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Amsterdam Jewish Film Festival 2011

25.10.2011

From 26 - 30 October 2011, Amsterdam's Jewish Film Festival is celebrating its tenth anniversary by showcasing a musically themed program entitled Music in Motion.

The diverse program of films includes 11 national premieres, such as the festival's opening film, Les Hommes Libres (Ismaël Ferroukhi, 2011).  Other featured films are The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground (Erik Greenberg Anjou, 2010), Breaking Homes Ties (Frank N. Seltzer & George K. Rowlands, 1922), and highlights from the works of Woody Allen.

This year's festival will take place in Pathé Tuschinski, a Jugendstil and Art Deco-style theatre in Amsterdam. This famous cinema was commissioned by Abraham Icek Tuschinski, a Dutch businessman of Jewish-Polish descent, and opened its doors in 1921.  Today it is the primary venue for movie premieres in the Netherlands.

Practical information and ticketing details can be found here.

Film Program

  • National première: Les Hommes Libres SOLD OUT

    Wednesday 26 October | 19.30 | Screen 2

    Opening party with the Dutch premiere of 'Les Hommes Libres' (featuring Tahar Rahim, 'Un Prophète') and a special performance of the American gospel singer Joshua Nelson.
  • National première: Cloudy Road

    Thursday 27 October | 19.15 | Room 3

    This documentary follows the famous Israeli performer Shlomo Artzi and his band on a two-week journey, during their tour across the US.
  • National première: Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness

    Thursday 27 October | 19.30 | Screen 2

    Documentary about the writer Sjolem Aleichemkeeping, who kept the Yiddish language and culture alive. Aleichem's most famous creation was Tevye the Dairyman.
  • The Socalled Movie

    Thursday 27 October | 22.00 | Screen 3

    Multi-talented Josh 'Socalled' Dolgin is a Montreal-based musician, producer, composer, arranger, magician, filmmaker, photographer, visual artist and spiritual father of 'Klezmer Hop'.
  • National première: In Heaven, Underground: The Jewish Cemetry in Berlin-Weissensee

    Thursday 27 October | 22.15 | Screen 2

    Weissensee is Europe's biggest Jewish cemetery, which is still open for new burials. It is now 130 years old - and was never been destroyed...a paradise for treasure hunters.
  • National première: Breaking Home Ties

    Saturday 29 October | 19.00 | Screen 6

    The film shows how Jewish people in the early twentieth century began interweaving American ideals and Jewish values into an American Jewish culture.
  • Louder Than a Bomb

    Saturday 29 October | 19.30 | Screen 6

    This documentary tells the story of four high schools as they prepare for and compete in 'Louder than a Bomb', the world's largest youth poetry competitions in Chicago.
  • Woody Allen Late Night Special (with introduction)

    Saturday 29 October | from 21.30 | Screen 4

    Our Saturday evening program is wholly dedicated to Woody Allen, a music lover and musician in his own right.
  • National première: Mary Lou (in cooperation with the Pink Film Days)

    Saturday 29 October | 22.00 uur | Screen 6

    The film tells the story of Meir, a young gay man in search of the mother, Miriam, who abandoned him during his 10th birthday party.
  • ...and Europe will be stunned (with introduction)

    Sunday 30 October | 12.00 | Screen 2

    Yael Bartana produced three films for the video-installation '...and Europe will be stunned': Mary Koszmary (2007), Mur i Wieza (2009) and Zamach (2011).
  • National premiere: 100 Voices: A Journey Home

    Sunday 30 October | 12.15 | Screen 3

    The cantor Nathan Lam embarks on a trip through Poland in an attempt to re-embrace thousands of years of Polish-Jewish history and culture.
  • Gainsbourg (Vie Héroïque)

    Sunday 30 October | 14.15 | Screen 2

    In the film 'Gainsbourg', director Joann Sfar boldly attempts to paint a distinctive picture of the legendary singer and unmistakable talent Serge Gainsbourg.
  • National première: Cabaret Berlin: The Wild Scene (Cabaret Berlin: La Scène Sauvage)

    Sunday 30 October | 14.30 | Screen 3

    This documentary offers an inside view of Berlin's Weimar Republic (1919-1933) cabaret scene which was home to Europe's most innovative and experimental artists, writers and musicians.
  • National première: Tango, a Story with Jews (Tango, una historia con judíos)

    Sunday 30 October | 16.30 | Screen 3

    This documentary, based on the book by José Judkovski, presents an unknown history of the vital Jewish influence in the origins of tango.
  • Dancing in Auschwitz (incl. introduction and interview)

    Sunday 30 October | 17.00 | Screen 2

    The documentary is based on Paul Glaser's book Tante Roosje (2010) about his Aunt's colourful life story. It contains never before seen wartime footage.
  • National première: The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground

    Sunday 30 October | 20.00 | Screen 3

    The Klezmatics are a music group who have been the driving force behind the international Klezmer revival ever since their first performance in 1988.
  • Sneak preview: exclusive première!

    Sunday 30 October | 20.30 | Screen 2

    Be surprised by an exclusive premiere!