Our program offers cinematic encounters with the directors of the films, world premieres as well as German premieres of international titles. After most screenings, there are moderated film discussions about the backgrounds and artistic realization of the films. An overview of all guests and scheduled film talks can be found below the respective films.
Our panels offer an additional opportunity for deeper insights into individual topics.
THE FOLLOWING HIGHLIGHTS ARE PLANNED:
TALK with Anetta Kahane on racism and anti-Semitism in East Germany during the years of the reunification
Wed, May 7, 18:15 Kino Krokodil
Free entry, Language: German
Anetta Kahane was the first and last Commissioner for Foreigners of the East Berlin City Council. After reunification, she helped set up the Regional Office for Foreigners' Issues in Berlin, and at the end of 1998 she initiated the Amadeu Antonio Foundation. Today she is an author and publicist. JFBB Program Director Bernd Buder talks to Anetta Kahane about racism and anti-Semitism in East Germany during the reunification years. Why was anti-Semitism was hardly ever addressed in the GDR and post-socialism? Moderated by Bernd Buder.
MATINEÈ on the 80th anniversary of the end of the war
Cooperation with Centrum Judaicum and the Urania Berlin e.V.
With Lea Wohl von Haselberg and Knut Elstermann
Thur, May 8, 11:00 Filmkunst 66
Language: German
On 8 May, we will be showing a matinee program to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, with a focus on the immediate post-war period. The event is the last in a joint series with the Centrum Judaicum. It will be followed by a discussion with Lea Wohl von Haselberg, moderated by Knut Elstermann.
Films of the programme:
REMINESZENZEN AUS DEUTSCHLAND and THE ILLEGALS (Tickets zum Filmprogramm finden Sie here.
JEWS AND ARABS IN ISRAELI CINEMA – (IM)POSSIBILITIES OF A DIALOG?
Supported by the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung / Federal Agency for Civic Education
Films and Talks
Alongside films from many other countries, Israeli cinema is a core component of the JFBB. A significant part of the Israeli film scene deals with Jewish-Palestinian or Israeli-Arab experiences. How diverse these cinematic reflections are in terms of content is little known outside the region. In three panel discussions we will talk about how Israeli cinema – often critical, often in search of intercultural mediation as well as the understanding of the experiences of “the other” – deals with such topics. The aim is not to explain the Middle Eastern conflict, but to highlight how filmmakers from Israel – both Jewish and non-Jewish – deal with the extremely complex situation, bringing history and the present, possibilities and limits of shared experience to the screen.
PANEL: The Israeli-Palestinian Cinematic Spaces – Between Identity and Constraint
Fr, May 9, 16:45 Filmkunst 66, Saal 1
Language: English, free admission
How do Palestinian and Jewish or Israeli and Arab filmmakers cooperate? How has this relationship changed since October 7? How do the respective communities and politicians react? What hopes are associated with such collaborations, where are the boundaries and how do filmmakers who are caught in the middle fare?
Guests:
Yousef Abo Madegem
Yousef Abo Madegem is an Israeli Bedouin filmmaker whose debut feature Eid (2024) is the first full-length film directed by a Bedouin in Israel. His work, including the documentary Open Wound, explores themes of trauma and tradition within Bedouin society. Both films will be screened during JFBB (Feature Film Competition / Kino Fermished).
Neta Shoshani
Neta Shoshani is an Israeli documentary filmmaker and screenwriter known for her investigations into Israeli history and memory. Her films, including "Born in Deir Yassin" and "1948 – Remember, Remember Not", explore contested narratives and uncover suppressed archival materials. "1948 – Remember, Remember Not" will hold its international premiere at JFBB
Baher Agbariya
Baher Agbariya is a Palestinian producer based in Haifa and the CEO of Majdal Films. His credits include the award-winning "Omar", directed by Hany Abu-Assad and nominated for an Academy Award; "Personal Affairs" by Maha Haj, an official selection at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016; and "Mediterranean Fever", also by Haj, which won the Best Screenplay award in the" Un Certain Regard" section at Cannes in 2022.
Moderated by Naomi Levari
PANEL: Genesis: The Jewish-Arab relationship in Israeli film – a review
Sa, May 10, 10:30 – 11:30 Filmkunst 66, Saal 1
Language: English, free admission
How has the Israeli film industryʼs view of the Jewish-Arab relationship developed? How were these views received by the audience and in the industry? Which issues were and were not discussed in the films that were made?
Guests:
Ariel Schweitzer
Ariel Schweitzer is a critic for Cahiers du Cinéma and a professor at Tel Aviv University. He is the author of Le nouveau cinéma israélien, has curated retrospectives on Bresson, Godard, and Gitai, and is a member of this year’s Feature Film Jury at the JFBB.
Yael Reuveny
Yael Reuveny is an Israeli documentary filmmaker and creator of museum video installations. Her award winning films include "Tales of the Defeated" (2009), "Farewell, Herr Schwarz" (2013), and "Promised Lands" (2021), which won the Director’s Award for Best Documentary Film at the JFBB in 2021.
Naomi Rolef
Naomi Rolef holds a PhD in film studies and is an expert on Israeli cinema. She is the author of "Framing the Sex Scene: A New Take on Israeli Film History", in which she explores Jewish identity and communal narratives in Israeli films of the 1960s and 1970s.
Moderated by Nir Ferber
PANEL: Reception: Jewish-Arab perspectives at international festivals
Sa, May 10, 12:00 – 13:00 Filmkunst 66, Saal 1
Language: English, free admission
How are Israeli and international films that deal with the Jewish-Arab relationship received today? What prospects do they have in the international festival landscape? Do festival programmers specifically look for certain content, are there political blinkers? What expectations do filmmakers from the region face, especially after October 7?
Guests:
Danel Elpeleg
Danel Elpeleg is a filmmaker and editor (‘Chanshi’, ‘Dismissed’, ‘The Other City’, ‘My War Hero Uncle’ and others) and graduated with honours from the Sam Spiegel Film School. Her film ‘Wild’ was awarded the prize for best debut at both Docaviv and the Documentary Forum in 2018. Her latest film ‘The Governor’ won the award for best documentary at the Jerusalem Film Festival and is part of the JFBB documentary competition.
Dani Rosenberg
Dani Rosenberg is an Israeli screenwriter and director whose award-winning short and feature films have been screened at numerous international festivals, including the Cannes Film Festival, the Berlinale, and IDFA. His third feature film, "Of Dogs and Men", premiered at the Venice Film Festival this year and is part of the JFBB Feature Film Competition.
Nir Ferber
Nir Ferber is a lecturer for film theory and holds a PhD in film studies. Alongside his academic work, he is a senior member of the programming committee at Docaviv – the Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival, the Jewish-Israeli Film Festival in Budapest, and the JFBB.
Baher Agbariya
Baher Agbariya is a Palestinian producer based in Haifa and the CEO of Majdal Films. His credits include the award-winning "Omar", directed by Hany Abu-Assad and nominated for an Academy Award; "Personal Affairs" by Maha Haj, an official selection at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016; and "Mediterranean Fever", also by Haj, which won the Best Screenplay award in the "Un Certain Regard" section at Cannes in 2022.
Moderated by Naomi Levari
MATINEÈ Herr Zwilling und Frau Zuckermann revisited
with Voelker Koepp and Barbara Frankenstein
Sun, May 11, 11:00 Filmmuseum Potsdam
Entry: free, Language: German
Director Volker Koepp and screenplay co-author Barbara Frankenstein on the making and background of the classic documentary. What is it about Bukovina and Czernowitz that still fascinates us today? How has the view of the film changed as a result of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine? How did the film crew experience the situation for Jews in the post-Soviet era?