s Dr. Martha Cohen Memorial Screening features The Performance, a USA/Slovakia co-production directed by Shira Piven and based on a short story by Arthur Miller. Harold May (portrayed by actor Jeremy Piven, best-known for his role in the comedy series Entourage) is a skilled tap dancer who, while past his peak, continues to seek the limelight. Though Jewish, May embarks on a European tour in 1937, together with his troupe. While there, the dancers are scouted by a German functionary who offers them a king’s ransom to perform for one night only in Berlin. When it comes to light that the performance is for Adolf Hitler, May is faced with a daunting choice.

This year’s Jay Joffe Memorial Program, sponsored by the Jewish Historical Society of Southern Alberta, features a remarkable American documentary, Moses Ezekiel: Portrait of a Lost (Cause) Artist, directed by Steven Pressman.

The film, which will be screened on the afternoon of Sunday, November 17, tells the story of Ezekiel, a once-renowned sculptor who was born in the South and fought under the Confederate flag during the American Civil War. Some of Ezekiel’s sculptures glorifying the “lost cause” of the confederacy have caused his nearly-forgotten name to re-emerge as a new generation navigates the uncomfortable question about how to best deal with public art that glorifies racism.

These are just some of the cinematic treasures film lovers can expect at the 24th Annual Beth Tzedec Congregation Jewish Film Festival which will close on a high note with the North American Premiere of the film Pink Lady on Sunday evening, November 17. A nuanced and sensitively-wrought film by Israeli director Nir Bergman, Pink Lady tells the story of an ultra-Orthodox couple, Bati and Lazer, whose family life is upended when they are blackmailed by a gang that sends them photos of Lazer kissing another man. It is impossible to say more about this astonishing film without risk of a spoiler. Suffice it to say that the movie was a rare unanimous choice of the committee and is a must-see film.

For a second consecutive year, Film Festival will be a bittersweet moment for the Cyngiser family and their community. Bronia Cyngiser, OBM, passed away on July 26, just a little more than a year after her husband Sid (Sucher) Cyngiser, OBM, was laid to rest. The Cyngisers lovingly and generously supported their son Harvey’s cultural gift to the Jewish community. During their good years, Bronia and Sid attended most, if not all, of the annual screenings and generously created an endowment fund so as to support the festival in perpetuity. While their presence is missed, their incredible legacy continues.

The 24th Annual Beth Tzedec Congregation Jewish Film Festival opens on Saturday, November 2 and runs until Sunday, November 17. Thanks to a growing list of film sponsors, ticket prices remain the same as last year.  A full festival pass is only $80 per person when purchased prior to November 2 or $90 at the door, and only $20 for college and university students. Ala carte tickets good for one afternoon or one evening are $20 per adult. Children and youth attend free of charge. All ticket holders are invited to enjoy complimentary nosh and beverages either between or after screenings, a great opportunity to discuss the films with other movie lovers!

Sponsorship opportunities are available; please contact the Beth Tzedec Synagogue at 403-255-8688. For more information about the 2024 film festival season and to purchase tickets online, go to www.bethtzedec.ca or www.CalgaryJewishFilmFestival.com

Maxine Fischbein is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter.

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