The Georgia Straight proudly sponsors the Vancouver Jewish Film Festival

The 24th annual Vancouver Jewish Film Festival opens at the Ridge Theatre (3113 Arbutus Street) on Wednesday (November 7) and continues until November 15. The festival showcases Jewish culture, heritage, and identity through comedies, dramas, thrillers, documentaries, and short films.

This year’s festival opens with director Thierry Binisti’s drama A Bottle in the Gaza Sea (Une Bouteille à la Mer) at 7 p.m. The movie tells the story of two young people—one, a French immigrant to Jerusalem, the other, a Palestinian confined to Gaza—who correspond by email after discovering a message in a bottle. The next day, musical comedy Amerikaner Shadkn (The American Matchmaker) screens at 2 p.m., documentary films The Tree that Grows on the Wall and Return to Byzantium—The Art and Life of Lilian Broca screen at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively, and drama Namomi (Hitpartzut X) will be shown at 9:15 p.m.

Over the weekend, documentary Lia will be screened on Friday (November 9) at 2 p.m.; followed by David, Let My People Go!, and short film Scheherazade and the Kosher Delight on Saturday (November 10). Sunday’s screenings will begin with Remembrance (Die Verlerone Zeit) at 1:45 p.m., followed by Defiant Requiem at 4:15 p.m., One Day After Peace at 7 p.m., and Sorry Rabbi and Dorfman both at 9:15 p.m.

On November 12, Eichmann’s Fate, Children of the Bible, Beyond the Boundaries, Hava Nagila, Unmasked: Judeophobia and the Threat to Civilization, and My Lovely Sister (Ahoti Ha’Yaffah) will be screened. On November 13, Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom, Iraq N’ Roll, Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story, and The Day I Saw Your Heart (Et Soudain Tout le Monde me Manque) will be shown. On November 14, From Tel Aviv (Depuis Tel Aviv), Kaddish for a Friend, RE-EMERGING: The Jews of Nigeria, and OSS 117: Lost in Rio will be screened.

The festival will close with A.K.A. Doc Pomus on November 15 at 7 p.m. This documentary tells the story of one of the world’s most unlikely rock ‘n’ roll icons, Doc Pomus, who was born in Brooklyn and paralyzed by polio as a child.

Tickets to the Vancouver Jewish Film Festival can be purchased online in advance or by calling 604-266-0245. A Full Festival Pass, which gives ticket-holders access to all films, including the opening and closing gala, is $144. A $30 for under 30 Festival Pass is available to festival-goers under the age of 30, but does not include the opening and closing gala films. Discounted 5 Ticket Packs are $55 and are valid for all films except for the opening and closing gala films.