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East Bay International Jewish Film Festival 2025

Arts and Entertainment

January 13, 2025

From: East Bay International Jewish Film Festival

We are delighted to return to the Century 16 in Pleasant Hill for six days of Festival enjoyment. We will also visit the Vine Cinema in Livermore on March 16 for two special screenings.

No more waiting in line! All moviegoers will be asked to select their seats at time of ticket purchase for films in the Century 16. Pass holders will reserve their seats before individual tickets go on sale. IMPORTANT: For films shown at the VINE CINEMA in Livermore, tickets will be sold at-the-door after 3 PM on the day of the screening.

In-Theatre passes cost $180 and go on sale on February 6. They provide tickets for all of our in-theatre screenings and allow you to select your seats before individual tickets go on sale February 10. Tickets cost $12 for films screened before 2 PM and $15 for films screened after 2 PM.

Tickets must be purchased in advance for films at the Century 16 and can only be purchased online. If you plan to buy tickets at-the-door, you must use your phone to purchase them.

Schedule

Saturday, February 22, 2025

Midas Man

7:30 - 9:30 PM @ Theatre 1 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

On Thursday, November 9, 1961, a man descended the stairs to a cellar in Liverpool and changed the world forever. This wonderful, music-rich film tells the story of how Brian Epstein became the manager of The Beatles and drove them to world-wide success. Paul McCartney would later call him “the fifth Beatle.” Not to be missed!

Midas Man

7:45 - 9:45 PM @ Theatre 14 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

On Thursday, November 9, 1961, a man descended the stairs to a cellar in Liverpool and changed the world forever. This wonderful, music-rich film tells the story of how Brian Epstein became the manager of The Beatles and drove them to world-wide success. Paul McCartney would later call him “the fifth Beatle.” Not to be missed!

Sunday, February 23, 2025

Sabbath Queen

12 - 2 PM @ Theatre 1 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

Sabbath Queen follows Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie’s life over 20 years. As the heir of 38 generations of Orthodox rabbis including the Chief Rabbis of Israel, he is torn between rejecting and embracing his destiny and becomes a drag-queen rebel, a queer bio-dad and the founder of Lab/Shul, an everybody-friendly and pop-up experimental congregation.

Diane Warren: Relentless

12:15 - 2:15 PM @ Theatre 14 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

This brash and funny documentary zooms into an intimate look at the life and career of one of the most accomplished songwriters of all time. She has been nominated for 15 Oscars, including one for “If I Could Turn Back Time,” but never won one.

Mazel Tov

3:30 - 5:30 PM @ Theatre 1 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

Fresh with comedic interludes, Mazel Tov brings together four argumentative siblings who see their relationship with different eyes. Dario Roitman, the second oldest in his 40s, left Argentina for the U.S. years ago and now returns home for his sister’s wedding and for the opportunity to rebuild family ties. His entire plan goes up in smoke when he receives the news that his father has died and his older brother is still angry with him.

Mazel Tov

3:45 - 5:45 PM @ Theatre 14 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

Fresh with comedic interludes, Mazel Tov brings together four argumentative siblings who see their relationship with different eyes. Dario Roitman, the second oldest in his 40s, left Argentina for the U.S. years ago and now returns home for his sister’s wedding and for the opportunity to rebuild family ties. His entire plan goes up in smoke when he receives the news that his father has died and his older brother is still angry with him.

Pink Lady

7 - 9 PM @ Theatre 1 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

Bati and Lazer have a seemingly perfect life within the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Jerusalem. But their world starts to crumble when Lazer is blackmailed and Bati discovers his secret. Desperate to protect her family, she supports Lazer as he attempts to “cure” his homosexuality while uncovering her true desires.

Pink Lady

7:15 - 9:15 PM @ Theatre 14 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

Bati and Lazer have a seemingly perfect life within the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Jerusalem. But their world starts to crumble when Lazer is blackmailed and Bati discovers his secret. Desperate to protect her family, she supports Lazer as he attempts to “cure” his homosexuality while uncovering her true desires.

Monday, February 24, 2025

Janis Ian: Breaking Silence

12:30 - 2:30 PM @ Theatre 1 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

When she was a teen in the mid-60s, singer-songwriter Janis Ian launched her illustrious career with a hit single called Society's Child . As she grows older, Janis overcomes a host of obstacles-- embezzlement, record industry misogyny, and heartbreak—and produces an indelible body of songs that earn her critical acclaim.

Janis Ian: Breaking Silence

12:45 - 2:45 PM @ Theatre 14 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

When she was a teen in the mid-60s, singer-songwriter Janis Ian launched her illustrious career with a hit single called Society's Child . As she grows older, Janis overcomes a host of obstacles-- embezzlement, record industry misogyny, and heartbreak—and produces an indelible body of songs that earn her critical acclaim.

Bliss

3:30 - 5:30 PM @ Theatre 1 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

This moving and tender love story captures the obstacles in the lives of Sassi and Effi: their age gap (he is 73, she is 50), Sassi’s impotency and their grueling work schedule. Played by two Israeli stars, Sasson Gabay and Assi Levy, they support the husband’s son and grandson (from a previous marriage) and must confront a troubling figure from the wife’s past.

Kissufim

3:45 - 5:45 PM @ Theatre 14 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

It is 1977 when Israelis were optimistic for peace after the Yom Kippur War and a group of young women and men in the military are completing their final stage of service on Kibbutz Kissufim near Gaza. As Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat flies to Jerusalem, they navigate love, violence and morality.

The Glory of Life

7 - 9 PM @ Theatre 1 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

For one year, 1923 to 1924, Franz Kafka and Dora Diamant meet and fall in love. At 26, Dora is working as a nurse for Jewish orphans in Germany and Kafka is, at 39, trying to recover from another bout of TB. They later move to Berlin and stay there until Kafka is forced to go to a sanatorium. A love story of great depth and beauty, not to be missed.

The Glory of Life

7:15 - 9:15 PM @ Theatre 14 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

For one year, 1923 to 1924, Franz Kafka and Dora Diamant meet and fall in love. At 26, Dora is working as a nurse for Jewish orphans in Germany and Kafka is, at 39, trying to recover from another bout of TB. They later move to Berlin and stay there until Kafka is forced to go to a sanatorium. A love story of great depth and beauty, not to be missed.

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

His Own Way: The Cinema of Avi Nesher

12:15 - 2:15 PM @ Theatre 1 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

For the past five decades, Avi Nesher has been Israel’s most prominent director, with many of his films having remained cult favorites. Now, Nesher is in front of the camera. His Own Way examines the DNA of Nesher's cinematic creations, which include musicals, dramas, and comedies, chronicling the homeland in which he started his career.

His Own Way: The Cinema of Avi Nesher

12:30 - 2:30 PM @ Theatre 14 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

For the past five decades, Avi Nesher has been Israel’s most prominent director, with many of his films having remained cult favorites. Now, Nesher is in front of the camera. His Own Way examines the DNA of Nesher's cinematic creations, which include musicals, dramas, and comedies, chronicling the homeland in which he started his career.

Never Alone

3:30 - 5:30 PM @ Theatre 1 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

As Nazi influence grows in Finland in 1939, the Finnish-Jewish businessman Abraham Stiller risks everything to protect the Jewish community. Based on actual events during World War II, Never Alone shines a light on the plight of Jewish refugees seeking sanctuary in Finland and the unwavering hero who risked everything to protect them.

Never Alone

3:45 - 5:45 PM @ Theatre 14 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

As Nazi influence grows in Finland in 1939, the Finnish-Jewish businessman Abraham Stiller risks everything to protect the Jewish community. Based on actual events during World War II, Never Alone shines a light on the plight of Jewish refugees seeking sanctuary in Finland and the unwavering hero who risked everything to protect them.

Auction

7 - 9 PM @ Theatre 1 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

André Masson, an executive at a famous auction house, receives a letter stating that a painting by Egon Schiele has been discovered at the home of a young worker. Soon, he discovers that it is an authentic masterpiece missing since 1939. André sees this find as the pinnacle of his career, but also the beginning of a struggle that could jeopardize it.

Auction

7:15 - 9:15 PM @ Theatre 14 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

André Masson, an executive at a famous auction house, receives a letter stating that a painting by Egon Schiele has been discovered at the home of a young worker. Soon, he discovers that it is an authentic masterpiece missing since 1939. André sees this find as the pinnacle of his career, but also the beginning of a struggle that could jeopardize it.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Turn Left at the End of the World

1 - 3 PM @ Theatre 1 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

In this Avi Nesher-directed film, a group of families emigrates from India to Israel in the late sixties. To their surprise, they are sent to a new settlement in the middle of the Negev desert, populated mostly by Moroccan Jews. The two cultures clash as the new group tries to integrate into the community. There are scenes of great comedy, including one where the Moroccans try to master the basics of cricket.

Turn Left at the End of the World

1:15 - 3:15 PM @ Theatre 14 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

In this Avi Nesher-directed film, a group of families emigrates from India to Israel in the late sixties. To their surprise, they are sent to a new settlement in the middle of the Negev desert, populated mostly by Moroccan Jews. The two cultures clash as the new group tries to integrate into the community. There are scenes of great comedy, including one where the Moroccans try to master the basics of cricket.

Bad Shabbos

4 - 6 PM @ Theatre 1 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

Starring Kyra Sedgwick and David Paymer, this film was the Audience Award Winner at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival. In this story, two couples — Abby and Benjamin, and David and Meg (a new convert to Judaism)— gather for a Shabbat dinner. But when an accidental death (or...murder?) derails the evening and Meg’s Catholic parents are due any moment to meet David’s very Jewish family, Shabbat becomes a comedy of biblical proportions.

Bad Shabbos

4:15 - 6:15 PM @ Theatre 14 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

Starring Kyra Sedgwick and David Paymer, this film was the Audience Award Winner at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival. In this story, two couples — Abby and Benjamin, and David and Meg (a new convert to Judaism)— gather for a Shabbat dinner. But when an accidental death (or...murder?) derails the evening and Meg’s Catholic parents are due any moment to meet David’s very Jewish family, Shabbat becomes a comedy of biblical proportions.

The Stronghold

7 - 9 PM @ Theatre 1 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

Michael Aloni stars as Dr. Nahum Werbin in this tense film based on a true story. He is a reserve officer fresh out of medical school, arriving at an isolated outpost in Sinai on the eve of Yom Kippur, 1973. Soon, the war breaks out, with many of his soldiers getting killed or wounded. With medical supplies running low, and the outpost now under Egyptian siege, Werbin tries to convince the soldiers to surrender — the dishonorable but only way to save their lives.

Unspoken

7:15 - 9:15 PM @ Theatre 14 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

Unspoken is a tender film that follows the story of Noam, a teen in a Jewish day school who discovers a love letter written to his grandfather by another man before the Holocaust. He sets out to find this mysterious person and uncover his grandfather's identity as well as his own. Suitable for students in middle school through adults.

Thursday, February 27, 2025

Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round

12:45 - 2:45 PM @ Theatre 1 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

“Can I ask your race?” the security guard at Maryland’s Glen Echo Amusement Park asks a black man, Rev. Laurence Henry, as he tries to enter. “My race? I belong to the human race,” he replies. And he is denied entry. Emmy-Award winning director Ilana Trachtman delivers a superb documentary that covers the courage of students at Howard University who sat on the whites-only carousel and the Jewish community members who were persistent to help bring about change.

Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round

1 - 3 PM @ Theatre 14 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

“Can I ask your race?” the security guard at Maryland’s Glen Echo Amusement Park asks a black man, Rev. Laurence Henry, as he tries to enter. “My race? I belong to the human race,” he replies. And he is denied entry. Emmy-Award winning director Ilana Trachtman delivers a superb documentary that covers the courage of students at Howard University who sat on the whites-only carousel and the Jewish community members who were persistent to help bring about change.

This is My Mother

3:30 - 5:30 PM @ Theatre 1 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

"I feel more like a cop than a son." Thirty-year-old Pierre has woken up at dawn to buy the flowers he needs for his shop and now must drive his bipolar mother Judith back to the sanitarium where she resides. In a ride that should only take a few hours, Pierre starts a 24-hour odyssey with her, navigating not only the French countryside but also his mother’s uncertain future. Marked by exceptional performances!

This is My Mother

3:45 - 5:45 PM @ Theatre 14 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

"I feel more like a cop than a son." Thirty-year-old Pierre has woken up at dawn to buy the flowers he needs for his shop and now must drive his bipolar mother Judith back to the sanitarium where she resides. In a ride that should only take a few hours, Pierre starts a 24-hour odyssey with her, navigating not only the French countryside but also his mother’s uncertain future. Marked by exceptional performances!

Soda

7 - 9 PM @ Theatre 1 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

1956 Israel. A beautiful seamstress moves to a neighborhood of Holocaust survivors. Rumors about her having been a “kapo” in a concentration camp shake up the neighborhood. But Shalom, a former resistance fighter, is torn between his passion for her and his commitment to his wife and to his community. Soda won 10 Ophir awards, including Best Picture, in 2023.

Soda

7:15 - 9:15 PM @ Theatre 14 - Century 16 Pleasant Hill

1956 Israel. A beautiful seamstress moves to a neighborhood of Holocaust survivors. Rumors about her having been a “kapo” in a concentration camp shake up the neighborhood. But Shalom, a former resistance fighter, is torn between his passion for her and his commitment to his wife and to his community. Soda won 10 Ophir awards, including Best Picture, in 2023.

Virtual Festival Begins on March 9 on Eventive

We are delighted to return to brick-and-mortar theaters for six days of Festival enjoyment. However, you can still

watch the films from the comfort of your home or catch up on ones you missed in-theatre. Our 2025 Virtual Festival will allow you to stream most of the movies we showed at the Century 16. We will also stream two new titles.  

All our films will have a five-day streaming window. You can start watching a film anytime during its availability. You can stop your movie and finish later, as you have 72 hours to complete watching your films. Each film’s availability window is listed in our brochure and below.

Virtual Festival passes cost $180 and go on sale February 6. Individual virtual tickets cost $13.50 and go on sale February 10.

Buy Passes

Buy Tickets

Date: February 22 - March 20, 2025

Location: Historic Downtown Escondido

Click here for more Information