Dayton Jewish International Film Festival
The Dayton Jewish International Film Festival offers outstanding world cinema that promotes awareness, appreciation and pride to the diversity of the Jewish people and to the community at large. Our goal is to educate and entertain through evocative, narrative and documentary films that portray the Jewish experience from historic to current global perspectives
Ticket Prices and Season Passes (both in-person and virtual):
Opening Night Single Ticket $18.00 — (Opening Night film and reception)
Single Ticket for films $12.00 — (individual films other than Opening Night film)
Season Pass $85.00 — (includes Opening Night film and reception, and all films)
Tickets also available for purchase at the door.
The Jewish Community Center of Greater Dayton is delighted to announce that the 23rd Annual Dayton Jewish International Film Festival will be presented June 1 – June 29, 2023.
Inspiring world-class cinema and programming highlight the diversity of the Jewish experience and the historical richness of Jewish culture and identity. Our engaging lineup of features, documentaries, and narratives educate and entertain, while offering opportunities for personal reflection and connection within the Jewish community and beyond.
The 2023 Dayton Jewish International Film Festival will utilize a hybrid format, with many films available both for in-person and virtual viewing. We respectfully ask that you consider making a tax-deductible contribution to our Festival. Your gift will enable us to continue offering first-class films and companion programming to those fortunate enough to live in the Miami Valley.
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Donate and Become a Film Fest Supporter
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2023 JCC International Film Festival Film Schedule
Issues seeing the buttons to purchase tickets? Click the button to the right to access the tickets.
In-person tickets
Opening Night film and reception
JCC International Film Festival Opening Night – Persian Lessons
June 1 from 6:30 – 9:00 PM
Reception – 6:30 PM
Film: 7:15 PM
The Plaza Theatre
(33 S. Main Street, Miamisburg, OH 45342)
Cost:
Opening Night Reception + Individual Ticket $18
Season pass $85 (11 films includes opening night)
DRAMA
127 Minutes
LANGUAGES
German, French, Italian, English, Persian, Subtitles
Occupied France, 1942. Gilles is arrested by SS soldiers alongside other Jews and sent to a camp in Germany. He narrowly avoids sudden execution by swearing to the guards that he is not Jewish, but Persian. This lie temporarily saves him, but Gilles gets assigned a shocking mission. Can he devise a strategy to endure under these conditions? A satisfying thriller of resistance, resilience, and courage in the face of evil. Loosely inspired by a short story from German writer Wolfgang Kohlhaase, Persian Lessons is an award-winning film that will inspire discussion about ingenuity, memory, and survival.
In-person tickets
Virtual ticket
Where Life Begins
June 6, at 7:15 PM
The Neon
(130 East Fifth Street, Dayton, OH 45402)
Cost:
Individual Ticket $12
DRAMA
100 Minutes
LANGUAGES
Italian, French with Subtitles
Available Online
Winner: Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature Anchorage International Film Festival 2022
Audience Award for Best Narrative – Jewish International Film Festival Australia 2022
A Haredi Jewish family from Aix-les-Bains comes to a farm in Calabria, Italy for a brief stay every year to carry out a sacred mission: harvesting citrons. Here Elio, the farm owner, meets Esther, the rabbi’s daughter, who is tired of the constraints imposed by her religion. Through this relationship, Esther will understand the importance of freedom and find her path, and, in the same way Elio will find the peace he had lost for a long time.
In-person tickets
Virtual ticket
Charlotte
June 8 at 7:15 PM
The Dayton Metro Library
(215 E. Third St., Dayton OH 45402)
Cost:
FREE
ANIMATED DRAMA
92 Minutes
LANGUAGES
English
Available Online
Winner: Audience Award, Music/Art/Design – 40th Vancouver International Film Festival
The true story of Charlotte Salomon, a young German- Jewish painter who comes of age in Berlin on the eve of the Second World War. Fiercely imaginative and deeply gifted, she dreams of becoming an artist. But the world around her is changing quickly and dangerously, limiting her options and derailing her dream. When antisemitic policies inspire violent mobs, she leaves Berlin for the safety of the south of France. There she begins to paint again and finds new love. But her work is interrupted, this time by a family tragedy that reveals an even darker secret. Believing that only an extraordinary act will save her, she embarks on the monumental adventure of painting her life story.
Guest Speaker, Edna Carter Southard
Edna Carter Southard’s research concerns the connections among art, politics, and religion. So it is logical that she is involved in local government, and has served for eight years as a member of City Council for the City of Oxford, elected in 2013 and again in 2017. After retiring from Miami University, she published Reclaiming the Biblical Narrative: Tradition, Innovation, and Gaze in Abel Pann’s Art and Politics, (2018).
In-person tickets
Reckonings
June 13 at 7:15 PM
The Neon
(130 East Fifth Street, Dayton, OH 45402)
Cost:
Individual Ticket $12
DOCUMENTARY
74 minutes
LANGUAGES
English, German, & Hebrew with Subtitles
Featured at more than ten Jewish film festivals including the Jerusalem JFF and UK JFF.
They met in secret to negotiate the unthinkable compensation for the survivors of the largest mass genocide in history. Survivors were in urgent need of help, but how could reparations be determined for the unprecedented destruction and suffering of a people? Reckonings 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. Reckonings explores this untold true story set in the aftermath of the Holocaust.
Guest Speaker, Ori Yehudai
Ori Yehudai is the Schottenstein Chair in Israel Studies and Associate Professor in the Department of History at OSU. He is the author of Leaving Zion: Jewish Emigration from Palestine and Israel after World War II, a finalist for a National Jewish Book Award. Ori earned his BA from Tel Aviv University and his PhD from the University of Chicago. Ori’s research focuses on migration and displacement, transnational history, relations between Jews and non-Jews after the Holocaust. At Ohio State, Ori teaches courses on the history of Zionism and Modern Israel,
In-person tickets
Exodus 91
June 15 at 7:15 PM
The Neon
(130 East Fifth Street, Dayton, OH 45402)
Cost:
Individual Ticket $12
DOCUDRAMA
90 Minutes
LANGUAGES
English, Hebrew, Amharic
This extraordinary film follows Israeli diplomat, Asher Naim, on a seemingly insurmountable mission: to bring 15,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel. As he learns more about these African Jews, he finds himself between worlds and faces a crisis of faith in himself and his country. Set in 1991 amidst the international politics behind Operation Solomon, Asher Naim learns he is being sent to Ethiopia to negotiate the release of thousands of Ethiopian Jews from a country collapsing under famine and civil war. Working with his Ethiopian-Israeli colleagues who themselves immigrated to Israel only a decade earlier, Asher’s faith in his mission is tested as he navigates the treacherous world of bureaucracy and politics.
Guest Speaker, Michal Avera Samuel
Michal Avera Samuel was born in Gondar, Ethiopia and made Aliyah with her family in 1984 as part of “Operation Moses” at the age of nine. She currently serves as Researcher and Coordinator of the “Shalom Curriculum Project” at the University of Wisconsin-Madison https://shalom.education.wisc.edu. Prior to this, Samuel was the community shlicha at JewishColumbus in Ohio and had a distinguished career in Israel. She served as CEO of FIDEL Association, working as a leader within the Ethiopian-Israeli community and advocating for the successful integration of Ethiopian Israelis. For Israel’s Government she sat on the prestigious Round Table Panel on Social Issues, was the research assistant from the Israel Democracy Institute to Knesset member Naomi Blumenthal, and as spokesperson and advisor to the Scholarship Fund for Ethiopian Jews in Boca Raton, FL. Beyond her dedication to advancing the Ethiopian-Israeli community, Samuel currently serves as a board member of the Israel Center for Educational Innovation and volunteered for a range of organizations, including “Women to Women” Haifa, supporting victims of domestic violence.
In-person tickets
Karaoke
June 18 at 7:15 PM
The Neon
(130 East Fifth Street, Dayton, OH 45402)
Father’s Day Special – First 50 Dads Free – must sign up with special code: DAD2023
Cost:
Individual Ticket $12
COMEDY DRAMA
100 Minutes
LANGUAGES
Hebrew with Subtitles
A bittersweet comedy about a middle-class suburban couple in their 60s who are drawn to their new neighbor, a charismatic bachelor who has karaoke evenings at his apartment.
In-person tickets
Virtual ticket
iMordecai
June 20
9:30 AM – Reception
10 AM – Film
The Neon (130 East Fifth Street, Dayton, OH 45402)
Sponsored by Hadassah
Cost:
Individual Ticket $12
COMEDY
102 Minutes
LANGUAGE
English
Available Online
A heartwarming all-star comedy delighting festival audiences around the world. Technology-challenged Holocaust survivor Mordecai (Judd Hirsch, Ordinary People, Taxi, The Fablemens) must learn how to manage iPhones, Gen Z, his fretful wife (Carol Kane, Hester Street, Taxi), and his schlemiel son (Sean Astin, Lord of the Rings, Rudy). Based on a true story, iMordecai is a love-letter to Miami and the foibles of the Jewish family in the digital age.
Guest Speaker, Tara Feiner
Tara Feiner has been the Senior Director of Jewish Family Services (JFS) since 2015. Tara received her M.S. in Education from the University of Pennsylvania, her Principal certification from Drexel University, and over 18 years of experience in education, primarily in the School District of Philadelphia. In 2021, she earned her Executive Masters in Jewish Professional Studies from Spertus Institute for Leadership and Learning in Chicago, IL.
In-person tickets
The Man in the Basement
June 22 at 7:15 PM
The Neon
(130 East Fifth Street, Dayton, OH 45402)
Cost:
Individual Ticket $12
THRILLER/DRAMA
114 Minutes
LANGUAGE
French with Subtitles
“Provocative, Intelligent and Suspenseful” (Rex Reed), The Man in the Basement is a taut thriller of family dynamics in the presence of antisemitism. The Sandberg family has a new tenant—a seemingly eccentric history teacher who comes with secrets, an agenda, and a growing influence over their neighbors…even their daughter. A film set in contemporary France which explores the limits of tolerance, the intractability of racism, and the allure of conspiracy theories.
In-person tickets
Marrying Myself
RESCHEDULED for July 9 at 7:15 PM
The Plaza Theatre
(33 S. Main Street, Miamisburg, OH 45342)
Cost:
Individual Ticket $12 can only be purchased at the door
**Tickets purchased for previous showing will be honored**
COMEDY
100 Minutes
LANGUAGE
Hebrew with Subtitles
Available Online
A hilarious screwball comedy from Israel about life, love, and friendship. An unmarried 38-year-old gives up on men but lives the fantasy of being a bride at a wedding so she decides to marry herself! While her selfish mother objects, her hilarious girlfriends support her and plan an extravagant event. What will she do when suddenly the right man shows up?
Join us for wedding cake after the film!
In-person tickets
Virtual ticket
America
June 27 at 7:15 PM
The Neon (130 East Fifth Street, Dayton, OH 45402)
Cost:
Individual Ticket $12
DRAMA
127 Minutes
LANGUAGE
Hebrew with English Subtitles
Available Online
An Israeli swimming instructor living in Chicago returns to Israel after ten years of absence to bury his father. An encounter with a beloved childhood friend and his newly engaged girlfriend sets a series of events in motion that affects everyone’s lives. This story is set between a flower shop and an ancient monastery, between a swimming pool in Chicago and the Mediterranean, between life and death – and somewhere in the middle.
In-person tickets
JCC Internatinal Film Festival Closing Night – Farewell Mr. Haffmann
June 29 at 7:15 PM
The Neon
(130 East Fifth Street, Dayton, OH 45402)
Cost:
Individual Ticket $12
DRAMA
127 Minutes
LANGUAGE
French with English Subtitles
Available Online
A flawless adaptation of an award-winning play by Jean-Philippe Daguerre, Farewell Mr. Haffmann is a tense thriller about three people caught in occupied Paris. Joseph Haffmann is the owner of a jewelry shop, now placed in the hands of his Catholic employee François. Desperate and hiding in the basement of his own shop, Haffmann’s cordial relationship with François and his wife takes a dark turn as a once good man is slowly corrupted by wartime greed and new-found authority. Described as “a constant and well-executed suspense that leans into the brilliant trio of performers” (La Nación, Argentina), Farewell Mr. Haffmann is a thoughtful account of the power dynamics between rescuer and rescued.
Virtual tickets – questions and answers
For more help or information please call 937-610-1555, Marc Jacob, JCC Senior Director
When are virtual films screenings?
Films will be available to view virtually with the following schedule
| Where Life Begins | Available Jun 6, 7:00 PM – Jun 8, 9:00 PM, in Ohio |
| Charlotte | Available June 8, 7:00 PM – Jun 10, 9:00 PM, in Ohio |
| iMordecai | Available June 20, 7:00 PM – Jun 22, 7:00 PM, in Ohio |
| Marrying Myself | Available June 25, 7:00 PM – Jun 27, 9:00 PM, in Ohio |
| America | Available June 27, 7:00 PM – Jun 29, 9:00 PM, in Ohio |
How do I play the film on my TV?
If you have an Apple TV, Chromecast (3rd gen or later), or a smart TV enabled with AirPlay or Chromecast, set your computer, mobile device or browser to “AirPlay” or “cast” to the TV device. Unlock the program on Eventive Virtual, then set your player window to full-screen using the icon at the lower right.
See our detailed instructions for our dedicated Apple TV and Roku apps below.
Chromecast will work on select Android devices, see instructions above. Chromecast on iOS devices are not compatible with the Eventive platform.
Important note: Due to content protection restrictions, the Screen Mirroring feature on Smart TVs and other devices cannot be used. Many browsers built into Smart TVs and other devices will NOT allow protected content to play.
You can also directly connect a laptop or computer using an HDMI cable by doing the following:
- Make sure your computer is close enough to your Television for the HDMI cable to reach between them safely.
- Connect one end of the HDMI cable into an available HDMI port on the TV. Take note of the HDMI input number it is being connected to.
- Plug the other end of the cable into your laptop’s HDMI out port
- Set the TV to the HDMI Input port that the computer is connected to using the source or display button on your TV remote.
- If your computer’s display does not automatically appear on your television screen, you may need to have the computer manually detect the display.
- Windows: Right-click on the desktop > Display Settings > Click Detect > Click the “Multiple displays” drop-down box and select “Duplicate these displays”) > Click Apply.
- Mac: Go to the Apple Menu > choose System Preferences > Choose the “Displays” panel > Hold down the “Option” key to show the “Detect Displays” button – note that it replaces the ‘Gather Windows’ button > Click on “Detect Displays” while holding down Option to use the function as intended.
I’m seeing a black screen where the film should be, but audio plays normally.
If you are using an external display, try disconnecting the display. Your display may not support the encryption necessary to securely stream your content. If you cannot detach the external display and are using Safari on a Mac, try switching to Google Chrome. If you are on a mobile device, try letting the film play for 15 seconds.
My film won’t play! (General troubleshooting steps)
Please confirm that you are not on a VPN (Virtual Private Network). Eventive’s content protection protocol does not allow VPN access.
Are you logged in with the correct account? Please check your login status at the upper right of the Eventive window. If you are logged in you will see a circle with the initials of the account holder. To switch accounts, click on the circle and select “sign out”, then login (using email address or facebook login) to the preferred account.
If you are not logged in, you’ll see the word “login” at the upper right of the window. Click “login” and enter the desired account credentials.
You may also login directly from the order pop-up if you click “unlock movie” while logged out.
If all you see in the player window is a black screen, please click or tap on the window to activate the player controls.
How do I use the Eventive TV app on my Apple TV device?
When you open the app for the first time you’ll see an activation code. On another device, please navigate to watch.eventive.org/tv, then login if necessary and use the code to connect your account. Now, select from the available channels on the Eventive Apple TV app to begin watching. All of your unlocked content will be available on the app. If a program has not already been unlocked, you’ll have to unlock it on another device such as a laptop or mobile device first.
If you ever need to re-activate the TV app, you can select TV app setup by hovering over the login ID circle at the upper right of the device screen.
How do I access the Eventive TV app on Fire TV or Firestick?
Select the app and install on your device. Once installed you will then see a 6 character code you will enter into your account settings at watch.eventive.org/tv
Once you have entered the code your Fire TV will show all of the content you have unlocked for viewing via another device such as a laptop or mobile device.
How do I access the Eventive TV channel on Roku?
Once you have installed the app, open it and follow the instructions to login. All of your unlocked content will be available on the app. If a program has not already been unlocked, you’ll have to unlock it on another device such as a laptop or mobile device first.
Thank you to our 2023 Film Festival Supporters
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Studio Executive
Sam Levin Foundation
Bernard Rabinowitz
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Screen Writer
Michael and Rochelle Goldstein Philanthropic Fund of Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton
Robert and Vicky Heuman
Douglas Hauer and Jack Gilad
The Gruenberg Family
Stephen Renas
Renate Frydman
Michael Jaffe and Judy Schwartzman
Cantor Andrea Raizen
Barbara Mendelson
Sue Spiegel & Lisa Hanauer
The Rubi Girls
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Crew
Eleanor Must
Dena Briskin
Kim and Candy Kwiatek
Helene Gordon
Alan and Judy Chesen
Louisa and Phil Dreety
Nick and Bobbie Schmall
Edie Pequignot
Arlene Graham
John and Emily Holt
Ruth B. Meadow
Neil Katz and Karin Hirschkatz
Gary and Andrea Abrams
Frieda Blum
Fannie Groveman
Audrey P. Tuck
Amy Margolin
Judy Heller
Helen Halcomb
Sharon and Izzy Guterman
Meryl Hattenbach
Stacy Emoff
Cherie Rosentstein
Celia and Jeff Shulman
Henry Guggenheimer
Barbara E. Blauman
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Director
Gayle and Irvin Moscowitz
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Actor
Mary Rita and Norm Weissman
David London and Kim Dinsmore
Linda and Steve Horenstein
Julie Liss-Katz and Marc Katz
Judy Lipton
Enrique and Ruth Ellenbogen
Carole and Donald Marger
Friends of the Community
Marsha and Joseph Johnston
Joan and Peter H. Wells – in memory of Rebecca Linville
Ed and Marcia Kress
David and Susan Joffe
Marlene and Terry Pinsky
Mark and Helen Jones
Gary Holstine – Stifel Investments
Patty and Mike Caruso
Marni Flagel
Ann Schenking & Michael Herrlein
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Producer
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Supporting Actor
Lynn and David Goldenberg
Linda Novak and Jerry Kuhr
Matthew and Elanie Arnovitz
Dan and Kim Shaffer
Felix Garfunkel
Joan Isaacson
Tara and Adam Feiner
Stanley and Connie Blum
Paula Gessiness and Jay Holland
Neil D. Friedman
Meredith Levinson
Lisa Blum
Libby and Ken Elbaum
Jane and Gary Hochstein
Jack and Maryann Bernstein
Debbie and Bob Goldenberg
Dayton Optometric Center
Cheryl and Franklin Lewis
Bob and Suzanne Thum
Beverly A. Louis
Alice and Burt Saidel
Elliot Ratzman
Martin Gottlieb
2023 Dayton Jewish International Film Fest Committee
Judy Schwartzman – Chair
Elliot Ratzman – Vice Chair
Jack Bernstein
Connie Blum
Mike Caruso
Alan Chesen
Enrique Ellenbogen
Ruth Ellenbogen
Renate Frydman
Felix Garfunkel
Michael Goldstein
Michael Herrlein
Gary Hochstein
Susan Joffe
Marc Katz
Ryan Levin
Meredith Levinson
Dave London
Gayle Moscowitz
Bernard Rabinowitz
Andrea Raizen
Steve Renas
Marci Vandersluis
- Marc Jacob, Sr. Director, JCC
