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PVJFF Hits You Can Stream Online
Dear Film Friends,
We hope that you are staying healthy and safe during these uncertain times.
The Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival is proud to share with you 10 festival favorites from recent PVJFFs. Thanks to a partnership with Menemsha Films, a distributor that our festival works with throughout the year, these films can be rented or purchased for a discount on Amazon Prime Video and iTunes.
Enjoy these selections and let us know what you think! We look forward to seeing you very soon.
A gripping, clear-eyed drama imbued with hope for understanding, humanity, and peace. – Film at Lincoln Center
Crescendo
Watch it at home February 26, as of 12:00 PM (Link available for 72 hours)
Join the virtual discussion Monday, March 1, 7:00 PM
A renowned conductor assembles an orchestra of Israeli and Palestinian youth, only to be drawn into a tempest of distrust and discord. For personal reasons, maestro Eduardo Sporck (veteran actor Peter Simonischek) agrees to arrange a symbolic concert for a Middle East peace summit in Italy. But corralling the young artists - sworn enemies from the Arab-Israeli divide - is easier said than done. As auditions begin in Tel Aviv, conflict between the factions flares up almost instantly. It takes all the conductor's skills to get his musicians in harmony, building to a tense, emotional finale.
An impressive cast of Israeli and Palestinian non-actors, lends authenticity to this powerful drama, loosely inspired by Daniel Barenboim's West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. (Note adapted from Atlanta Jewish Film Festival.)
Speaker: Crescendo screenwriter Stephen Glantz
Honorary Award, 2020 Cinema for Peace
Co-sponsored by Diane Troderman
Drama | 2019 | 106 minutes Germany | English and German with Subtitles Directed by Dror Zahavi
The most elaborate, visually brilliant and unexpected documentary on the topic. A cinematic masterpiece. – RBB
It Must Schwing! The Blue Note Story
Watch it at home February 20, as of 7:00 PM (Link available for 48 hours)
Join the virtual discussion Monday, February 22, 7:00 PM
In 1939, Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, two young Jewish émigrés from Berlin, founded the legendary jazz label Blue Note Records in New York. The label dedicated itself exclusively to the recording of American jazz music and developed its own unmistakable recording style and sound. Blue Note Records discovered and produced an impressive roster of international jazz stars. This included Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Thelonius Monk, and Quincy Jones.
At a time when African-American musicians in the U.S. were discriminated against and ostracized, Blue Note Records respected them as artists and equals. Not only did the label value their talents, it also gave them a much-needed platform. It Must Schwing! tells the moving story of two friends, united by a passionate love for jazz, and of their profound belief in equality and freedom for every single human being.
Speakers: Larry Hott, Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and owner of Florentine Films/Hott Productions, and David W. Sanford, Elizabeth T. Kennan Professor of Music at Mount Holyoke College
Documentary | 2018 | 115 minutes Germany | English and German with Subtitles Directed by Eric Friedler
A remarkable story. Beautifully told. – Daily Star (UK)
The Keeper
Watch it at home March 12, as of 12:00 PM (Link available for 72 hours) Open Caption screening
A decorated ex-Nazi paratrooper plays for redemption on the soccer field in this rousing and romantic drama, based on a true story.
Released from a British prisoner-of-war camp, Bert Trautmann's goalkeeping skills secure him a position on the Manchester City team, where he catches the eye of the club manager's daughter Margaret. But his arrival also arouses the post-war ire of fans, many of them Jewish. With unexpected support from a local rabbi, Trautmann wins over his critics, famously playing the 1956 FA Cup Final with a broken neck. Unbeknownst to him was that his greatest challenge was yet to come.
Featuring a sympathetic lead performance by David Kross (Steven Speilberg's War Horse), this magnificent epic speaks to the power of sports to unite.
Important: This is an "open caption" screening.
Co-sponsored by Betsey and Malcolm Freedman
Drama | 2018 | 119 minutes United Kingdom | English and German with Subtitles Directed by Marcus H. RosenmÜller
Director in Attendance
A must see... – Tablet Magazine
Four Winters
Thursday, March 26, 7:00 PM Yiddish Book Center, Amherst
This essential documentary tells the stories of Jewish partisans who took up arms against Hitler’s war machine. Despite extraordinary odds, over 25,000 Jews bravely fought back against the Nazis and their collaborators from deep within the forests of Eastern Europe. These determined men and women, many barely in their teens, engaged in acts of sabotage, blowing up trains, burning electric stations, and attacking armed enemy headquarters. The last surviving partisans tell their stories to director Julia Mintz who shines a spotlight on their bravery through inspiring interviews, personal photographs, and rare archival footage. Four Winters is a stunning, heartfelt narrative of heroism and resilience.
Introduction and post-screening Q&A with director Julia Mintz. Dessert reception to follow.
Co-sponsored by the Yiddish Book Center
Documentary| 2020 | 98 minutes USA| English Directed by Julia Mintz