Jewish International Film Festival 2017

Overview

It has been 28 years since the first Jewish film festival reached Australian screens, and the annual cinema showcase is still going strong. If a movie hails from Israel or explores Jewish culture, it's likely to end up in the Jewish International Film Festival's program — including opening night's Yiddish-language drama Menashe, Orthodox community-set screwball romantic comedy The Wedding Plan, the intimate exploration of grief and connection (and baked goods) that is The Cakemaker, and the Kevin Spacey and Nicholas Hoult-starring JD Salinger biopic Rebel in the Rye, which closes out the fest.

They're just some of  this year's JIFF's highlights, and there's more where they came from. In fact, the complete 2017 lineup boasts 65 films from 26 countries, including features and documentaries from Israel, Australia, Argentina, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, the UK and the USA.

If you're a fan of Jewish-themed cinema, prepare to settle in for the long haul when JIFF does the rounds from October. Melburnians can get their fix at the Classic Cinemas in Elsternwick from October 25 to November 22, and at the Lido Cinemas in Hawthorn from October 26 to November 21 as well.