The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival (AJFF), the world’s largest Jewish Film Festival, has unveiled its full lineup and official schedule of films for the 16th annual event, returning for another expansive 23 days from Tuesday, January 26 through Wednesday, February 17, 2016.
The 2016 AJFF will present 77 films from 26 countries, including five World Premieres, nine North American Premieres and four U.S Premieres. AJFF is excited to bring major new works, on Jewish and Israeli themes, to multiple theater venues across Atlanta. As a leading exhibitor of international and independent cinema, AJFF continues to play a vital role in Atlanta’s development as a major film center.
“We are proud to unveil the sprawling lineup for the 2016 AJFF, featuring diverse, high-caliber films from around the globe,” says Kenny Blank, executive director for AJFF. “This is a cultural celebration and an artistic showcase meant to feed the soul and the mind, as well as entertain. It is more than just a night at the movies –it is a curated experience that engages and inspires diverse audiences with film through a Jewish lens.”
The 2016 AJFF kicks off with must-see Opening Night film, director Atom Egoyan’s Remember, a potent revenge thriller starring Oscar-winners Christopher Plummer and Martin Landau.
More twists and turns await in the murder mysteries A Grain of Truth and Fire Birds, while there’s plenty to laugh about in the coming-of-age comedy Time to Say Goodbyeand subversive satire Atomic Falafel.
In the wake of the horrific Paris attacks and as prelude to the upcoming U.S. elections, topical films tackle terrorism, immigration and reproductive rights in, respectively, Je suis Charlie, Children of Giant, and The Law.
Unforgettable performances define Wedding Doll and the U.S. Premiere of The People vs. Fritz Bauer, and music takes center stage in East Jerusalem West Jerusalem, Flory’s Flame and the U.S. Premiere of The Midnight Orchestra.
Biographies include filmmaker Sidney Lumet, Yiddish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer, and philosopher Hannah Arendt. The 20th anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination has prompted two portrayals of the fallen leader: Rabin in His Own Words and Rabin, the Last Day.
AJFF has surveyed the international festival circuit to bring such art house fare as the enchanting Song of Songs, the quietly unsettling Mountain, the shocking Tikkun and ghostly Demon.
The festival will also present Woody Allen in The Front and Dustin Hoffman in Marathon Man, Hollywood classics celebrating 40th anniversaries.
The world-class festival comes to a mouth-watering conclusion with In Search of Israeli Cuisine on Closing Night with a post-film sampling of Israeli delicacies.
Of more than 200 other Jewish film festivals worldwide, AJFF has achieved the rank of the world’s largest such festival, with record-breaking attendance of 38,600+ moviegoers in 2015. This milestone achievement adds to AJFF’s existing status as the largest film event of any kind in Atlanta. In just 15 years, AJFF’s broad-based multi-cultural audience has enabled the festival to emerge as one of the South’s foremost arts celebrations.
Stay connected with #AJFF2016 via social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @ATLJewishFilm.