17th Annual Festival After a long wait, the Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival is officially back in-person in 2023! Join us for a world-class showcase of the best in foreign and independent cinema. PVJFF welcomes everyone to engage with Jewish culture and conversation through high-quality cinematic experiences.

Schedule of Events

April 19, 2023

6:30 PM - Four Winters: A Story of Jewish Partisan Resistance in WWII at Academy of Music, Northampton

This essential documentary tells the stories of Jewish partisans who took up arms against Hitler's war machine. Despite extraordinary odds, over 25,000 Jews bravely fought back against the Nazis and their collaborators from deep within the forests of Eastern Europe. These determined men and women, many barely in their teens, engaged in acts of sabotage, blowing up trains, burning electric stations, and attacking armed enemy headquarters. The last surviving partisans tell their stories to director Julia Mintz, who shines a spotlight on their bravery through inspiring interviews, personal photographs, and rare archival footage. Four Winters is a stunning, heartfelt narrative of heroism and resilience.

Post-screening Q&A with Northampton, MA-based director, writer, and producer Julia Mintz.

Co-sponsored with New Moon Films

Documentary | 2022 | 90 Minutes
USA | English
Directed By Julia Mintz

April 26, 2023

7:30 PM - Karaoke at Flavin Auditorium, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Tova and Meir, a couple with 46 years of marriage and two grown daughters, live a comfortable and quiet life. That is, until they meet their neighbor, Itzik. They receive an unexpected jolt of excitement when Itzik invites them to his penthouse for karaoke. Tova and Meir fall hard for his energetic lifestyle. They enter into a competition amongst their other neighbors and soon find themselves vying to win Itzik's attention. This offbeat and comedic journey delights and surprises.

Stars Israeli superstars Lior Ashkenazi (Award of the Israeli Film Academy for Best Actor, Foxtrot) and Sasson Gabay (accaimed for his work in Shtisel and The Band's Visit.

Co-sponsored by Massachusetts Multicultural Film Festival

Comedy | 2022 | 103 Minutes
Israel | Hebrew With Subtitles
Directed By Moshe Rosenthal

April 30, 2023

7:00 PM - Farewell, Mr. Haffmann at Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield

Beloved French actor Daniel Auteuil stars as Joseph Haffmann, a Jewish jeweler who aids his family in their escape from 1941 Nazi-occupied Paris with the intent to immediately follow them. In his haste to flee, Joseph offers his employee, François, the deed to his store as well as the apartment above it, until the war ends and Joseph returns. Unfortunately, Joseph finds that he can't escape and is forced to seek protection from François and his wife, Blanche. Tensions between the three rise as they live in fear of being discovered. This gripping, morally complex thriller explores themes of greed, survival, and courage.

Introduction by Dr. Simon Sibelman, Professor Emeritus of Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies at Appalachian State University and former Executive Director of the Virginia Holocaust Museum.

Winner, Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature: San Francisco, Cleveland, San Diego, and Atlanta Jewish Film Festivals

Opening Night Reception, 6:30 PM.

Drama | 2022 | 116 Minutes
France | French With Subtitles
Directed By Fred Cavayè

May 1, 2023

6:30 PM - The Ancient Law at Greenfield Garden Cinemas, Greenfield

A recently restored German silent film about Jewish life in 19th-century Europe, The Ancient Law is a precursor to Warner Brothers' The Jazz Singer. The film tells the story of a rabbi's son who yearns to become an actor, against the wishes of his father. With its historically authentic set design and ensemble of prominent actors, the film is an important piece of German-Jewish cinematic history that contrasts the closed world of an Eastern European shtetl with the liberal mores of 1860s Vienna.

The film will be accompanied by a live original music composed and performed by renowned musicians Donald Sosin (Keyboards) and Alicia Svigals (Violin).

Drama | 1923 | 128 Minutes
Germany | German And Silent With English Intertitles
Directed By Ewald André Dupont

May 2, 2023

7:00 PM - Reckonings at Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield

They met in secret to negotiate the unthinkable: compensation for survivors of the largest mass genocide in history. Holocaust survivors were in urgent need of help, but how could reparations be determined for the unprecedented destruction and suffering of a people? Directed by award-winning filmmaker Roberta Grossman, this documentary recounts the tense negotiations between Jewish and German leaders. Under the constant threat of violence, they forged ahead knowing it would never be enough, but hoping it could at least be an acknowledgement and a step towards healing.

Post-screening discussion with the film's producer and Claims Conference General Counsel Karen Heilig and moderated by Dr. Avinaom Patt, Professor, Doris and Simon Konover Chair of Judiac Studies and Director, Center for Judiac Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life, University of Connecticut.

Winner, Audience Award for Documentary Film, 2023 Miami Jewish Film Festival

Documentary | 2022 | 74 Minutes
USA | English
Directed By Roberta Grossman

May 3, 2023

1:30 PM - Jews of the Wild West at Goldstein Auditorium, Springfield JCC, Springfield

From cowboys and gunslingers to entrepreneurs and artists, the colorful and largely overlooked contributions of Jews on the American frontier are revealed in this lively portrait. Escaping oppression and poverty, Jewish families joined other settlers in search of a better life. By the early 1900s, over 100,000 Jews put down roots in the Wild West, from Guggenheim and Levi Strauss to everyday merchants and cattlemen. A young Golda Meir spent formative years in Denver, and notorious Wyatt Earp, Bronco Bill, and Pancho Villa had Jewish connections. Fascinating interviews and a trove of archival materials recall the legacy and pioneering spirit of those who definitively shaped westward expansion. (Source: Atlanta Jewish Film Festival)

Documentary | 2022 | 80 Minutes
USA | English
Directed By Amanda Kinsey

7:00 PM - March 1968 at Northampton Center for the Arts, Northampton

Hania and Janek, a pair of rebellious college students blinded by love, find themselves swept up in the raging socio-political crisis of 1960s communist Poland. Although initially apathetic, the young couple find that the growing government censorship and antisemitic purges cannot be ignored. They are forced to choose sides once Hania's Jewish family is forced to emigrate to safety and student protestors violently clash with the authorities. This handsomely crafted historical drama depicts the inexorable convergence of a whirlwind romance, a battle for national identity, and political awakening.

Introduction by Tom Roberts, Assistant Professor of Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, Smith College.

Co-sponsored by Lathrop Community Inc.

Winner, Audience Award for Best Feature, 2023 Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival

Drama | 2022 | 117 Minutes
Poland | Polish With Subtitles
Directed By Krzystof Lang

May 4, 2023

7:00 PM - My Neighbor Adolf at Amherst Cinema, Amherst

Polsky, a lonely and grumpy Holocaust survivor, lives in the remote 1960s Colombian countryside. He spends his days playing chess and tending his beloved rose bushes. When a mysterious old German man moves in next door, Polsky suspects that his new neighbor is, of all people, Adolf Hitler. Since nobody believes him, he embarks on a detective mission to prove that what he believes is true. But in order to gather evidence, he will need to get closer to his neighbor than he would like. So close that the two could almost become friends.

Comedy | 2022 | 96 Minutes
Israel, Poland, Colombia | English, German, Hebrew, And Spanish With Subtitles
Directed By Leon Prudovsky

May 5, 2023

3:00 PM - Paris Boutique at Greenfield Garden Cinemas, Greenfield

Louise, a Parisian Jewish lawyer on her way to finalize an important real estate deal in Jerusalem, meets Neta, an Israeli freelance cabbie who dreams of opening a hotel in Mahane Yehuda. Together the two women stumble upon a secret connection between an ulta-Orthodox woman and a Christian man who communicate through notes hidden within the grooves of the Wailing wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. Intrigued by this mystery, Louise and Neta follow this puzzling couple through the alleyways of the city. This comedy of errors in the heart of magical Jerusalem follows the story of friendship between two women at a critical point in both of their lives.

Nominated for six Israeli Academy Awards (Ophirs) and starring Nelly Tagar (Zero Motivation and The Art of Waiting)

Comedy | 2022 | 81 Minutes
Israel, France | Hebrew, English, French, Arabic, And Spanish With Subtitles
Directed By Marco Carmel

May 6, 2023

8:00 PM - Matchmaking at Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield

In an ultra-Orthodox tale of star-crossed lovers, Moti (Amit Rahav, Unorthodox) spots Nechama and is instantly smitten, but knows that their love can never be. Moti, whose family is Ashkenazi (European), knows that he could never be allowed to date Nechama, whose family is Mizrahi (Middle Eastern) in origin. Although he experiences a whirlwind of dates with beautiful girls from all over the Orthodox community, Moti knows that he can't fight against his feelings for his one true love. It's a joyous tale of tolerance and love.

Winner, Audience Award for Narrative Film, 2023 Miami Jewish Film Festival

Comedy | 2022 | 96 Minutes
Israel | Hebrew With Subtitles
Directed By Erez Tadmor

May 7, 2023

3:30 PM - Vishniac at Northampton Center for the Arts, Northampton

Roman Vishniac is best known for photographing Jewish life in Eastern Europe in the 1930s. Intended to raise funds for impoverished Jewish communities, few predicted that these photographs would provide the last visual records of an entire world. But while Vishniac owes his fame to this specific collection, his prodigious body of work not only depicts an entire era of Jewish history, but also includes considerable contributions in the field of microscopic photography. This exploration of Vishniac's career and photographs brings to life the world in which he worked and details his dramatic life story and flamboyant personality.

Introduction by Dr. Simon Sibelman, Professor Emeritus of Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies at Appalachian State University and former Executive Director of the Virginia Holocaust Museum.

Documentary | 2023 | 90 Minutes
USA | English
Directed By Laura Bialis

7:00 PM - Prophets of Change at Amherst Cinema, Amherst

In a land defined by conflict and division for centuries, a new generation of artists is reframing the conversation. In this documentary, Israeli and Palestinian musicians unite to break a cycle of fear and distrust in this inspiring, hopeful look at the universal language of song. They come from all walks of life and a wide range of styles, including rap, hip-hop, and heavy metal. Faced with condemnation and even death threats, these musical activists together forge a call to action and blueprint for peace. Penetrating and highly energetic, this sonic portrait of courage and compassion swells with a fist-pumping soundtrack of modern Middle Eastern music, and all-star roster of narrators including J.K. Simmons, Forest Whitaker, Sarah Silverman and more. (adapted from Atlanta Jewish Film Festival)

Post-screening Q&A with the film's director, Assaf Ben Shetrit. Discussion moderated by Daniel Pope, Director of the Massachusetts Multicultural Film Festival.

Co-sponsored by the Neta Bolozky and Yaffa Gunner Fund

Documentary | 2022 | 83 Minutes
Israel, Usa, Palestinian Territory | English, Hebrew, Arabic, Uzbek, French, And Amharic With Subtitles
Directed By Assaf Ben Shetrit

Date: April 30-May 7, 2023

Locations:
Amherst Cinema, 28 Amity Street, Amherst, MA 01002
Garden Cinemas, 361 Main StreetGarden Cinemas, 361 Main Street
Academy of Music, 274 Main Street, Northampton, MA 01060
Basketball Hall of Fame, 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue, Springfield, MA 01105
Northampton Center for the Arts, 33 Hawley Street, Northampton, MA 01060
Springfield JCC - Goldstein Auditorium, 1160 Dickinson Street, Springfield, MA 01108
University of Massachusetts - Flavin Auditorium, 121 Presidents Drive, Amherst, MA 01003

Buy Tickets

Click Here for more information