The 41st San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, opening this week, looks at the past to gain a better historical perspective about the present and most likely the future.
That theme emerges in many of the program’s 50-plus features, a slate dominated by narrative films that are inspired by real people and real situations.
The festival, which this year returns to live screenings (July 24 and 25 at the Castro in San Francisco) while offering a packed virtual schedule (July 22 through Aug. 1) essentially has two opening nights with two good options. The Castro Theatre on July 24 is screening the Holocaust drama “Persian Lessons.” Available for home viewing beginning July 22 is the Sundance documentary, “Misha and the Wolves.” The festival ends with the truth-based thriller “Plan A,” a crackling dramatization about a shocking post-World War II plot to poison a German water system. It will be available to stream throughout the festival, but only for Bay Area viewers.
The festival’s Freedom of Expression honor will be presented to noted Polish director Agnieszka Holland, and her film “Charlatan,” an Oscar-shortlisted biopic on ahead-of-his-time Czech healer Jan Mikolášek, is on the event’s virtual schedule.
Here are five films to see.
“Persian Lessons”: This opening night selection benefits from strong performances, evocative cinematography and a gripping Holocaust-themed premise. Most of the action takes place in a German concentration camp, the new home for the quick-witted Giles (ideally cast Nahuel Pérez Biscayart). Giles is a Belgian Jew whose life is spared after he convinces suspicious SS that he is Persian (Iranian), a guise that catches the fancy of an officer (Lars Eidinger) who oversees the kitchen staff and wants to learn Persian. A survivor through and through, Giles creates his own version of the language. Director Vadim Perelman (“House of Sand and Fog”) fills every frame with tension and period detail, and comes up with an ending that will leave you in tears. The screenplay, however, makes a few miscalculations, having characters do personality U-turns that don’t make much sense. Still, this is a well-made and intense drama.
Details: Screening 8:15 p.m. July 24 at Castro Theatre.
“Prognosis: Notes on Living”: This wrenching but rewarding documentary celebrates the life of its subject — Bay Area documentary filmmaker Debra Chasnoff — and her decision to turn the camera on herself after she receives news that she has Stage 4 breast cancer. The camera captures all the messiness: the hope, the fury, the depression, the loss. Chasnoff leaves us with a profound portrait about dying about how families can make all the difference in the final moments of a person’s life.
Details: Screening noon July 25 at Castro Theatre, including Q&A with filmmakers; also streaming through Aug. 1.
“200 Meters”: It’s every parent’s nightmare, receiving a call that your child’s been admitted to the hospital. For Mustafa — the protagonist in Ameen Nayfeh’s intense narrative feature — the journey to get to his injured son becomes ever more difficult because the 200 meters that separates them includes an Israeli checkpoint. Mustafa desperately attempts to smuggles himself in on a ride with other passengers whose motivations clarify as the situation disintegrates. As Mustafa, Ali Suliman won raves and rightfully so, it’s an outstanding performance composed of slight gestures, and stunning body and vocal control. While the screenplay wanders around too much at the beginning, he keeps us riveted. Be sure not to miss the Oscar-nominated short “White Eye” preceding the film.
Details: Screens 11 a.m. July 24 at the Castro; also streaming through Aug. 1.
“Wet Dog”: What makes Damir Lukacevic’s adaptation of a talked-about autobiography such a success is how it acutely captures the voice of its main character, 15-year-old Soheil (impressive newcomer Doguhan Kabadayi). When he relocates with his parents to a mostly Muslim section of Berlin, his parents distance themselves from their Jewish identity. But the rebellious Soheil starts getting more attuned to his Iranian-Jewish heritage. Soheil makes for a complicated character, a bully who wants to fit in but then gets bullied himself once he becomes more impassioned about his religious and cultural identity. Lukacevic’s film tackles tough and tricky terrain and it’s both raw and alive. It’s one of the best features in the program.
Details: Streaming through Aug. 1.
“Neighbours”: My favorite film in the lineup remains director/writer Mano Khalil’s tender, humorous and at times devastating, coming-of-age epic. Set in ‘80s Syria, near the border with Turkey, it views village life through the eyes of the expressive and adorable Sero, a 6-year-old who is as inquisitive as he is innocent. With an uncle he adores and parents he respects, Sero later discovers how an us-vs.-them perspective destroys relationships and the joys of life. “Neighbours” is a beautiful film that richly observes a community while touching on global issues. Prepare for a good cry.
Details: Streaming through Aug. 1.
SAN FRANCISCO JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL
Where and where: Live screenings at Castro Theatre, San Francisco, July 24 and 25; virtual screenings through Aug. 1
Tickets: Virtual festival pass $195 to $245, Castro live screening pass $55 to $90, individual tickets (live and virtual) $15
Information: jfi.org/sfjff-2021
![The filmmaking team known as Radio Silence, made up of directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and producer Chad Villella, struck black (comedy) gold with their 2019 horror thriller “Ready or Not,” about a young bride, played by Samara Weaving, who has to battle her way out of a murderous game hosted by her wealthy soon-to-be in-laws. The film demonstrated their mastery of coupling an irreverent tone with splashy violence and netted the team the responsibility of making the next two “Scream” movies, the first without Wes Craven behind the camera. With their latest feature, “Abigail,” Universal gets into the […]](https://www.marinij.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TNH-L-FilmReview-Abigail-WBOX-042124-01.jpg?w=525 "The filmmaking team known as Radio Silence, made up of directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and producer Chad Villella, struck black (comedy) gold with their 2019 horror thriller “Ready or Not,” about a young bride, played by Samara Weaving, who has to battle her way out of a murderous game hosted by her wealthy soon-to-be in-laws. The film demonstrated their mastery of coupling an irreverent tone with splashy violence and netted the team the responsibility of making the next two “Scream” movies, the first without Wes Craven behind the camera. With their latest feature, “Abigail,” Universal gets into the […]")
