Mission: The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival promotes awareness, appreciation and pride in the diversity of the Jewish people. Festival programs create community and strengthen consciousness of Jewish identity, history and culture; provide a dynamic and inclusive forum for exploration of and dialogue about the Jewish experience; and encourage independent filmmakers working with Jewish themes.
Programs: The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival is a year-round organization whose signature program is its renowned annual Festival. Each summer the SFJFF screens approximately 60 independent Jewish-subject films and videos in 4 cities across the San Francisco Bay Area, to an audience of more than 30,000. Through foundation support we offer several free screenings each year for senior and immigrant audiences. The Festival has brought many outstanding filmmakers and public figures to the Bay Area including Israeli and Palestinian journalists and intellectuals, French and Russian actors, and influential artists working with Jewish themes.
In addition to the summer Festival, SFJFF offers year-round screenings to the public and in private sneak previews, programs films in both Jewish and secular venues, and maintains an industry-standard Resource to Independent Jewish film on the web at www.sfjff.org.
Since 2001, the Festival has run an innovative education program (the New Jewish Filmmaking Project) teaching filmmaking and storytelling techniques to teens, which has resulted in the first body of work from contemporary American youth exploring Jewish identity. The Festival staff and web site act as an ongoing resource both for Jewish film buffs and for other Jewish film festivals worldwide. Our donor affiliation program, the Jewish Film Forum, brings film lovers together to enjoy and support SFJFF's year-round programs and mission.
The SF Jewish Film Festival is a stellar organization -- celebrating 30 years of presenting creative, edgy, stimulating film and discussions throughout the SF Bay Area. I've been a member of the audience for nearly 30 years, and a donor for more than 10 years, and now a board member for 4 years, and I'm continually impressed with the quality of its presentations.