SUNDAY, APRIL 7
NOON
Opening Reception for sponsors and festival pass holders
1 P.M.
HOPE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES
(Israel 2023; 65 minutes)
Amidst the war in Ukraine, an Israeli field hospital is established to care for those affected by the conflict. The medical teams face challenges as they treat Ukrainian patients who have lost everything. The film highlights the intersection of history, culture, and compassion as the Israeli teams, some descended from Holocaust survivors, offer help and hope to those in need. A touching portrayal of humanity and the power of small acts of kindness to bring people together.
2:30 P.M.
MARCH ‘68
(Poland 2022; 117minutes)
Set against the backdrop of the volatile Communist era of 1960s Poland, this coming-of-age story pits romance against politics. Hania, a Jewish theatre student, falls in love with Janek, a student at the University of Technology. When her parents lose their respective jobs due to Wladyslaw Gomulka’s antisemitic purges, Hania opts to stay in Poland instead of emigrating with them. Politics soon catches up with the young lovers .
4:30 P.M.
Panel discussion featuring Kalman Weiser, associate professor Silber Family Chair of Modern Jewish Studies, York University and Piotr Wrobel, Polish-Canadian historian and expert specializing in Polish history and Central and Eastern European history.
MONDAY, APRIL 8
6:30 P.M.
WOMEN IN SINK
(Israel 2015; 36 minutes)
Women in Sink tells the story of a little hair salon in the heart of the Christian Arab community in Haifa, where
director Iris Zaki goes to work as a shampoo girl. Placing her camera above the washing-basin, where the clients
enjoy a head massage, Iris converses with Arab and Jewish women from different generations and backgrounds on
varied topics; from politics and war to love. Through this unique interaction, the women’s stories portray life in Israel
from a personal and often-unexpected point of view.
7:15 P.M.
Pre-recorded Q & A with director Iris Zaki
8:00 P.M.
CHILDREN OF NOBODY
(Israel 2022; 108 minutes)
Living on the fringes of Israeli society, troubled boys must band together to save the shelter for at-risk youth that has kept them off the streets. For generations, altruistic surrogate mother, Margalit (Tiki Dayan), provided loving refuge to victims of neglect and violence in a shabby house on Tel Aviv’s outskirts. When tragedy strikes, it’s up to right-hand man Jackie (Roy Assaf) to keep the home from corrupt property developers, and assuage a social worker’s scrutiny. With tough love from “big brother” Jackie, the young men must now be accountable for their own lives, and save their refuge from a dire fate. Inspired by a true story, this compassionate drama gives voice to those on the periphery, often unnoticed and uncared for.
TUESDAY, APRIL 9
6:00 P.M.
THE BOY
(Israel 2023; 25 minutes)
Avinoam and Barak, father and son from a Kibbutz bordering the Gaza strip, are forced to deal with another round of rockets and combat, each in their own way. One night, Barak reaches a boiling point and Avinoam is forced to absorb the heat.
Director, actor and filmaker Yahav Winner, 36, was killed protecting his wife and newborn baby after terrorists stormed into their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023.
6:40 P.M.
MAN IN THE BASEMENT
(France 2021; 114 minutes)
Starring Bérénice Bejo (The Artist) and François Cluzet (Untouchables), The Man in the Basement is a suspenseful psychological thriller and a timely exploration of antisemitism. Parisian couple Simon and Helene Sandberg are relieved when they find a trustworthy buyer for the basement in the apartment building they own. Only after the deed is signed do they discover that he is not the benign former teacher he initially portrayed himself to be, but a Holocaust denier who propagates his lies on the internet. As the couple struggles to rescind the sale, the increasingly menacing buyer insinuates himself with their teenage daughter, turning the family’s idyllic world upside down.
8:45 P.M.
Pre-recorded Q&A with director Philippe Le Guay
ORDER TICKETS HERE