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Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival returns for its 17th Annual Celebration of World Class Jewish Film
19-27 November,
at the Asia Society Hong Kong Center
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25 world class films will be screened, many Asian premieres, centered around the theme 'Remember'
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Hong Kong, October 2016: HKJFF is delighted to announce its 17th annual film festival at the Asia Society Hong Centre.
Many of the selected dramas, documentaries and shorts are making their Asian debut at the festival, and include films by acclaimed directors and well as works by up and coming filmmakers.
This year's festival theme is 'Remember', also the title of our opening night film. A large number of films deal with the Holocaust, each tackling this difficult and sensitive subject with new perspectives. The theme encourages viewers to look back, question, and reflect on this major historical tragedy that still affects our lives today.
The lead film
Remember,
with Academy Award Winners Christopher Plummer and Martin Landau, is a gripping thriller in which the darkest chapter of the 20th
century collides with a contemporary mission of revenge. Other chilling films that deal with the perpetrators of the Holocaust include
The Interrogation
, about the trial of Rudolf Hoss, the longest serving commander of Auschwitz, and
The Eichmann Show
, which dramatizes the events surrounding the televising of the trial of Adolf Eichmann in 1961 in Jerusalem. Set in the same time period as the latter but taking place in America,
Experimenter
tackles the topic of the Holocaust from a totally different perspective, portraying the life of famed social psychologist Stanley Milgram (Peter Sarsgaard) whose radical behavioral experiments hit a nerve and sparked a public outcry.
Keep Quiet
is a controversial documentary charting the journey of Csanad Szegedi, leader of Hungary's far right party, from passionate anti-Semite and Holocaust denier to Orthodox Jew.
As in previous years there are many excellent films from Israel, including features like Fire Birds, a darkly comic detective tale which will keep audiences on the edge of their seats, and Wounded Land, a tragic and tense thriller that highlights the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict when the friendship between two policemen is put to the test. A different view of Israel's political reality is presented in The Settlers, a documentary offering a fascinating and at times provocative look at the history of Israeli settlements, with the power to provoke strong reactions from our audiences.
Food lovers will be drawn to entertaining films such as The Pickle Recipe, and Hummus the Movie - a light hearted look at the story of Israel's national dish - and themed refreshments will be served for those with whetted appetites!
Several films have been selected with teens in mind, such as Les Héritiers, a powerful story based on true events about a motivational history teacher who inspires her troubled inner-city students, and the laugh-out-loud Time to Say Goodbye, a coming of age story about a 12- year old German boy dealing with his parent's divorce.
For the first time in HKJFF history, we will be screening a series of selected shorts consecutively on a Sunday afternoon, with a mix of sad, funny, satirical and romantic stories to showcase up-and-coming film talent.
We look forward to welcoming both new and seasoned film lovers at our 17th annual celebration this November.
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For media queries and interview requests, contact:
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Nicole Izsak
Tel: +852 6017-6805
Email:
info@hkjff.org
High resolution images, synopses and a full list of our films are available at:
http://www.hkjff.org/festival-2016/pressmedia-section/
ABOUT THE HONG KONG JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL
HKJFF Society Limited (also known as Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival) is Asia's first festival showcasing the best Jewish-themed films from around the world. Founded in 1999, it became a registered charity in Hong Kong in 2006. In 2011, the HKJFF came under the fiscal sponsorship of the Center for Jewish Culture & Creativity, a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization in the US.
The objectives of the Festival are to celebrate Jewish culture; to entertain, educate and enlighten; and to provide a platform for cross-cultural communication. The Festival strives to create an event where people can come together to not only enjoy good films, but also to meet fellow film-lovers and have fun.
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