Can one be a Catholic priest and an Observant Jew at the same time? Twelve years after he was ordained as a Polish Catholic priest discovers that he was born to Jewish parents. The film follows his amazing journey: from conducting mass in a church in Poland to life as an observant Jew in a religi...

Throughout history, Kabbalah was studied by only the most holy Talmud scholars. The misinformation, innuendo and prohibition surrounding Kabbalah kept its wisdom from most Jews; many were even unaware of its existence. In KABBALAH ME, co-director Steven Bram embarks on a spiritual investigation t...

On the hundredth anniversary of the British invasion in 1917, Remember Baghdad is the untold story of Iraq, an unmissable insight into how the country developed from a completely new perspective – through the eyes of the Jews who lived there for 2,600 years until only a generation ago. With vivid...

Germany is one of the most democratic societies in the world, and has the fastest growing Jewish community in Europe. This never could have been imagined in 1945. Through personal stories, the film explores the country's transformation from silence about the Holocaust to facing it head on.

Direc...

An exploration of the moral and survival dilemmas in Auschwitz from the point of view of a deputy head of a block and a few of the prisoners from his block who survived the horrors of the camp, immigrated to Israel in the 40's and are still struggling to begin new life in the newborn state of Isr...

Follow three Holocaust survivors on a six-day trip across Poland as they re-visit the death camps they were imprisoned in. From the killing field of Majdanek to the infamous Auschwitz camp, the survivors tell their stories and share their lives with the younger generation in order to make sure hi...

A family-friendly animation film narrated by Ed Asner! Over the last three decades, the beloved children’s book by Marvell Ginsburg has been a powerful resource for Holocaust education. The Tattooed Torah brings to life the true story of the rescue and restoration of a small Torah from Brno, Czec...

For over 50 years, the Catskill Mountains of New York State were the summer retreat of millions of Jews, mostly of Eastern European origin, from New York City. The “Borscht Belt” – as it was affectionately known – became the model for vacation practices throughout the United States, and the train...

Filmmaker Danae Elon returns to Jerusalem after living abroad for several years. 'P.S. Jerusalem' is about a family's personal journey to establish themselves in Jerusalem in a quest to find a place they can call "home."

"A cross between home movie and documentary essay, P.S. Jerusalem emerges a...

Psychologist and author Paula J. Caplan grew up listening to - but not remembering - stories her beloved father, Jerome A. Caplan, told annually about being Captain of an all-Black battery in The Battle of the Bulge. Bewildered at her inability to remember those stories, she met with and listen t...

In 2005, the elderly Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem was accused of selling properties to Jewish Settlers. He was deposed and confined to his room in the Old City for eleven years. Documentarian Danae Elon (Another Road Home, P.S. Jerusalem) forges a special relationship with ...

Deftly blending romantic comedy with the complexities of modern life (in a style reminiscent of Albert Brooks), BORN IN JERUSALEM AND STILL ALIVE is a sensitive and hilarious debut from director, writer and star Yossi Atia, featuring rising international star Lihi Kornowski (Losing Alice).

While...

Starring legendary German actress Hannelore Elsner ("To Life")! | There‘s a very good reason why you should let sleeping dogs lie, as 9-year-old Johanna discovers. Growing up a good Catholic girl in the provincial Austrian town of Wels in the late 1960s, she learns from her grandmother her family...

In 1939, Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, two young émigrés from Berlin, founded the legendary jazz label Blue Note Records in New York. The label dedicated itself exclusively to the recording of American jazz music and developed its own unmistakeable recording style and sound. Blue Note Records di...

The personal journey of Rachel, an ultra-Orthodox film director, through marriage, divorce, matchmaking, and family life. Rachel unveils the world of ultra-Orthodox women and gives voice, for the first time, to their concealed inner world through the wig that covers up women's' hair.

Directed by...

A modern-day Shakespearean tale about a legendary Tajik-Israeli musical family controlled by the charismatic patriarch Papa Alaev. Only his equally strong-willed daughter, Ada, dares to resist his will. As Papa nears 80 and generations clash over new musical directions, the family show must go on...

Starring Amos Tamam (Netflix's "The Girl From Oslo")! | Israel 1973. Six years after the Six Day War, Menashe is still deeply traumatized by his experiences as a soldier. He withdraws from society and spends hours aimlessly driving around in his red pickup. His young wife Daphna and their 10-year...

A filmmaker goes on a search to discover how a beautiful hand made birthday book came to be within the walls of a concentration camp, who its makers were, and how it came to survive the horrors of war and decades after to end up in the Holocaust memorial in Montreal. This feature documentary is t...

An award-winning cult classic from the production company of Monty Python's Eric Idle, this irreverent British comedy follows Leon Geller (Mark Frankel), a sensitive Jewish boy from London who accidentally learns that he is the product of a sperm bank mix-up proving that he is the son of a Yorksh...

The meteoric rise of Avigdor Lieberman was the first sign of a new era in the state of Israel - and with it, the fall of "the old elites," the right wing trend, and the emergence of "the second Israel" as the dominant political force. But Lieberman himself, who immigrated at the age of 20, withou...

ChaiFlicks is honored to be joined by renowned Israeli journalist Anshel Pfeffer for a very special discussion about today's Israeli elections and the film KING BIBI!

Anshel Pfeffer is currently a senior correspondent for Haaretz and Israel correspondent for The Economist. He is the author of a ...

Andrey (Vlad Dubinsky) is a young immigrant living with his little sister in the slums of the city of Ashdod and struggling to assimilate into Israeli society. He forms a hip-hop band with his three best friends with dreams of taking part in a local hip-hop competition, but the realities of life ...

Michael Aloni (Shtisel, Plan A), Mike Burstyn (Sallah), Liraz Chamami (Asylum City) and a bevy of Israeli talent star in this outrageous dark comedy! | A boorish Israeli-American couple plan a Sabbath dinner party for a group of fellow ex-pat friends and family in their Hollywood Hills mansion. W...

Filmmaker Robert Mugge pays tribute to hundreds of American performers who assisted the military in World War II with rare period performances by beloved Jewish artists such as Jack Benny, Dinah Shore, Danny Kaye and Mel Blanc, plus Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Frances Langford, the And...

Set in Polanco (a Jewish quarter of Mexico City), family and friends sit shivah for their beloved patriarch Moishe, forcing them to confront each other - including a Catholic ex-lover, an Orthodox ex-convict grandson and a troupe of mariachi musicians. MY MEXICAN SHIVAH is a hilarious comedy abou...

Orthodox women Ruchama and Tikva embark on a journey to fulfill their dream of making movies within their closed society. Like other orthodox women who in recent years have started making films for strictly female audiences, they feel a strong need to express themselves despite strict rabbinical ...

Narrated by Susan Sarandon! | At 100 years old, Professor Irwin Corey finally reveals the magic behind his subversive and sophisticated double-talk. Irwin and his chain-smoking wife, confidante and #1 fan, Fran, afford filmmaker Jordan Stone intimate access to their lives and the inner workings o...

The pomegranate is the fruit of the land, a symbol of rejuvenation and rebirth. It is also a euphemism for a hand grenade. From the Academy Award-nominated director of 'The Restless Conscious' comes a suspenseful, multi-layered documentary centered on a group of young people born into a violent, ...

The eagerly anticipated follow-up to "Eyes Wide Open," celebrated Israeli director Haim Tabakman’s new film EWA is a moving drama about married life and the secrets couples keep from each other. When farmer Yoel finds out his wife Ewa owns a property he didn’t know existed, her hidden life comes ...

When best-selling author Joshua Foer began to build his first sukkah, a small hut that Jews build and dwell in every fall for the holiday of Sukkot, he wanted to move beyond the generic plywood boxes and canvas tents that have become the unimaginative status quo. And so was born the design compet...

Katherine Mitchell (Linda Thorson), a widowed yet vibrant senior, wasn't looking for love a second time - not at her age, and certainly not with grumpy Isaac Shapiro (Stuart Margolin). Despite the nosey bunch of seniors in the residence where Katherine convalesces after breaking her hip, she and ...

Keren Mor ("Checkout") stars in this beautifully rendered story filled with moments of heartbreak, humor and hope from filmmaker Sharon Bar-Ziv. A young IDF soldier critically injured during a Gaza military operation clings to life while his family prays and watches for any sign of improvement. D...

As she moves from Brazil to New York, filmmaker Fernanda Roth Faya looks back at her grandmother's migration as a way to find traces of her own identity in this nuanced short documentary.

Directed by Fernanda Roth Faya
United States/Brazil, 2019
Documentary, Jewish Culture, South America
Portugu...

An elderly Israeli Jew of Greek origins was sent to Greece to represent his town in a town twinning ceremony, however he went instead to search for his friend from the childhood, who saved him from the Holocaust. In meantime he formed a special relationship with young Greek woman, and dealt with ...

Jason and Olivia have been married for ten years, but now their relationship is going through a decline. They go to the Rabbi to ask for a divorce, but he sets them a rather unorthodox challenge.

Directed by Danny Scheinman and David Scheinman
United Kingdom, 2017
Comedy, Drama, Jewish Culture, ...

Anthrax is a found footage mystery that tells the story of reserve soldiers who volunteered to take part in an anthrax vaccine experiment during their military service. Seven years later they discover the vaccine has disastrous side effects. They set out to expose the truth and save their own liv...

Golden Globe and Tony Award winner Linda Lavin returns as infamous New York City talent agent, Yvette Slosch - determined to make a star out of her newest client, jazz violinist, Aaron Weinstein (himself). She refuses to let Aaron's lack of name recognition, jazz's dwindling fan base, or the 2020...

Tragedies play out for years. IN THE SHADOW OF MEMORY focuses on Jerri Zbiral, the daughter of a survivor of the Nazi destruction of the Catholic village of Lidice, Czechoslovakia. Even though Jerri was born after the war, her mother’s stories had a profound effect on her life. This compelling st...

Starring Max von Sydow, Theodore Bikel and Donald Pleasance! | In 1942, the Netherlands has become a place where Jews are being captured and murdered by the Nazis. Otto Frank (Max von Sydow) and his family go into hiding. During this uncomfortable time in hiding, Otto's teenage daughter, Anne Fra...

Starring Lee Strasberg (The Godfather Part II), Ruth Gordon (Harold & Maude) and Janet Leigh (Psycho)! | Married for 50 loving years, David (Lee Strasberg) and Becky (Ruth Gordon) have lived in the same Coney Island neighborhood for most of their life together. But the area is not what it used to...

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been going on for decades, with no end in sight. Fed up with one failed deal after another, the Israeli and Palestinian leaders agree to settle things once and for all... with a soccer match. One game. One winner. Losing side has to pick up and find a new home...

This documentary tells the life story and music of Niko Nissimov, and his Jewish friends from the Bulgarian Jazz band 'The Optimists'. The movie charts their rise to stardom as a band in late 1930's Bulgaria. The beginning of WWII changed everything for them, as Bulgaria joined the Axis powers. A...

With their three children, the Hermans set off on an adventurous trip from Thailand to Laos, Cambodia, China, and Kazakhstan, and from there along the Silk Road to Cyprus. Their journey is a fulfillment of a dream, and a chance to save their marriage. They fight and quarrel, laugh and cry. They m...

How did 50,000 Bulgarian Jews survive the Holocaust despite the efforts of the government to deport them? The Optimists tells the dramatic story of Christians and Muslims who, at the eleventh hour, secured the safety of their Jewish neighbors. Individuals made a difference. Labor unions, the Bulg...

Hananel, a young religious Jew, is hurrying home for Shabbat. An unexpected encounter with Mundir, an unwanted and stubborn Palestinian hitchhiker, leads Hananel on a series of mix-ups that eventually teaches him a lesson in communication, friendship and love.

Directed by Nadav Shlomo Giladi
Isr...

Past and present intertwine upon the discovery of an old, mysterious photograph that will end up tying together Christian and Jewish students in search of the truth. Trying to unravel the mystery behind the portrait, the boys embark on a journey through a night of horror that cannot be forgotten:...

In 1935, Max Shorenstein left his honorable position as chief Rabbi of Copenhagen, to fulfill a longtime dream: to build a zoo in Tel Aviv and teach the local children about the love of animals. Against all odds, the Tel Aviv Zoo became the city’s greatest attraction .Yet envy, greed and corrupti...

In a basement near Paris, unearth a recently discovered treasure-trove of Egyptian animated films from the Frenkel brothers: three exceptional young filmmakers and creators of Mish-Mish Effendi, the Mickey Mouse of the entire region, revealing an Arab-Jewish golden age erased from the pages of hi...

This unique documentary uses police archives, reenactments and animation to reveal the story of a Bedouin woman whose life is changed forever when her two-year old toddler is found at the bottom of a well in the Negev Desert. During 21 days of detention and interrogation, police officers exploit ...

Ethiopian-Israeli writer-director Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian makes a startlingly confident feature debut with this story of lives torn asunder by civil war. Set in Addis Ababa in 1989, Fig Tree follows a teenage girl's harrowing coming of age.

Mina is 16 years old. The Ethiopian Civil War has been und...

For many Israelis, the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 marked a grim turning point for their country. In the words of the commission set up to investigate the murder, “Israeli society [would] never be the same again. As a democracy, political assassination was not part of ou...

Assi (Ran Danker), a Tel-Avivian screenwriter stuck in his life, is sentenced to community service. His task — teaching cinema to disadvantaged teenagers in the southern city of Beersheba. As he pushes the group to open up, a special bond develops between Assi and his students as both sides are f...

Warning - Contains Sexual Content | In Alila, director Amos Gitai (Kedma, Kadosh), "Israel's one-man new wave," (The Village Voice) has created an "engaging, subtly arresting drama" (Time Out New York) that examines the lives of a half dozen residents of a run-down Tel-Aviv apartment building. Th...

FROM SLAVERY TO FREEDOM portrays the story of Soviet "Refuseniks" through the prism of Natan Sharansky's biography. In 1977, Sharansky, a famous human rights activist, was arrested on charges of spying for the USA, treason and anti-Soviet agitation. The film takes you back to a Soviet era where t...

As vice-president of Hungary’s far-right extremist party, Csanad Szegedi espoused anti-Semitic rhetoric and Holocaust denials, and founded the Hungarian Guard, a now-banned militia inspired by a pro-Nazi group complicit in the murder of thousands of Jews during WWII. But his life was soon upended...

In this comic masterpiece, director Elia Suleiman utilizes irreverence, wit, mysticism and insight to craft an intense, hallucinogenic and extremely adept exploration of the dreams and nightmares of Palestinians and Israelis living in uncertain times.

Certified "Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes!
New Yo...

When Avi Cohen is told by the Central Bureau of Statistics that he is the most average man who ever lived, his life is turned upside down.

"Wry and funny!"- Washington City Paper

Directed by Yaniv Segalovich
Israel, 2016
Comedy, Shorts, Israeli Culture
Hebrew (with English subtitles)
18 minutes

Acclaimed Israeli artist Elie Shamir paints the view from his studio balcony – fields stretching to the horizon, ancient oak trees, and a generation of farmers that is disappearing from the vistas of the Jezreel Valley. His large oils are treasured by collectors worldwide. It was director Ben Sha...

Featuring a stunning performance from legendary French actress Jeanne Moreau ("Jules et Jim"), acclaimed Israeli director Amos Gitaï ("Promised Land") presents a meditation on memory, identity, and the reconciliation that follows a French businessman’s growing obsession with the secrets of his fa...

This powerful film was produced in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt and presents a surprising and unfamiliar portrait of Israel’s sixth prime minister. Menachem Begin led Israel for six dramatic and tumultuous years, which produced waves that are ...