April 7, 2025
By Stephen Silver as published in Philadelphia Jewish Exponent

Most spring seasons, Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media hosts a traditional film festival, usually called Lindy SpringFest.

But according to Matthew Bussy, PJFM’s program director, it was decided this year that the moment called for something different: The first-ever Jewish Resilience Film and Media Series, which is set to take place April 24 to 28, entirely at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History.

“It came about as a reaction to not really just Oct. 7, but I think just the worldwide increase in global antisemitism,” Bussy said. “And I think that one of the reasons, too, is that we get so many movies submitted to PJFM and so many of them revolve around this similar theme of Jewish resilience. Narrative and nonfiction films that feature strong, courageous Jewish individuals who overcome obstacles, who face prejudice and hatred and their enemies head-on, but they pull through and they don’t capitulate. They really are the heroes of these stories.”

The series features films about early Zionism, the Holocaust, Jewish resistance in World War II, Israel at war, the war in Ukraine and the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks. But rather than emphasizing tragedy, the films focus on Jews standing their ground.

“I think it’s become one of the most prevalent themes in Jewish cinema, you know, the theme of Jewish resilience,” Bussy said. “It can expand so much, to other types of stories.”

The series kicks off on April 24 with “The Stronghold,” an Israeli film from 2023 directed by Lior Chefetz. Set in the Sinai desert during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the film features a pair of soldiers forced into a difficult choice. Michael Aloni, the actor from “Shtisel,” stars in the film.

“The Stronghold” will be preceded by “A Great Big Secret,” a 13-minute documentary short from Yoav Potash, featuring Holocaust survivor Anita Magnus Frank telling her story.

The festival dives straight into Oct. 7 with “Some.Body: A Nova Story A.I. Exhibition.” An 11-minute short film that will be available to watch inside the Weitzman between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on April 25, 26 and 27, Netanel Kafka’s film combines AI animation, spoken word and trance music. It tells the story of Dr. Nir Soffer-Dudek, who heard testimonies from survivors of the Nova Music Festival. The film will be available, with free admission, to anyone attending any other festival screening.

“It’s so hypnotic. It’s so psychedelic,” Bussy said of “Some.Body.” “You basically follow the survivor after the events, but it’s not a narrative film. It’s a film about trauma. And it’s a film about how trauma just creeps up out of nowhere and completely takes over our minds. … What he does so well, visually, and in an auditory way, is how to make that trauma just leap out of the screen.”

On April 25 comes “Theodor,” which is a filmed version of the Israeli Opera’s production about the pioneering Zionist Theodor Herzl. The opera was composed by Yonatan Cnaan and directed by Ido Ricklin.

Two films will be shown on April 27: Alex Osmolovsky’s documentary “The Community,” about the Jewish community in Ukraine after the invasion by Russia, and “Torn,” Nim Shapira’s documentary about the battles happening on the streets of American cities when posters of post-Oct. 7 hostages are torn down.

In addition, a documentary called “999: The Forgotten Girls,” about a group of Slovak Jewish women who survived the Holocaust, will be available to stream on April 27 and 28.

The festival wraps up on April 28 with “Four Winters,” Julia Mintz’s documentary about the 25,000 Jewish partisans who fought the Nazis from the woods of Ukraine, Belarus and other parts of Eastern Europe. Mintz, who interviewed some surviving partisans for the film, will appear at the screening.

It will be preceded by “New Lives,” Joey Schweitzer’s narrative short about a Holocaust survivor starting over in 1950s Brooklyn.

“With everything going on in the world, it only felt more important than ever to have this series right now,” Bussy said. “Because a lot of Jews are very, very scared right now. And it’s important for them to know that they are strong and we all will get through this.”