Festival blog Tuesday

Today the time has finally come: the 31st Jewish Film Festival Berlin Brandenburg is kicking off a new edition with 57 films from almost 20 countries.
The festival will be ceremoniously opened in the evening at the Hans Otto Theatre Potsdam with invited guests, filmmakers and friends of the JFBB. BAD SHABBOS by Daniel Robbins (USA 2024) from the Feature Film competition will be screened, a clever, fast-paced comedy in which a family Shabbat dinner gets out of hand due to a death - or even a murder? The film won the Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival.

But the first evening of the festival also has a number of film highlights in store away from the official opening:
The tragicomic family story MOST PEOPLE DIE ON SUNDAYS (Iair Said, AR/IT/ES 2024) - a biting but loving reflection on responsibility and grief - will be shown at Thalia Kino Potsdam at 7:30pm. The film is introduced by the short film THE DOLL (Guido Segal, AR 2023).

At Filmkunst 66 (Hall 1) at 21:00, Berlin audiences can look forward to LEGEND OF DESTRUCTION by Gidi Dar (US/IL 2021), a visually unique animated film about the destruction of the Second Temple in the year 70 C.E. In an impressive visual story, created by the makers of Waltz with Bashir and others, the film tells of religious fanaticism, power struggles and social decay. Director Gidi Dar will be present for a Q&A afterwards.

At 21:30 the documentary film SWIMMINGPOOL AM GOLAN by Esther Zimmering will be shown in Berlin at Filmkunst 66 (Saal 2). In her very personal research, the director traces her family history between the GDR, Israel and the time of reunification. How did Jewish identity become visible in everyday life under real socialism? Which conflicts remained invisible? The film will be followed by a discussion with editor Friederike Anders.

The film is part of this year's JFBB film series on the topic of ‘Anti-Semitism in Post-Socialism ’, which follows on from last year's focus. Funded by the Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship, the film focuses on an often overlooked part of the Jewish post-war experience - between the culture of remembrance, silence and new visibility.
The start of the festival already shows that the JFBB is more than just a film festival. It is a place for dialogue and a change of perspective - in the cinema and beyond.

Tickets for all screenings cost 10 EUR (reduced 8 EUR) and are available at jfbb.info or directly at the venues.

For festival guests looking for a kosher restaurant in Berlin, here is a helpful overview: berlin-judentum.de/koscher/koscher.htm

We wish you an intense, film-filled festival Tuesday - see you at the cinema!