TJFF 2022’s Programmers Share their Top Festival Picks

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May 26, 2022

The 30th Toronto Jewish Film Festival runs from June 9 to 15 (In-Theatre) and June 16 to 26 (Online). TJFF 2022 features the best in Jewish-content film from Canada and around the world including International, Canadian and Toronto Premieres: Dramas, Comedies, Documentaries, Archival films, Short films, and more! TJFF produces programming and projects offering the best feature films, documentaries and shorts from Canada and around the world, on themes of Jewish culture and identity. Learn more at tjff.com


Too many great films to choose from? TJFF’s programmers can help get you started with their top recommendations!

Top Pick to TJFF Programmer: Rani Sanderson

Captured

Canadian Premiere
Available Online June 16 – 26

“A stunning documentary about photographs, families, and how being a child of a survivor can affect one’s life.” – Rani Sanderson, TJFF Programmer

“It testifies to how images can simultaneously conjure up and block memory.” – Judisches Museum Berlin

An evocative exploration of memory and family dynamics that often plague children of Holocaust survivors. For 75 years Max Wolff has captured pre and post war Jewish life on film as a way to cope with his own trauma.

Including a Pre-Recorded Q&A with: Directors Arnoud Holleman and Batya Wolff

Shown with: REQUIEM FOR A FISH
More Info and Tickets

Sponsored by: Ganz Family Foundation


Top Pick for TJFF Programmer: Susan Starkman

Cinema Sabaya

Toronto Premiere

Available Online June 16 -16
Winner, Best Israeli Debut, Jersualem Film Festival
2022 Micki Moore Award Winner


Nine women enrol in an introductory filmmaking course. Jewish and Arab, secular and devout, these nine women share their personal video footage with their classmates every week. In so doing, they are not only confronted with the stark differences in their circumstances, but also by the elements of connection.
Including a Pre-Recorded Q&A with: Director Orit Fouks Rotem

Shown with: OUR NAPPY HAIR
More Info and Tickets

Sponsored by: Sidney & Doreen Adler Charitable Fund


Top Pick for TJFF Programmer: Gillian Helfield

Jews of the Wild West

Ontario Premiere

Available Online June 16 – 26 with Closed Captioning

“Everything you would expect – gunslingers, cattle barons, lawmen and wide-open spaces. And one thing you wouldn’t: Jews.” – South Florida Sun-Sentinel


Discover the real history of Jewish cowboys and cowgirls that is a largely forgotten chapter of the American West. Including a pre-recorded Q&A with Director Amanda Kinsey and Historian Allan Levine (with ASL interpretation)

More Info and Tickets


Top Pick for TJFF Programme Director: Stuart Hands

The Komediant

Canadian Premiere of Restoration

Presented Online June 16 – 26
“Absolutely wonderful.” – Mel Brooks

“The film sparkles with the wisdom and humor of its subjects.” – Los Angeles Times

TJFF presents the Canadian Premiere of the new restoration of the classic film by Arnon Golfinger (The Flat)–perhaps the best documentary ever made about the Yiddish theatre. Including a Pre-Recorded Q&A with: Director Arnon Goldfinger and Star Mike Burstyn

Shown with: OH SPADINA! and MAKE ME A KING
More Info and Tickets

Sponsored by: May & Gerald Cohen Fund for Yiddish at the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto


Top Pick for TJFF Programmer: Jeremie Abessira

Let It Be Morning

Canadian Premiere
Monday, June 13 7:30 PM at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema and Presented Online June 16 – 26


Winner of 7 Israeli Academy Awards Including:
Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress


Based on the Sayed Kashua novel, Eran Kolirin’s latest film highlights the absurdities of everyday life for Israeli Arabs. When a military siege prevents Sami from returning to Jerusalem from his family’s village, he wonders if his sense of security as an Israeli citizen is just an illusion. Including a pre-recorded Q&A with: Director Eran Kolirin.


More Info and Tickets

Sponsored by: Manitou Investment Management Ltd.


Top Pick for TJFF Programmer: Lara Bulger

Rock Camp

Canadian Premiere
Tuesday, June 14 7:30PM at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema and Presented Online June 16 – 26


“A fun, engaging and ultimately moving film about ordinary people who live out their dreams of rocking out with their idols.” – The Jerusalem Post


Fans are given the chance to live out their musical dreams at the Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp held annually in Las Vegas. This exuberant documentary follows four campers as they are mentored by celebrity musicians including Roger Daltrey, Gene Simmons and Alice Cooper in preparation for a live performance with their idols.


In-Theatre Guest: Camp founder David Fishof
More Info and Tickets

Sponsored by:
The Izzy & Betty Kirshenbaum Foundation


Top Pick for TJFF Programmer: Allen Braude

The Wedding Day

Tuesday, June 14 7:30PM at Leah Posluns Theatre and Presented Online June 16 – 26


“A masterful, provocative high-wire act of genre and arthouse” – Screen Anarchy


Long buried secrets resurface at the wedding of an affluent Polish family. Two Israelis arrive unannounced at the home of Ryszard Wilk to deliver a Righteous Among Nations medal to his father, Antoni. Their appearance triggers Antoni’s memories of another fateful wedding in 1941, unleashing the family secrets from their closet.


More Info and Tickets


The TJFF2022 Online All Access Pass
Access to watch all 60+ film titles presented online
at the 30th Annual Toronto Jewish Film Festival.
All online films are available to view at your convenience between June 16 and June 26.
(Festival films are accessible in Ontario, Canada only)

Price: $249 (HST included)
(Pass Value: up to $650)
Get Your Online All Access Pass Now

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