Schedule of the Event:

April 3, 2025

MIDAS MAN

Celebrate Opening Night of the 19th Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival with MIDAS MAN at the Yiddish Book Center!

Set against the kaleidoscopic backdrop of Swinging Sixties London, this stylish biopic explores the genius and demons of the trailblazing Jewish manager hailed as the “fifth Beatle.” Brian Epstein’s visionary efforts catapulted The Beatles from a scrappy Liverpool band into the biggest music phenomenon that defined a generation. This captivating film chronicles Epstein’s unyielding belief in The Beatles' potential, and the personal toll he paid as he sacrificed everything to elevate his artists to the pinnacle of fame. Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT) stars in the lead role, alongside Eddie Marsan and Emily Watson.

Please join us at 6:30 PM before the film for a festive Opening Night reception.

NARRATIVE FEATURE | 2024 | 102 MINUTES
UK | ENGLISH
DIRECTED BY JOE STEPHENSON

Time: 7:00pm

April 4, 2025

AIN'T NO BACK TO A MERRY GO-ROUND

Emmy Award-winning director Ilana Trachtman’s invigorating, nuanced documentary recalls a small yet crucial chapter in the Civil Rights Movement. In 1960, five students from Howard University perched defiantly on a merry-go-round in Maryland’s Glen Echo Amusement Park, which had been segregated since the turn of the 20th century, and refused to leave. As their sit-in gained national attention, the Black students were joined in their resistance by members of Bannockburn, a mostly Jewish housing community across the street. Borrowing its title from a Langston Hughes poem, AIN'T NO BACK TO A MERRY-GO-ROUND features a voice-over cast that includes Mandy Patinkin, Jeffrey Wright, and Dominique Thorne, among others. Inspired by her own family history, Trachtman -- whose father was a Jewish labor organizer -- has created an uplifting work of historical excavation that reminds viewers of the importance of collaboration and humility in the face of injustice.

DOCUMENTARY | 2024 | 90 MINUTES
USA | ENGLISH
DIRECTED BY ILANA TRACHTMAN

Time: 2:00pm

April 5, 2025

THE PROPERTY

Fiercely proud Regina (veteran Israeli comic actress Rivka Michaeli) and her granddaughter Mika (Sharon Strimban) embark on a journey from Israel to Warsaw’s wintry streets to reclaim property seized during World War II. What begins as a quest to reclaim a family flat becomes a deep journey of self-discovery and reconciliation. Dana Modan’s touching adaptation of her sister Rutu Modan’s award-winning graphic novel is nominated for four Israeli Academy Awards, including Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay.

NARRATIVE FEATURE | 2025 | 108 MINUTES
ISRAEL, POLAND | HEBREW AND POLISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
DIRECTED BY DANA MODAN

Time: 7:45pm

April 6, 2025

WELCOME TO YIDDISHLAND

This captivating documentary offers an upbeat, witty, and timely exploration of a global community of artists who are rediscovering and revitalizing the endangered Yiddish language through their progressive and provocative creative works. Together, as we travel through Yiddishland – not a homeland but a heartland without borders – we journey across continents, from Melbourne to Berlin, New York to Haifa to meet the diverse array of individuals who find solace, identity, and inspiration within Yiddish language and culture.

Post-screening discussion with Lisa Newman, Director of Publishing and Public Programs, and Caleb Sher, Senior Bibliography Fellow, at the Yiddish Book Center.

DOCUMENTARY | 2024 | 97 MINUTES
AUSTRALIA | ENGLISH
DIRECTED BY ROS HORIN

Time: 11:00am

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THE GLORY OF LIFE

Set against the picturesque Baltic Sea coast in 1923, this tender drama captures Franz Kafka’s final year, transformed by the redemptive power of love. The fragile writer, battling tuberculosis and an overbearing family, finds an unforeseen connection with Dora Diamant, a spirited young woman working at a Jewish community center. Their romance blooms into a profound partnership, carrying them through Berlin to an Austrian sanatorium where Kafka confronts his mortality with newfound peace.

NARRATIVE FEATURE | 2024 | 104 MINUTES
GERMANY | GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
DIRECTED BY JUDITH KAUFMANN AND GEORG MAAS

Time: 2:00pm

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BAD SHABBOS

The 19th annual Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival continues with a screening of BAD SHABBOS at Greenfield Garden Cinemas!

A Shabbat dinner goes terribly wrong in this fast-paced, ensemble comedy. David and Meg - an engaged interfaith couple - plan to introduce the bride’s Catholic parents from Wisconsin to the groom’s Jewish family at a Shabbat family dinner in Manhattan. That is, until an accidental dead body gets in the way of introductions! The star-studded cast includes Kyra Sedgwick and David Paymer, as well as a sensational comic performance by rapper Method Man. Winner of the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award.

DRAMATIC COMEDY | 2024 | 90 MINUTES
USA | ENGLISH
DIRECTED BY DANIEL ROBBINS

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Time: 6:30pm

April 7, 2025

ELIE WIESEL: SOUL ON FIRE

This essential documentary offers an intimate and unprecedented look into the life and legacy of writer, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. With exclusive access to Wiesel’s family and personal archives, the film delves into the passions, struggles, and enduring impact of a man who became a powerful voice for human rights. It also explores the driving forces behind Wiesel's relentless advocacy, the dilemmas he faced, and the relevance of his teachings today, as the memory of the Holocaust is fading.

DOCUMENTARY | 2024 | 87 MINUTES
USA | ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, AND HEBREW WITH ENIGLISH SUBTITLES
DIRECTED BY OREN RUDAVSKY

Time: 7:00pm

April 8, 2025

MOSES EZEKIEL: PORTRAIT OF A LOST ARTIST

The Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival continues with a matinee screening of MOSES EZEKIEL: PORTRAIT OF A LOST ARTIST at the Springfield Museums.

Moses Ezekiel (1844-1917) was a world-famous American sculptor, who had been born and raised in a large Jewish family in Richmond, VA. Before becoming an artist, he was the first Jewish cadet to be enrolled at the Virginia Military Institute and was among a class of cadets who fought for the Confederacy in the 1864 Battle of New Market during the U.S. Civil War. This documentary tells Ezekiel's story, while also focusing on the modern-day debate over the presence of Confederate monuments in the U.S., including those made by Ezekiel. From the award-winning director of 50 CHILDREN and THE LEVYS OF MONTICELLO.

Ticket purchase includes entry to the D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts. Stay after the screening and enjoy the galleries!

DOCUMENTARY | 2024 | 56 MINUTES
USA | ENGLISH | DIRECTED BY STEVEN PRESSMAN

Time: 2:00pm

THE BLOND BOY FROM THE CASBAH

Please join us for Closing Night of the Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival at the Amherst Cinema.

Passionate filmmaker Antoine travels to his birthplace, Algiers, with his young son to present his new film: an account of his childhood in 1960s Algeria during the country’s civil war. As he wanders through the city, the filmmaker immerses us in the moments of laughter and tears of his childhood – spent between school, friends, and his Sephardic Jewish family. Growing up in the final moments of Algeria’s pre-independence period, the young Antoine discovers his profound fascination with cinema and starts to understand who he truly is. A joyful and nostalgic love letter to the Algiers of prolific French filmmaker Alexandre Arcady’s youth, this enchanting semi-autobiographical drama won Best Film at the UK Jewish Film Festival.

Post-screening discussion with Dr. Simon Sibelman, Professor Emeritus, French and Holocaust Studies, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.

NARRATIVE FEATURE | 2024 | 126 MINUTES
FRANCE | FRENCH AND ARABIC WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
DIRECTED BY ALEXANDRE ARCADY

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Time: 7:00pm

Date: April 3-8, 2025

Locations:
Yiddish Book Center, 1021 West Street, Amherst, MA 01002
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue, Springfield, MA 01105
Springfield Jewish Community Center, 1160 Dickinson Street, Springfield, MA 01108
Greenfield Garden Cinemas, 361 Main Street, Greenfield, MA 01301
Amherst Cinema, 28 Amity Street, Amherst, MA 01002

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