Presented by the Jewish Federation of Tulsa and Circle Cinema
Sponsored by
Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies
Jewish Federation of Tulsa Foundation
Dave & Barbara Sylvan
Brian Brouse
See all the films for one great price!
Click here and select the $60 Festival Pass for admission to all six programs at one low price, or purchase tickets for individual programs at $12 each.
Sun 3/26: 2:00p Opening Reception, 3:00p "America"
Click here to register for the opening reception
Click here for film tickets - Drama, 127min, Hebrew with English subtitles - trailer
Kick off the Festival with an opening reception at 2:00p with vegetarian food, drinks, and live music followed by the film at 3:00p. An Israeli man returns home after 10 years in America. An encounter with his childhood friend and fiancé will change everyone’s lives. The story takes place in a flower shop, an ancient monastery, a swimming pool, and the Mediterranean Sea…with life and death—and somewhere in the middle. Grazier expertly weaves important pieces of backstory in a gradual manner and the stunning cinematography brings forth the emotion, color, and fragrance that touches on friendship, love, and moral responsibility. Winner of the Best Actress Award at the Jerusalem Film Festival, this sensual cinematic experience is a work of true magic, all built with love and redeemed by love.
Mon 3/27, 7:00p: "Farewell, Mr. Haffmann"
Click here for film tickets - Drama, 115min, French with English subtitles - trailer
In this acclaimed, engrossing drama set in Paris during the Nazi occupation, beloved French actor Daniel Auteuil (Jean de Florette) stars as Joseph Haffmann, a Jewish jeweler who sends his family away to safety, with the intention of joining them later. Haffmann has decided to hand off the business to his trusted employee François Mercier and his wife, Blanche, who are recently married and struggling to conceive a child—though Haffmann’s plans go awry when he is unable to escape the city under the watch of German authorities. After Haffmann returns home, the couple agrees to let him stay in their basement, but they strike a deal that will change the course of all their lives. Based on a play by Jean-Philippe Daguerre, Farewell, Mr. Haffmann is a twisting, turning, and satisfying tale that reveals the complex and contradictory sides of humanity pushed to its darkest limits.
Tue 3/28, 7:00p: "One More Story"
Click here for film tickets - Romantic Comedy, 92min, Hebrew with English subtitles - trailer
This charming and uniquely Israeli Rom-Com marks the directorial debut from Israel’s beloved comedian and TV personality, Guri Alfi. Encouraged by her unscrupulous boss, (played by Alfi), who is also her secret lover, newspaper journalist Yarden Gat convinces her best friend Adam –a hopelessly romantic, geeky, single man – to star in her new reality TV-inspired article. The article is based on a speed dating project for Adam to find his soul mate and get married within one month. Meanwhile, Yarden, confesses to her blind date the bargain she struck with her sleazy editor and lover, in exchange for completing the dating article with her best friend as a pawn. What possibly could go wrong?
Wed 3/29, 12:00p: "Our (Almost Completely True) Story"
Click here for film tickets - Comedy, 92min, English - trailer
Real-life couple Mariette Hartley and Jerry Sroka wrote and co-star in this thoroughly enjoyable romantic comedy. Based almost completely on their own story, Hartley plays a tall, famous, aging screen legend who meets a short, out-of-work, Jewish voice actor (Sroka) as they navigate the senior dating scene in Hollywood. Despite the humiliations that come with being unemployed actors of a certain age and the baggage of ex-spouses and health challenges, they find that it’s never too late for love. A delightful and fun crowd pleaser, the film features a “Who’s Who” ensemble cast that includes Bernie Koppell, Tess Harper, Morgan Fairchild, John Rubinstein, Peter MacNicol, Sam McMurray, and others.
Wed 3/29, 7:00p: "Cinema Sabaya" with post-film discussion
Click here for film tickets - Drama, 92min, Hebrew/Arabic with English subtitles - trailer
Post-film discussion with special guest Chloe Kirk, Jewish Federation of Tulsa Director of Community Relations
Cinema Sabaya tells the story of eight women, Arab and Jewish, varying widely in age, income, marital status, and outlook as they attend a workshop learning to document their lives on video. As each woman shares her raw footage with the others, they are all forced to challenge their preconceived views and beliefs, coming together as mothers, wives, and women, and forming an empowering and lasting bond. Cinema Sabaya presents a clever and heartfelt portrait of art’s capacity to unite disparate communities. Winner of five Israeli Academy Awards including best film, the story is full of life, love, humor, and authenticity.
Thu 3/30, 7:00p: Jewish Journeys in Space Double Feature with post-film discussion
Post-film discussion with special guest Rabbi Shaul Osadchey
Close out the festival with two out-of-this-world documentaries and a special discussion with Rabbi Shaul Osadchey. Rabbi Osadchey collaborated with his congregant, astronaut Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman, to bring Judaic objects into space including the Space Dreidel and culminating in the reading of a kosher Torah scroll over Jerusalem on Shabbat morning, March 4, 1996.
"Mission of Hope" - Doc, 54min, English - trailer
Commemorating 20 years since the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, Mission of Hope is the untold, story of Israel’s first astronaut Ilan Ramon’s “mission within the mission.” Ramon carried with him a small Torah scroll spirited out of the Nazi concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen by its owner, a young boy at the time who went on to become one of Israel’s top physicists. The film follows the scroll’s path from the concentration camp to the flight deck of Columbia. From the depths of hell to the heights of space, this Torah would serve to honor the hope of a nation and to fulfill a promise made to generations past and future. A powerful story about the resilience of the human spirit.
"Space Torah: A Film by Verissima Productions" - Doc, 25min, English - trailer
Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman was the first Jewish American male astronaut to fly into space. Over five space missions, he chose to bring numerous Jewish objects, such as mezuzot that he posted in his sleep compartment and dreidels that he spun during Hanukkah. The highlight was a small and light Torah scroll that he took with him on his fifth and last mission in February 1996. Rabbi Shaul Osadchey, Hoffman’s spiritual leader, was instrumental in making it possible to take a Torah scroll into space. Hoffman saw the act of bringing religious objects into space not only carrying his own traditions with him but bringing the Torah into space had the added symbolic meaning and significance of bringing the holiness of human life into space. This short documentary tells how family, educators, scientific and religious communities can achieve great things and bring our identity to new realms.
Rabbi Shaul Osadchey has led a distinguished career as a religious leader, educator, and advocate for social issues. In the pulpit, Rabbi Osadchey has brought spiritual depth to the Jewish life of his congregants while challenging them to find meaningful and innovative ways to connect their faith to the wider world in which they live. As an interfaith leader, Rabbi Osadchey has been a bold spokesman for the legitimate place of Jewish values in the marketplace of ideas and as a guide and inspiration in the creation of harmony and respect among faith communities.