The 28th Seattle Jewish Film Festival is “cinemanna” for film-lovers and our community: a cinematic feast for the eyes and, like manna from heaven, a surprise gift of sustenance for the soul. Join us as SJFF “parts the red curtains” from March 11-26, combining the best in global Jewish and Israeli cinema—in person and virtually, on screens big and small—with community engagement and electrifying in-person special events.
Below is a list of films in alphabetical order. For more on the festival, check out these quick links:
Calendar | Special Guests | Box Office
Special Events:
Opening Night | Sunday Brunch | Sephardic Spotlight | Closing Night
| SEPHARDIC SPOTLIGHT: ALEGRÍA | |
 | The North African city of Melilla—where Jews, Muslims, and Christians converge—is the unique backdrop for this moving, comedic family drama where Alegría must face her Jewish family and rejected heritage during her niece’s Orthodox wedding. Full details + watch trailer >> |
| In-Person Showtime: March 12 | AMC | 1 pm  | Streaming Window: March 20-26  |
| Special Event: Film introduction by Professor Canan Bolel, UW Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures. Includes reception of Sephardic coffee klatch (echar lashon) with coffee, tea, and biscochos |
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| CLOSING NIGHT + ISRAELat75 BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION: AMERICA | |
 | An Israeli swimming coach living in the United States must unexpectedly return to Israel. A seemingly innocuous visit with a childhood friend and his fiancée sets in motion a chain of events that will irrevocably change all of their lives. Full details + watch trailer >> |
| In-Person Showtime: March 19 | SJCC | 7:15 pm | Streaming Window: March 20-26 |
| Special Event: 2023 SJFF in-person closing night with special guest Director Ofir Raul Graizer. | |
| SUNDAY BRUNCH FILM: THE ART OF SILENCE | |
 | The first documentary about legendary French mime artist Marcel Marceau—who inspired entire generations of artists from the famous Swiss clown Dimitri to David Bowie—traces Marceau’s long history, career, and artistic journey through archival images and footage, and revelatory testimonials. Full details + watch trailer >> |
| In-Person Showtime: March 12 | AMC | 10 am brunch/11 am film | Streaming Window: March 20-26 |
| Special Event: Enjoy delicious, homemade brunch boxes while enjoying music by The KlezKatz! and special guests Pizmon. Film-only tickets also available. Brunch + KlezKatz! 10am | Pizmon 10:30am | Film 11am | |
| LGBTQIA+ SPOTLIGHT: CONCERNED CITIZEN | |
 | Architect Ben thinks of himself as a socially progressive, enlightened gay man. But an interaction with neighbors in his gritty south Tel Aviv neighborhood challenges his view of himself in this smartly crafted, multilayered satire about racial privilege, xenophobia, and identity. Full details + watch trailer >> |
| In-Person Showtime: March 12 | AMC | 5:15 pm | Streaming Window: March 20-26 |
| Special Event: Join us for our Gay Gezunt! LGBTQIA+ Spotlight. Part of the Israel@75 Birthday Series | |
| THE CONSULTANT | |
 | Working behind the scenes for decades, political consultant, pollster, and key advisor, Arthur Finkelstein, was instrumental in getting conservative candidates elected in the US, Israel, and across the globe. As a gay, Jewish man, he lived a double life of extreme contradictions. Full details + watch trailer >> |
| Virtual Only | Streaming Window: March 13-26 |
| DIVORCE DENIED | |
 | In Israel, no Jewish divorce is complete without the man literally giving the woman back her freedom. The film follows several such “chained” women and their religious lawyer, Batya, as they embark on a struggle against the rabbinical courts. Full details + watch trailer >> |
| Virtual Only | Streaming Window: March 13-26 |
| Special Event: Part of Israel@75 Birthday Series Zoom Conversation: Israeli human rights lawyer Smadar Ben-Natan. Moderated by Prof. Mika Ahuvia of UW Stroum Center for Jewish Studies. |
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| FAREWELL, MR. HAFFMANN | |
 | Occupied Paris, 1941: When all Jews must come forward and identify themselves, a talented jeweler arranges for his employee to take over his store until the conflict subsides, a risky proposition that will change their lives forever. Full details + watch trailer >> |
| In-Person Showtime: March 19 | SJCC | 3:15 pm | Streaming Window: March 20-26 |
| FOUR WINTERS | |
 | Shattering the myth of Jewish passivity, the last surviving partisans of WWII tell their stories of Nazi resistance, revealing a stunning narrative of heroism and resilience. Full details + watch trailer >> |
| In-Person Showtime: March 19 | SJCC | 1 pm | In person only |
| HONEY TRAP | |
 | Jerusalem’s Kiryat Moshe neighborhood is home to a large Ethiopian Jewish community. When a national construction project guarantees a safe exit for residents wanting to evacuate the neglected ghetto, Hana, a single mother worried about her teenage son, jumps at the opportunity for a change and becomes a community advocate. Full details + watch trailer >> |
| Virtual Only | Streaming Window: March 13-26 |
| Part of our Israel@75 Birthday Series | |
| HALF-PRICE 65+ MATINEE: THE JEWISH JAIL LADY & THE HOLY THIEF | |
 | A heartwarming documentary that follows the unbelievable pasts and brilliant love story of Rabbi Mark Borovitz and Harriet Rossetto. Their journeys not only led them to one another but to the formation of Beit T’Shuvah in in Los Angeles, a one-of-a-kind recovery and treatment center known across the globe. Full details + watch trailer >> |
| In-Person Showtime: March 17 | SJCC | 1 pm | Streaming Window: March 20-26 |
| Special Event: Tickets for age 65+ are half-price. Coffee, tea and noshes served. Special Guests: Film subjects Rabbi Mark Borovitz and Harriet Rossetto. After the film, join Rabbi Kate Speizer of Endless Opportunities for a schmooze and nosh. |
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| OPENING NIGHT: KARAOKE | |
 | Israeli superstars Lior Ashkenazi and Sasson Gabay lead this bittersweet comedy about a downtrodden, upper-middle-class suburban couple who are drawn to their new neighbor, a sexy, charismatic bachelor who holds karaoke evenings at his penthouse apartment. Full details + watch trailer >> |
| In-Person Showtime: March 11 | AMC | 7:30 pm | Streaming Window: March 20-26 |
| Special Event: Opening Night truffle popcorn and “mocktails” before the show. Karaoke after party. Special Guest: Onscreen introduction and SJFF REEL Difference Award acceptance by lead actor Sasson Gabay Part of SJFF Israel@75 Film Series |
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| THE LEVYS OF MONTICELLO | |
 | The little-known story of a Jewish naval officer who bought Thomas Jefferson’s beloved Monticello home, restored it from ruin, and turned it into an iconic landmark and national treasure despite antisemitic backlash. Full details + watch trailer >> |
| Virtual Only | Streaming Window: March 13-26 |
| THE MAN IN THE BASEMENT | |
 | A seemingly benign real estate deal between a bourgeois French couple and a dangerous, antisemitic conspiracy theorist quickly turns into a sinister standoff in this superbly acted and provocative film. Full details + watch trailer >> |
| Virtual Only | Streaming Window: March 13-26 |
| BRING-A-TEEN SCREEN: MY FATHER’S SECRETS | |
 | At age 20, Michel’s father (voiced by legendary actor Elliott Gould) returned to his native Belgium, married, and fathered four children. His reclusive attitude toward his past leads his family to try to understand the many issues he faced while they forge their own independent futures. Full details + watch trailer >> |
| In-Person Showtime: March 12 | AMC | 3:30 pm | Streaming Window: March 20-26 |
| Special Event: Teens are half- price with the purchase of a full-priced adult or senior ticket. | |
| ISRAEL@75 SPOTLIGHT: ONE MORE STORY | |
 | Yarden is a young journalist who does not believe in love. In exchange for a book deal, she strikes a bargain with her unscrupulous boss and secret lover to write a series of reality TV-inspired, modern-romance columns based on the dating disasters of her best friend Adam. Full details + watch trailer >> |
| In-Person Showtime: March 18 | SJCC | 8:30 pm | Streaming Window: March 20-26 |
| Special Event: Part of SJFF Israel@75 Birthday Series Zoom Conversation: Director/lead actor Guri Alfi Zooms in for a live Q&A after the in-person screening. |
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| RECKONINGS | |
 | In the aftermath of the Holocaust, secret meetings took place to negotiate the incomprehensible: compensation for the largest mass genocide in history. Survivors were in urgent need, but how could reparations be determined for the unprecedented destruction and suffering of an entire people? Full details + watch trailer >> |
| Virtual Only | Streaming Window: March 13-26 |
| THE REPLACEMENT | |
 | Burnt out by his work in the underbelly of Madrid, a young police officer accepts a job in a small seaside town, where he begins to investigate his predecessor’s mysterious death in this beautifully-filmed, fast-paced thriller set in 1982 post-Franco Spain. Full details + watch trailer >> |
| In-Person Showtime: March 18 | SJCC | 6:30 pm | Streaming Window: March 20-26 |
| SAVOY | |
 | This absorbing hybrid documentary/drama tells the story of Kochava Levy, a young woman who bravely served as mediator between terrorists and the IDF while being held hostage at Tel Aviv’s Savoy Hotel in 1975. Full details + watch trailer >> |
| Virtual Only | Streaming Window: March 13-26 |
| Special Event: Part of Israel@75 Birthday Series Zoom Conversation: Director Zohar Wagner |
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| VALIANT HEARTS | |
 | The odyssey of six Jewish children hidden during World War II where no one would think to look for them: in the Château de Chambord, along with priceless artworks from the Louvre Museum. Full details + watch trailer >> |
| Virtual Only | Streaming Window: March 13-26 |
| WHERE LIFE BEGINS | |
 | Every summer, the Zelniks, an ultra-Orthodox French family, spend time on an estate in southern Italy to collect perfect citrons for Sukkot. Faith, family, and freedom are tested when a spark develops between Esther, the rabbi’s daughter, and divorced farmer Elio who both share a deep yearning for freedom and connection. Full details + watch trailer >> |
| In-Person Showtime: March 19 | SJCC | 5 pm | Streaming Window: March 20-26 |
| SHORT FILM PROGRAM: SAYING KADDISH | |
 | Curated by Warren Etheredge. Seven short films examine the metaphorical progression of Jewish mourning rituals—the passing of parents, grandparents, neighbors, strangers, and even a beached whale—and represent how international artists sanctify global grief into cinematic blessings. Full details >> |
| In-Person Encore: March 29 | Walla Walla | 7 pm March 30 | Hillel UW | 6:30 pm | Streaming Window: March 13-26 |
Seattle Jewish Film Festival Information
Need help? Contact boxoffice@sjcc.org | 206.388.0833 (email fastest!). Get all the information you need for 28th Seattle Jewish Film Festival through the links below, including a full listing of all the films. The Films Get a quick look at the films in this year’s Seattle Jewish Film Festival, plus links to calendars, special events and guests. The Films >> |  Box Office Purchase your passes, packages, and single tickets for the 2023 Seattle Jewish Film Festival. Tickets + passes on sale Feb. 8. Box Office >> |  FAQs + More Get full information on how to watch virtually + where to watch in person. Have a question? Check here >> |  Support SJFF Support SJFF’s transformative power of cinematic storytelling, communal gathering, and traditions that strengthen our community. Donate Today >> |
2023 SJFF Lead Sponsors
| Support SJFF’s Return to Theaters Today. Become a sponsor/partner today >> |
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