Sections
Section Feature Film Competition
Twelve entries compete for the Gershon Klein Feature Film Award. Named after the Berlin cinema pioneer.
Feature films that deal with Jewish life and culture in the past, present and future. In which Jewish characters and themes essentially carry the plot and which originate from Jewish filmmakers. Preference will be given to German premieres. The films submitted should not have had a theatrical release, television broadcast or streaming premiere in Germany before the JFBB. The production year of the films should not be older than 2021.
The prize will be awarded to the director by an international festival jury and comes with prize money of 3000 EUR.
In general all films are shown with German and English subtitles. Please refer to the information provided with each film for the respective language version.
Section Documentary Film Competition
Nine entries compete for the Gershon Klein Feature Film Award. Named after the Berlin cinema pioneer.
Documentaries that deal with Jewish life and culture in the past, present and future. In which Jewish characters and themes essentially carry the plot and which originate from Jewish filmmakers. The German premiere of the submitted films is required.
The prize is awarded to the director by an international festival jury and comes with prize money of 3000 EUR.
In general all films are shown with German and English subtitles. Please refer to the information provided with each film for the respective language version.
Section KINO FERMISHED
A colourful mix of genres. The special cinema of the JFBB.
In general all films are shown with German and English subtitles. Please refer to the information provided with each film for the respective language version.
Section short films: Nosh Nosh
Nosh Nosh means "treats" in Yiddish. But these short films are neither snacks for in-between meals nor a greeting from the kitchen. They are works of art in their own right. They are sometimes bitter, sometimes sweet and always full of thematic and formal diversity. The cuisine is international. It tastes good to everyone and fills you up. Nosh Nosh, in other words.
In 2024 JFBB presents two short film programmes "Nosh Nosh".
In general all films are shown with German and English subtitles. Please refer to the information provided with each film for the respective language version.
Section Break or continuity? "Anti-Zionism" and anti-Semitism under socialism and afterwards
Under the Soviet system of state socialism there were repeated anti-Semitic campaigns from 1945 through to the fall of the Iron Curtain, and anti-Semitic attitudes were also a feature of everyday life. The arc extends from the Slánský trials in the ČSSR against disfavoured, mostly Jewish Communist Party officials, to the forced expulsions of Jews from Poland in 1968 and the "anti-Zionist" propaganda in GDR television and newsreel productions. In what is a two-year series, the JFBB reflects on anti-Semitism in both socialism and post-socialism. The featured works look at how the issue was addressed between the lines in films at the time as well as its subsequent appraisal.
The series is supported by the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in East Germany.
Section Facing the Fear – Cinematic reflections on terror, trauma and resistance
This year, the JFBB is looking at cinema's strategies for dealing with terrorist violence and confronting it artistically. Terrorism is aimed at helplessness, horror and speechlessness. The series sees cinema as a public space in which language can be (re)found and civil society can mourn, remember and communicate. The program recalls various attacks, addresses different forms of terrorist violence and shows possible approaches of the medium of film to deal with these fearful events. The series is accompanied by discussion formats that discuss contexts, challenges and artistic strategies with experts and filmmakers.
Section Sex. Jewish Positions
With the exhibition Sex. Jewish Positions (17.5.-6.10.2024) the Jewish Museum Berlin addresses the meaning of sexuality in Judaism from a variety of perspectives. The accompanying film series complements the exhibition with films about taboos, desire, sex work and the fight for sex education and sexual equality.
REAL JEWCY SHORTS
Funny, earnest, political, provocative and... sexy! REAL JEWCY SHORTS invites and seduces you into the most diverse worlds of Jewish sex positions. 90 minutes of daring short films break with stereotypes and common (pre)conceptions in a variety of ways.