A Letter From the Chair
Welcome to the 21st Jewish Film Festival.
Once again our dedicated committee of film enthusiasts has screened dozens of new releases to bring you a diverse and high-quality line-up of Jewish films from around the world.
This year’s selection spans a variety of entertaining dramas — from the boisterous, multilingual meals depicted in Ayelet Menahemi’s Ophir-winning Seven Blessings to the reunion of a Hungarian boxing coach and his orthodox son in All About the Levkoviches. In the documentary category, The Catskills takes us back to the heyday of the Borscht Belt, and Vishniac offers a penetrating, nuanced look at one of the great photographers of the 20th century.
In the aftermath of the tragic events of October 7, 2023, two important themes have emerged on screen: the devastation and trauma following Hamas’ invasion of Israel and the explosion of antisemitism in the U.S. Of Dogs and Men, a docudrama filmed at Kibbutz Nir Oz, follows Israeli teenager Dar as she returns alone to her once-bucolic community to look for her lost dog, while October H8te gives us an inside look at social media-fueled antisemitism on American college campuses.
Throughout the festival, several guest speakers will offer inside looks at the filmmaking process. Among others, 20-something filmmaker Julia Elihu will join us to discuss two exceptional short films based on her Jewish family’s escape from Iran, and Los Angeles-based director Dani Menkin returns to Houston to talk about his latest work, Colleyville, which documents the 2022 hostage situation at a Dallas-area synagogue.
We are grateful to our generous underwriters, Mitzi Shure and Jerry Wische, as well as our many Patrons of the Arts, Festival donors, and community partners whose contributions make our program possible.
None of the magic could happen without the exceptional dedication of our J staff, who work side-by-side with volunteer committee members over the course of a year to put together a meaningful and entertaining festival program for us to experience together as a community. So please join us on this journey of Jewish storytelling that crosses time, cultures, and borders.
See you there!
Matt Stein
Chair, 21st Houston Jewish Film Festival