JxJ is a multidisciplinary arts project encompassing the Washington Jewish Film and Music Festivals alongside original hybrid arts programming.
The Washington Jewish Film Festival, now in its 29th year, presents a robust lineup of international film premieres, Q&As, and sneak previews.
The Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation is the Lead Sponsor of the Washington Jewish Music Festival, which returns for its 20th edition.
JxJ Studio spotlights hybrid cultural events including comedy, theater, workshops and more.
Join us for a celebration of the 40th year of local documentary master Aviva Kempner’s filmmaking career. We examine her essential film catalog with a full retrospective.
Dir. Zaza Urushadze 102 min | GeorgiaUkraineUSA | Narrative
Directed by Academy Award-nominated director Zaza Urushadze, Anton explores the little-known story of Germans living in Russia after the First World War and during the Bolshevik Revolution.
Dir. Ziad Doueiri 105 min | Lebanon | Narrative
An Israeli-Palestinian surgeon (Ali Suliman) is shocked to discover that his wife was the terrorist responsible for a suicide bombing that killed 17 people.
Dirs. Kat RohrerGil Levanon 77 min | AustriaGermanyIsrael | Documentary
Gil is from Israel, Kat from Austria; Gil is the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, Kat the granddaughter of a Nazi officer. They have been friends for over a decade.
137 min | Russia | Narrative
Two young women search for meaning and hope in the struggle to rebuild their lives amongst the ruins of Leningrad in 1945.
Dir. Elizabeth Rynecki 78 min | USA | Documentary
An American woman’s emotional quest to find the art of her Polish-Jewish great-grandfather, lost during World War II.
The Cinematters: Social Justice Film Festival is a dual city (New York and DC) presentation of impactful films aiming to engage the community in conversation and action that leads to a more inclusive, thoughtful, and open-minded society.
Concert
FREE! Come to the renovated Edlavitch DCJCC for a morning of music, games, food, holiday crafts, a family service project, and more! Rock out to the music of award-winning Jewish performer Jason Mesches.
Dir. Otto Preminger 120 min | USA | Narrative
The 1960 American epic film on the founding of the modern State of Israel, starring Paul Newman as a resistance fighter who helps rescue 600 Jews from detention camps.
Dir. Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian 93 min | EthiopiaFranceGermanyIsrael | Narrative
During the Ethiopian civil war, a Jewish teenager hatches a scheme to keep her Christian boyfriend from being drafted, as she and her family prepare to flee the country and go to Israel.
Dirs. Ronit ElkabetzShlomi Elkabetz 115 min | FranceGermanyIsrael | Narrative
An Orthodox Israeli woman (Ronit Elkabetz) fights for three years to obtain a divorce from her devout husband (Simon Abkarian), who refuses to grant his permission to dissolve the marriage.
Dir. Kirill Mikhanovsky 111 min | USA | Narrative
In this freewheeling comedy, medical transport driver Vic risks his job to shuttle a group of rowdy seniors and a Russian boxer to a funeral, dragging clients like Tracy, a young woman with ALS, along for the ride.
Dir. Terrence Malick 173 min | GermanyUSA | Narrative
Based on real events, from visionary writer-director Terrence Malick, A Hidden Life is the story of an unsung hero who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II.
Dir. Pawel Pawlikowski 80 min | Poland | Narrative
In 1962, Anna is about to take vows as a nun when she learns from her only relative that she is Jewish. Both women embark on a journey to discover their family story and where they belong.
Dir. Hava Kohav Beller 124 min | Israel | Documentary
From Oscar-nominated director Hava Kohav Beller comes a multi-layered documentary about people born into a violent, on-going war: young Palestinians and Israelis, who face one another in a German retreat called, ‘Vacation From War’
Through the course of seven sessions—and seven seminal films curated by the professor Amitai Etzioni —we will explore a range of perspectives on the legacy of the Shoah, the Eastern European Jewish experience, the Zionist project, and more.
Dir. Taika Waititi 108 min | GermanyUSA | Narrative
Taika Waititi directs a riotous cast (Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, Rebel Wilson, Thomasin McKenzie) in this biting, comedic satire about a young German boy who discovers a Jewish girl hiding in his home and consults with his imaginary best friend, Adolf Hitler.
Dir. Rupert Goold 85 min | United Kingdom | Narrative
Legendary performer Judy Garland (Renée Zellweger) arrives in London in the winter of 1968 to perform a series of sold-out concerts.
Dir. Marcus H. Rosenmüller 113 min | United Kingdom | Narrative
An extraordinary love story between a young English woman and a German PoW, who together overcome prejudice, outrage and personal tragedy.
Our popular bi-month Klezmer brunch returns! Enjoy fantastic music paired with a delicious kosher buffet.
Dir. Aviva Kempner 95 min | USA | Documentary
A humorous and nostalgic chronicle of the life and career of Hank Greenberg, the first Jewish baseball star in the Major Leagues.
Dir. Václav Marhoul 169 min | Czech RepublicSlovakiaUkraine | Narrative
Based on the celebrated novel by Jerzy Kosinski, this staggering work of beauty follows the brutal hardships of a young Jewish boy as he wanders the countryside during World War II. Featuring standout performances from Stellan Skarsgård and Harvey Keitel.
Dir. Josh Waltezky 130 min | USA | Documentary
The first documentary to chronicle the amazing endeavors of the Jewish resistance fighters who courageously staged a sabotage offensive against the Nazi army in the city of Vilna, Lithuania.
A celebration of the Jewish songwriters and producers behind the scenes of the first decade of rock ‘n roll
Dir. Aviva Kempner 100 min | USA | Documentary
The incredible story of how businessman and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald joined with Booker T. Washington and African-American communities in the South to build over 5,500 schools for educating African-American youth during the early 1900s.
Dir. Gilles Paquet-Brenner 111 min | France | Discussion Narrative
A journalist (Kristin Scott Thomas) investigates the family history of a French Jewish woman who was arrested by the Nazis during the Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup in 1942.
A musical tribute to two Jewish-American clarinetists, both giants of the Swing Era, whose influence is felt on music to this day.
Dir. Jacob Goldwasser 90 min | Israel | Narrative
A tender and funny drama that explores the tumultuous relationship between an irascible mechanic and his exuberant special-needs son.
Dir. François Girard 85 min | CanadaHungaryUnited Kingdom | Narrative
Tim Roth and Clive Owen star in François Girard’s (The Red Violin) latest historical drama, about a man searching for his childhood best friend — a Polish violin prodigy orphaned in the Holocaust — who vanished decades before on the night of his first public performance.
Dir. Eran Riklis 113 min | BelgiumIsraelNetherlandsPortugal | Narrative
Directed by Israeli filmmaker Eran Riklis (Lemon Tree, The Syrian Bride) and based on true events, this engrossing spy thriller stars Sir Ben Kingsley as an aging Mossad agent facing his last mission.
Dir. Aviva Kempner 101 min | USA | Documentary
The first feature-length documentary about Moe Berg, the enigmatic and brilliant baseball player who turned spy for the OSS during WWII.
Dir. Matt Ratner 91 min | USA | Narrative
A failing stand-up comedian (Ben Schwartz) and an alcoholic dermatologist (Billy Crystal) give each other the confidence to face the failures in their lives.
Dir. Oleh Malamuzh 85 min | Ukraine | Narrative
A beautifully animated family film, The Stolen Princess tells the story of an artist who falls in love with the King’s daughter, only to have her abducted by the evil wizard Chornomor. In Ukranian with English Subtitles.
Dir. István Szabó 180 min | GermanyHungary | Narrative
The fortunes of a family of Hungarian Jews are followed over the course of nearly 150 years in this epic historical drama, with leading man Ralph Fiennes playing three different roles.
Dir. Nadav Lapid 123 min | FranceGermanyIsrael | Narrative
In the latest from Nadav Lapid, a young Israeli man absconds to Paris to flee his nationality, aided by his trusty French-Hebrew dictionary.
Dir. Sameh Zoabi 97 min | BelgiumFranceIsraelLuxembourg | Narrative
A comedy about a Palestinian soap opera writer who sees his career take off after a chance meeting with an Israeli soldier—until disagreements arise over the ending.
Dir. Barnabás Tóth 83 min | Hungary | Narrative
Having survived the war’s extermination camps, and the loss of his wife and sons, Dr. Aldo Kőrner returns to Budapest. There he meets 16-year-old Klára, a fellow survivor with a wild energy that’s both infectious and troubling.
Dir. Nikolaus Leytner 108 min | Germany | Narrative
A tender tale of a young man’s friendship with Sigmund Freud (Bruno Ganz) during the Nazi occupation of Vienna. Encore performances of JxJ’s Closing Night Film.
Dir. Aviva Kempner 20 min | USA | Short
Today I Vote for My Joey is a tragic comedy about the 2000 Presidential Elections in Palm Beach County.
Dirs. Anayansi PradoHeather Courtney 85 min | USA | Documentary
The Unafraid follows the lives of three DACA students in Georgia as they navigate activism, fight for the rights of their families and communities, and pursue their dreams.
Dirs. Josh SafdieBenny Safdie 134 min | USA | Narrative
A charismatic jeweler (Adam Sandler) makes a high-stakes bet that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime.
Dir. Jaye and Adam Fenderson 113 min | USA | Documentary
Set in the cities of Akron, Atlanta, Boston and Los Angeles, five individuals failed by America’s higher education system fight for a second chance at opportunity.
Dir. Aviva Kempner 92 min | USA | Documentary
Hailed in the 1930s as The First Woman of Radio, Gertrude Berg was a first-generation, Jewish-American woman who was instrumental in building the very industry that seems to have forgotten her.
