Movie buffs unite April 4-14: 16th Annual NH Jewish Film Fest coming to theaters in 7 communities

MANCHESTER, NH  – The New Hampshire Jewish Film Festival this year is delighted to offer its audiences a choice between virtual and in-theater screenings as it brings its international lineup to theaters in Bedford, Concord, Hanover, Hooksett, Manchester, Peterborough and Portsmouth, The multi-access festival, which will screen independent and foreign films from April 4 through April 14, includes selections from Belgium, England, France, Hungary, India, Israel, Luxembourg and the United States.

In addition, a Bonus Week (April 14-21) will allow extra virtual streaming opportunities for selected movies. In total, 13 feature films will be making their New Hampshire theater premieres!

“Our devoted film festival volunteers spend the year screening some of the best independent cinema in the world to bring these untold stories to New Hampshire,” says Pat Kalik, of Manchester, co-chair of the NHJFF. “We’re proud to play a role in bringing different communities together.”

“New Hampshire is blessed with numerous theaters and art spaces that support independent film,” adds NHJFF co-chair Ross Fishbein, of Bedford. “We’re delighted to partner with them and share storytelling and bonus experiences you just can’t find at the major cineplexes.”

Special Film Festival Bonus Events include:

Opening Night Gala Reception (Thursday, April 4) – Prior to the opening night screening of “Remembering Gene Wilder” at the Rex Theatre, audience members will gather at nearby Spotlight Room at the Palace for a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception to celebrate the start of the festival. (Separate tickets required for the reception and the film.)

PJ Library Free Children’s Event (Sunday, April 7) – The Jewish Federation of NH is hosting a free screening of “Hotel Transylvania,” the 2012 animated monster-themed comedy starring Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg, Kevin James and Fran Drescher.

“Rabbi on the Block” Q&A (Wednesday, April 10) – Chicago Rabbi Tamar Manasseh, subject of the documentary “Rabbi on the Block” will participate in a 7 p.m. live Zoom discussion with audience members and film director Brad Rothschild. Rabbi Manasseh’s life focus is building bridges between the Jewish and Black communities. (Note: This film is available for virtual screenings only from April 4-21).

Live Ballet Documentary Q&A (Thursday, April 11) – Manish Chauhan, star of the documentary “Call Me Dancer,” will participate in a post-film discussion at Red River Theatres. The event is co-sponsored by Concord’s St. Paul’s School Ballet Company, which will be hosting Chauhan at one of their classes earlier in the day. Audience members will also screen a prerecorded film conversation with director Leslie Shampaine and dance instructor Yehouda Maor.

Film Festival Wrap Party (Sunday, April 14) – Following the 3:30 pm screening of the romantic comedy “Matchmaking,” the NHJFF will host a celebratory wrap party at Red River Theatres.

The New Hampshire Jewish Film Festival strives to enhance an appreciation of extraordinary individuals, culture, identity, history and contemporary issues in Jewish and Israeli life. Using the power of film and programming to educate and entertain, the NHJFF encourages dialogue on diverse perspectives, broadening understanding and strengthening community.

The 16th annual New Hampshire Jewish Film Festival is partnering with the following Granite State venues:

• Red River Theatres (Concord)
• Nugget Theaters (Hanover)
• Southern New Hampshire University (Hooksett)
• The Rex Theatre (Manchester)
• Spotlight Room at the Palace (Manchester)
• Peterborough Community Theatre (Peterborough)
• 3S Artspace (Portsmouth)

The NHJFF is also supported by the Jewish Federation of New Hampshire, the New Hampshire State Council of the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, corporate sponsors, and Friends of the Festival.

Individual film tickets are $12 per in-theater ticket or per virtual household ticket. For  information on multi-ticket packages, movie trailers and the full film lineup, visit: https://www.nhjewishfilmfestival.com/.

2024 NHJFF Film Line-Up

(In-Theater Screenings)

Thursday, April 4

Opening Night Gala Reception

5:15 PM – Spotlight Room at the Palace, Manchester

(Separate tickets required for gala and film screening).

Remembering Gene Wilder (Opening Night)

7 PM – The Rex Theatre, Manchester

Documentary, USA (2023)

Gene Wilder, the prolific actor and screenwriter, is known all over the world for his endearing roles in classic films such as The Producers, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, Silver Streak, The Frisco Kid, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. With rare, neverbefore-seen home videos and memorable scenes from our favorite Gene Wilder films, the documentary reveals intimate insights detailing his life and career. Guest appearances include Mel Brooks, Alan Alda, Carol Kane, and Harry Connick Jr.

Sunday, April 7

The Way to Happiness

10 AM – Nugget Theaters, Hanover

Drama/Comedy, Belgium, France, Luxembourg (2023)

Saül Birnbaum is an aspiring film producer who owns a popular cinema-themed deli in 1986 Brussels. While helping a young Chilean refugee to write and direct the story of his childhood, Saül unexpectedly falls in love and is forced to confront his past as a “hidden child” who escaped the Holocaust, traveling from Vienna to Brussels with the Kindertransport at age 6.

Hotel Transylvania

3 PM – Jewish Federation of New Hampshire, Bedford

PJ Library Free Children’s Event

Animated, USA (2012)

Dracula’s plans to host a monsters-only celebration for his daughter Mavis’s birthday are complicated when an ordinary human unwittingly checks into the luxurious Hotel Transylvania and falls for Drac’s daughter. The all-star cast includes Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg, Kevin James, and Fran Drescher.

Children of Nobody

4 PM – SNHU Mara Auditorium, Hooksett

Feature, Israel (2022)

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 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 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.

Special Free Event: The Boy

6:30 PM – SNHU Mara Auditorium, Hooksett

Drama, Israel (2023)

Avinoam and Barak, father and son from a kibbutz near the Gaza strip, are each facing another round of combat in their own way.  While Avinoam insists on continuing his routine and his work in the field, Barak finds it difficult to close his eyes and continue as usual. One night, Barak reaches a boiling point and Avinoam is forced to absorb the flames.

Tuesday, April 9

All About the Levkoviches

7 PM – Peterborough Community Theatre, Peterborough

Drama, Hungary (2024)

The generous but stubborn boxing coach, Tamás, gets along well with everyone but his own son. They have not spoken since the boy, Iván, moved to Israel and became religious, joining an Orthodox community. When Tamás’s beloved wife dies unexpectedly, Tamas agrees to permit his son to sit shiva in his house as long as he brings his grandson, Ariel, with him. As past conflicts resurface, they embark on an unexpected journey of self-reflection and reconciliation.

Bella!

7 PM – SNHU Mara Auditorium, Hooksett

Documentary, USA (2023)

In 1970, Bella Abzug entered Congress ready for a fight. With her trademark hat and Bronx swagger, the first elected feminist upended the Washington patriarchy, battling for women’s equality, civil rights, and LGBTQ+ protections. She also became the target of a Washington establishment resistant to change. With her eyes set on breaking the boys’ club of the U.S. Senate or becoming New York’s first female mayor, Bella battled forces on both the right and the left, including the Nixon Administration, the CIA, the FBI, and even The New York Times. Using never-before-seen home movies, audio diaries, and rediscovered news footage, Bella! delves into a colorful and gritty era when one woman sacrificed her own political ambitions for future generations of female leadership.

Wednesday, April 10

Children of Nobody

7 PM – Nugget Theaters, Hanover

Feature, Israel (2022)

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 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 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.

Thursday, April 11

Call Me Dancer

7 PM – Red River Theatres, Concord

Documentary, India, Israel, UK, USA (2023)

** Live post-film Q&A with dancer Manish Chauhan

When Manish, a hip hop dancer from Mumbai, meets 70-year-old Israeli-American Yehuda Ma’or, who is teaching ballet at a Mumbai dance school after losing his last teaching position, their lives are forever changed. In this story of hope, heartache, and hard work, Manish and Yehuda transform each other’s lives, searching to uncover who and what they are.

Sunday, April 14

The Monkey House

1 PM – Red River Theatres, Concord

Drama, Israel (2023)

Amir Haddad, a Palestinian filmmaker, stumbles upon a complex scam concocted by Amitai Kariv, a left-wing Israeli novelist, and Margo Mai, a fast-talking young woman who is writing Kariv’s biography. Haddad considers this encounter fodder for a docu-thriller rife with passion and deceit. But Kariv, not a nemesis to be taken lightly, takes exception to Haddad’s investigation, and Margo Mai seems to be playing both sides. When narratives collide, truth is an immediate victim.

Matchmaking

3:30 PM – Red River Theatres, Concord

Romantic Comedy, Israel (2022)

Moti Bernstein is the son every mother wants, a student every rabbi loves to teach, the ideal Yeshiva study mate, the perfect match for every bride. He has it all: a good family, a brilliant mind, and he is not bad looking either. In search of a wife, he meets the best girls in the Jewish Orthodox world, but he falls for the one girl he can never have. Against everything he knows and every value he holds dear, Moti will be forced to go out on a limb in the most unexpected and unusual ways. All that remains is to see who will win: the system or the inner voice.

Film Festival Wrap Party

5:30 PM – Red River Theatres, Concord

Individual film tickets are $12 per in-theater ticket or per virtual household ticket. For more  information on multi-ticket packages, movie trailers, exclusive virtual-only screenings and the full film lineup, visit: https://www.nhjewishfilmfestival.com/.

(Virtual-Only Screenings)

April 4 – April 21

The following films will be available virtually only:

999: The Forgotten Girls of the Holocaust

(Limited availability April 11-14)

Documentary, USA (2023)

This staggering film presents the previously untold story of 999 forgotten women of the Holocaust. In March 1942, nearly one thousand young Jewish women were deported in what was the first official Jewish transport to Auschwitz. Rather than focusing on the suffering and death experienced by most of the girls, Macadam tells the stories of a small group who survived against all odds, under unimaginable conditions that lasted more than three grueling years. This film of deep research and vivid detail ensures that these women will no longer be just a historical footnote.

Home

Feature, Israel (2023)

A young, recently married Orthodox man’s dream to open a computer store in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in Jerusalem turns into a violent nightmare when the entire neighborhood sees him as an existential threat. Turning his whole world upside down, the conflict enters his home and puts his marriage to the test, as he faces the reality of his own free will within a predetermined world.

Rabbi on the Block

Documentary, USA (2023)

Tamar Manasseh, a charismatic rabbi and community activist from the south side of Chicago, wants African Americans and Jews to become closer allies. With one foot firmly in each of these communities, she is a natural bridge to help overcome decades of fear, misunderstanding, and lack of communication. This film shows how Manasseh brings together Jews of all colors and builds bridges to establish a revitalized alliance of African Americans and Jews while creating a new style of activist Judaism that takes religion out of the synagogue and into the streets.

The Story of Annette Zelman

Drama, France (2023)

This engaging and handsomely produced drama brings to light the tragic love story of Annette Zelman and Jean Jausion, whose affair in Nazi-occupied Paris was denounced to the Gestapo. While students at a French art school, Annette and Jean met and fell in love, and fate seemed to be smiling on them. But Jean’s father could not tolerate the idea of their romance and, unbeknownst to Jean, reported Annette’s Jewish identity to the Gestapo. After she was arrested and deported to Auschwitz, Jean was driven to despair by her disappearance and his father’s responsibility for it. A quintessential statement on love and romance in wartime, this riveting drama is based on actual events recounted in the book, “Dénoncer les Juifs sous l’Occupation,” (Informing on Jews during the Occupation) by Laurent Joly.

(Bonus Week Screenings)

April 14 – April 21

All of these films that initially screened in New Hampshire theaters, will be available for virtual streaming. (See film descriptions above for more information.)

All About the Levkoviches

Bella!

Call Me Dancer

Children of Nobody

Matchmaking

The Boy

The Monkey House

The Way to Happiness