The New Hampshire Jewish Film Festival is a service of the Jewish Federation of New Hampshire.
Beefies
NH Premiere
Director: Adam Lebowitz-Lockard
Comedy Short, 2021, USA
10 minutes
English
Josh wants to find his late mother’s “beefies” recipe for a pandemic Passover, but finds he must reconnect with his estranged brother to do so. Josh will have to figure out her fractured recipe or burn down his kitchen trying.
“A short film that will put a smile on your face and warm your heart.” Alan Ng, filmthreat.com
Ganef
NH Premiere
Director: Mark Rosenblatt
Short, 2020, United Kingdom
14 minutes
English with Yiddish phrases
London, 1962. When six-year-old Ruthie is asked by her glamorous but troubled mother to hide some fancy shopping bags from Lynn, the cleaner, she is baffled. In this big, lonely house, Lynn is more than a housekeeper, she is Ruthie’s friend. But on learning that a thief (a ganef in Yiddish) stole from her mother’s family in Frankfurt during the Holocaust, Ruthie becomes paranoid. And when she witnesses Lynn innocently pocket a silver bowl for cleaning, Ruthie has her worst fears confirmed: Her friend is a thief. The actions Ruthie takes to protect her home will cause her treasured friendship to fall apart.
Best UK Short, Nottingham International Film Festival 2020: Best Narrative Short, New Renaissance London 2020; Selection: LA Shorts 2020, Manhattan Shorts 2020, Hollyshorts 2020
Masel Tov Cocktail
NH Premiere
Directors: Arkadij Khaet, Mickey Paatzsch
Short, 2020, Germany
30 minutes
German, Russian with English subtitles
A Russian-Jewish teen in Germany offers a fierce comic take on modern Jewish life and the hypocritically tolerant way in which his world works.
Winner, Jury Award: Atlanta Jewish Film Festival 2021, Boston Jewish Film Festival 2020, San Francisco Jewish Film Festival 2020, Rome Independent Film Festival 2020
The Shabbos Goy
NH Premiere
Director: Talia Osteen
Short, 2019, USA
7 minutes
English
In this delightful comedic short, God literally forbids Chana to turn off her vibrator gone rogue, so she sets out on a quest to find someone who can.
Winner, Best Narrative Short: San Francisco Jewish Film Festival 2020
Selection: Austin Film Festival 2019, Napa Valley Film Festival 2019
The Tattooed Torah
NH Premiere
Director: Marc Bennett
Short Animated Film, 2021, USA
21 minutes
English, Hebrew
Over the last three decades, the beloved children’s book by Marvell Ginsburg,"The Tattooed Torah," has been a powerful resource for Holocaust education for children all over the world. The book recounts the true story of the rescue and restoration of a small Torah from Brno, Czechoslovakia. The adaptation of "The Tattooed Torah” into an animated short film is a three-generation endeavor, initiated by Marvell’s daughter, Beth Kopin, who first dreamed of transforming this book into a film and is an executive producer. Beth’s son Brett co-wrote the screenplay. The film is narrated by the late Ed Asner.
Winner: Best Shorts’ Outstanding Achievement Humanitarian Award 2020
"The story of this extraordinary Torah’s survival through the Holocaust has a powerful new branch in the animated The Tattooed Torah, especially for students and young learners who need knowledge and inspiration as they take on the responsibilities of the future." Stephen D. Smith, Finci-Viterbi Endowed Executive Director, USC Shoah Foundation
