Washington Jewish Film Festival rebrands; Md. Film Festival returns

This week, the Washington Jewish Film Festival (WJFF) returns in an exciting new format. A program of the Eldavitch D.C.-JCC, the new multi-disciplinary arts festival called JxJencompasses the WJFF and the Washington Jewish Music Festival and will also incorporate original cutting-edge hybrid arts programming.

According to JxJ director Ilya Tovbis, the new festival will include 83 feature-length and 21 short films from 22 countries, as well as live musical performances, art exhibits, conversations with artists, food and more. The celebration of the global Jewish experience will include programming in 30 or so languages.

JxJ will include the return of “Rated LGBTQ,” the popular queer cinema series, along with a new programming strand called BEATSxJ that will focus on cinema that showcases music and musicians.

The festival opens May 8 with “Redemption,” a moving and exuberant film about a single father who returns to his rocker past to raise money for his daughter’s medical treatment. The festival closes May 26 with “The Tobacconist” about a young man’s friendship with Sigmund Freud during the Nazi occupation of Vienna. Freud is played by the legendary actor Bruno Ganz in his final film performance.