The Oklahoma Jewish Film Festival returns to the Circle Cinema for its 10th Edition! The festival includes 7 films in 5 days with comedy, drama, romance, and documentaries to entertain, educate, build community, and invite discussion about topics that may be seen as difficult, in an effort to bring together diverse communities and promote cross-cultural understanding. The Oklahoma Jewish Film Festival is a vehicle to use the power of compelling stories to bring people of all religions and cultures together. Security is present at all OKJFF events.
Read below to learn about receptions, post-film discussions, and more!
Tickets: $12 each OR $70 All-Festival Pass
Purchase tickets and Festival Pass at: CircleCinema.org/OKJFF
Sunday, April 7, 12 pm
Less Than Kosher (Comedy — English; 65 minutes)
At 20, Viv was a promising young singer. At 30, her failing music career has forced her back into her mother’s basement. But when this self-proclaimed bad Jew lands ass-backwards into a job as a Cantor at her family’s synagogue, she’s thrown into a wild ride of illicit affairs, drug trips, tense family drama, self-discovery, and some serious Jewish bops. It’s “Shiva Baby” meets “A Star is Born.” Modern Jewish wit and Hebrew Electro-Pop.
Chairs: David Howman and Tara Levy
Sunday, April 7, 6 pm Reception with Israeli food by Itzik Levin — film at 7 pm
No Name Restaurant (Comedy/Drama — English; 121 minutes)
To save the synagogue of the once largest Jewish community in the world from being shut down, Ben, an ultra-Orthodox Brooklyn Jew visiting Jerusalem, is sent out to be the desperately needed tenth man for the ceremonies of Pesach. Having missed his plane and been kicked off the bus in the Sinai Desert, his last hope is Adel, a grumpy Bedouin looking for his camel. When their car breaks down, it becomes a matter of their very survival.
Chairs: Itzik Levin and Yossi Shohat
Trailer: https://youtu.be/3ygvYg9ysyQ?si=W9xUCo2VtUw4db52
Monday, April 8, 7 pm
My Neighbor Adolf (Comedy/Drama — English; 96 minutes)
Followed by post film discussion “Love Your Neighbor” with Rabbi Dan Kaiman
South America, 1960. A lonely and grumpy Holocaust survivor convinces himself that his new neighbor is none other than Adolf Hitler. Not being taken seriously, he embarks on a detective mission to find the evidence. But, in order to gather evidence, he will need to be closer to his neighbor than he would like. So close that the two could almost become friends.
Chairs: David Gantner and Dr. Mark Goldman
Trailer: https://youtu.be/vLIqv5qs1nQ?si=HD1nTmEtXqaRLBfH
Tuesday, April 9, 7 pm
The Monkey House (Drama — Hebrew, Italian with English subtitles; 128 minutes)
Nominated for 11 Israeli Ophir Awards, similar to the Academy Awards, director Avi Nesher’s entertaining and often comedic new film is a mix between a literary mystery and a character study. Adir Miller plays Amitai, a well-known novelist whose popularity is dwindling. Attempting to avoid obscurity, he tries to revive his fading career by launching a highly inventive scam. He recruits a reckless actress and trains her to pose as his biographer and the two become entangled in a web of their own lies, forever altering their lives. Inspired by a true story.
Chairs: Steve Aberson and Brent Ortolani
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/885881565
Wednesday, April 10, 1 pm
Remembering Gene Wilder (Documentary — English; 92 minutes)
All filmgoers have a chance to win a “Golden Ticket!”
This heartfelt documentary takes a close look at the endearing comic genius of Gene Wilder, from his Jewish upbringing in Milwaukee, to his early stage work, to his breakthrough collaborations with Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor, to his marriage to Gilda Radner. Using a variety of touching and hilarious clips and outtakes; never-before-seen home movies; narration from Wilder’s audiobook memoir; and interviews from collaborators including Mel Brooks, Alan Alda, and Carol Kane, this film celebrates one of the most beloved stars of his era—performer, writer, director, and all-around mensch.
Chair: Barry Friedman
Wednesday, April 10, 5:30 pm Sisterhood Dinner followed by film at 7 pm
Bella! (Documentary — English, 102 minutes)
Post film discussion with Tulsa City Councilor Laura Bellis
As women like Kamala Harris, Stacey Abrams, and Katie Porter battle on the front line of an increasingly bifurcated democracy, they tread on the footpath laid by Bella Abzug. Bella Abzug was a larger-than-life feminist and influential lawmaker known for straight-talking advocacy for liberal causes and for her campaign slogan, “This woman’s place is in the House — the House of Representatives.” Using never before seen home movies, audio diaries, news footage, and new interviews from Barbra Streisand, Shirley MacLaine, Lily Tomlin, Gloria Steinem, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters, and many more, the film is an entertaining and comprehensive look at Abzug’s astonishing legacy fighting on behalf of women, the working class, communities of color, and LGBT rights.
Chair: Brina Reinstein
Trailer: https://youtu.be/Ygwhi2cL78E?si=v6itRm8KJ3TY64Fq
Thursday, April 11, 7:00 pm
Seven Blessings (Drama — Hebrew, Arabic, French with English subtitles; 108 minutes)
Post-film discussion with Alin Avitan
A boisterous Jewish Moroccan family celebrates a family wedding and the traditional blessings that are pronounced during the ceremony, again at the reception, and then again for the next seven nights with loved ones hosting special dinners in the couple’s honor. Behind the facade of joie de vivre and togetherness, there are secrets, lies, and a painful old wound that forces them to confront the past while wrecking the present, all entwined in this acclaimed story about fury, forgiveness, and food. Added to the mix is a joyous comedy of errors and misinterpretation by numerous members of the family speaking multiple languages, spanning Hebrew, Arabic, French, and the French Moroccan dialect. Seven Blessings won this year’s Israel Academy Awards (Ophirs) for Best Picture in addition to nine other categories.
Chairs: Alin Avitan and Amanda Anderson
Trailer: https://youtu.be/aMhpOHtdiD0?si=DC1pUbRNfmDNCDm2