Jewish International Film Festival 2022 — October–November

Overview

Usually, Australia's various film festivals only pop up once every 12 months; however, there's little that's been usual about the past few years. So in these chaotic times, the fact that the Jewish International Film Festival is returning for a second stint in 2022 doesn't seem all that out of the ordinary.

Already enjoyed the fest during its March and April run? Get ready to do so all over again. JIFF will screen 50 features and documentaries across Australia this iteration, alongside episodes from two TV shows and three short films — covering titles from 21 countries as it tours between October–December.

The whole program isn't coming to Brisbane, but consider the bill that is coming our way a best-of sample. Leading the highlights, filling JIFF's biggest-ever lineup from Thursday, November 10–Sunday, November 20 at New Farm Cinemas: a pre-fest session of Armageddon Time, which arrives after premiering at this year's Cannes Film Festival and will have its Aussie debut at the fest. Starring Anthony Hopkins (The Father), Anne Hathaway (Locked Down) and Jeremy Strong (Succession), and written and directed by Ad Astra and The Lost City of Z's James Gray, it tells a coming-of-age story in 80s-era Queens.

Also among the standouts, Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic World Dominion) narrates Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen, about bringing Fiddler on the Roof to the big screen — and Israel's Karaoke arrives after being nominated for 13 Ophir Awards. Or, there's doco The Art of Silence about mime Marcel Marceau, plus 60s-set comedy My Neighbour Adolf, featuring Udo Kier (Swan Song) as a Holocaust survivor in Colombia who thinks the German man who just moved in next door is Hitler.

The full lineup includes closing night's As They Made Us, the directorial debut of directorial The Big Bang Theory's Mayim Bialik — and Reckonings, about the negotiations between Jewish and German leaders that led to the 1952 Luxembourg Agreement.