Audiences from across the city arrived in droves to the 42nd Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival, a week-long festival to remember! (AMERICA, 11/19/22 at Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History)WOW. It is difficult for the PJFM staff and me to convey how emotionally happy we are about the turnout from this year’s 42nd Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival. We are ecstatic. Over the moon. On Cloud 9. Amazed. Hopeful. Positive. Delighted. The festival is over, and I’m still smiling!
By now, we all know how difficult it has been for film organizations across the globe because of, well, that stupid little pandemic which I won’t say because I’m exhausted from talking about it. Over the summer, as I was curating our lineup for our annual, signature festival series, I was worried. I mean, that’s no surprise, of course. It’s hard to run a film festival during a pandemic. A tornado of worrying thoughts escalated through my brain. Would a lot of people show up? Would it be a disaster? Would limiting the festival to one week instead of two mess things up? What about the movies themselves? Did I, along with the help of PJFM’s hard-working Screening Committee, select the appropriate films? WHAT WILL HAPPEN?!
I was so excited, but I would lie if I said I wasn’t a little uneasy. The days went by as the staff and I prepared for the big Opening Night. Our printed brochures were delivered to homes. We tested the films at the venues. Our incredible PJFM42 Ambassadors from Philadelphia and the Main Line helped us promote the festival. Trailers were made by our amazing videographer. Sponsor packets were made. We hired a crew of passionate festival staffers who were prepared for what to expect. And then Opening Night arrived. November 12 at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History. We opened with KARAOKE, an exuberant new comedy/drama/romance from a young, extremely talented directed named Moshe Rosenthal. THE EVENT. SOLD. OUT.
I won’t curse, but I think you can presume my reaction was me smiling and inherently saying, “Holy…” We couldn’t believe it. People were back! Longtime fans of PJFM and new guests flocked to the theater in the cold night to check out KARAOKE. I had to pinch myself because I literally could not believe my eyes. And that’s not even the end. Every one of our screenings was packed, including a second sold-out showing the next day at the Jewish Museum. Even during our weekday 2 PM showings, we had more than 60 attendees. Even when we went out to the suburbs to the Kaiserman JCC and Ambler Theater, we had more than 60. Even our Shorts Night, which was held at Arden Theatre Company, was nearly sold out. This was mostly surprising because pre-COVID, our Shorts Program was never a particularly huge sell. There were smiles. There was laughter. There was joy aplenty. I have worked at PJFM since 2016, and I can positively say that our 42nd film festival was the best one I’ve worked yet.
THANK YOU to everyone who attended! Thank you to our Board of Directors, PJFM42 Sponsors and Ambassadors, Screening Committee, PJFM Staff, and Film Festival Staffers for your unbelievable dedication to the organization. Thank you to our special guests, Steven Pressman (Director of THE LEVYS OF MONTICELLO) and Ofir Raul Graizer (Director of AMERICA), who took the time to travel to the City of Brotherly Love to talk about their extraordinary new films. Thank you to Laurence Lerman and Irv Slifkin, the duo of FilmShul, for also trekking through the cold Philly to present their insightful discussion about Hollywood’s Jewish New Wave. Thank you to Gratz President Zef Eleff, local critic Gary Kramer, and PJFM Screening Committee Member Irene Tenenbaum for leading excellent post-film discussions onstage with our special guests. In addition, thank you to our virtual guest speakers – Roberta Grossman (Director of RECKONINGS), Sandrine Kiberlain (Director of A RADIANT GIRL), Katie Lowe, Program and Directions Collector of the Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center (HAMEC), Rebecca Marder (Star of A RADIANT GIRL), Joseph W. Moser, Associate Professor of German at West Chester University and PJFM Screening Committee Member, and Moshe Rosenthal (Director of KARAOKE), for taking the time to delve into these films and their topics on Zoom. I know we’re all “Zoomed out,” but you kept these conversations positively engaging! Lastly, thank you to all the venues – Arden Theatre Company, Gratz College, Kaiserman JCC, and Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History – for allowing us to show these movies. An extra thank you to the projectionists who managed to put up with my instructions for each run of show and did a tremendous job! (To view all PJFM In Conversation discussions, both in-person and virtual, click HERE to subscribe to our YouTube channel.)
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I can’t say it enough! Stay tuned for a whole variety of programs PJFM plans on having in 2023. We’re not going anywhere, and we can’t wait to bring even more content to our favorite city!
And don’t forget! All films presented in the festival (except for FUNNY GIRL, but that’s available to stream anywhere!) will be available to stream January 7-9, 2023.
Tickets go on sale next Cyber Monday, November 28.
MAZEL TOV to Our PJFF42 Audience Award Winners!
Best Narrative: AMERICA
Best Documentary: THE LEVYS OF MONTICELLO
Best Short (We Have a Tie!): ANNE
Best Short (We Have a Tie!): MINYAN DUTY
