Archives: Events

Shorts Program 1: Against the Grain

Edlavitch Jewish Community Center, Cafritz Hall 1529 16TH STREET NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036, DC, United States

From a rented mansion in suburban Texas, a group of young men sell a hyperbolic, alpha-male version of themselves on the internet.nThe U.S. Supreme Court decision Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization from June 2022 sparked a national response, particularly in the Jewish community. Inspired by the lived experiences of Jewish women, lawsuits are currently being launched by rabbis, Jewish organizations, and interfaith leaders to challenge the overturning of Roe v. Wade - on the grounds of religious freedom.nOver 50 years ago, Assemblyman George Michaels cast a single vote on New York's abortion bill that changed the course of American history but destroyed his political career in the process.nIn 2009, Daryl Johnson, a Department of Homeland Security intelligence analyst wrote a highly controversial report laying out the rising threat of right-wing extremism. Today, many of the report’s most dire predictions have materialized.nRunning out of time and money, Editor and Publisher Laurie Brown battles an oil bust, a global pandemic, and a growing mistrust of the media as she tries to keep her newspaper alive in rural Texas.

Pay or Die

Edlavitch Jewish Community Center, Cafritz Hall 1529 16TH STREET NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036, DC, United States

The US healthcare system is the most expensive in the world and close to half of all Americans reportedly struggle to pay for their healthcare. Pay Or Die explores the crushing financial reality for millions of insulin dependent Americans living with diabetes, as pharmaceutical companies push the price of this life saving medication to exorbitant levels, making record breaking profits.

Bad Press

Edlavitch Jewish Community Center, Cafritz Hall 1529 16TH STREET NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036, DC, United States

When the Muscogee Nation suddenly begins censoring their free press, a rogue reporter fights to expose her government’s corruption in a historic battle that will have ramifications for all of Indian Country.

Art For Everybody

Edlavitch Jewish Community Center, Cafritz Hall 1529 16TH STREET NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036, DC, United States

Thomas Kinkade’s pastoral landscapes made him the most collected and despised painter of all time. After his shocking death, his family discovers a vault of unseen paintings that reveal a complex artist whose life and work embody our divided America.

A Still Small Voice

Edlavitch Jewish Community Center, Cafritz Hall 1529 16TH STREET NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036, DC, United States

A Still Small Voice follows Mati, a chaplain completing a year-long hospital residency, as she learns to provide spiritual care to people confronting profound life changes. Through Mati’s experiences with her patients, her struggle with professional burnout, and her own spiritual questioning, we gain new perspectives on how meaningful connection can be and how painful its absence is.

I Like it Here

Edlavitch Jewish Community Center, Cafritz Hall 1529 16TH STREET NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036, DC, United States

The film is a glimpse of what life looks like on the last lap. It features encounters with friends and neighbors in their 70s; most with a healthy sense of humor. Mixed into these visits are the filmmaker's daily POV confrontations with the unavoidable objects and hazards of aging.

The Eternal Memory

Edlavitch Jewish Community Center, Cafritz Hall 1529 16TH STREET NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036, DC, United States

The Eternal Memory tells an uplifting yet heartbreaking love story that balances vibrant individual and collective remembrance with the longevity of an unbreakable human bond.

Time Bomb Y2K

Edlavitch Jewish Community Center, Cafritz Hall 1529 16TH STREET NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036, DC, United States

As the clock counts down to the dawn of the new millennium, America is forced to contend with the largest technological disaster to ever threaten humanity. Crafted entirely through archival footage, Time Bomb Y2K examines how we grapple with existential threats in an increasingly technological world.

Confessions of a Good Samaritan

Edlavitch Jewish Community Center, Cafritz Hall 1529 16TH STREET NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036, DC, United States

Director Penny Lane’s decision to become a “Good Samaritan” by giving one of her kidneys to a stranger launches her on an unexpectedly funny, intimate, and provocative quest to understand why everyone seems to think she’s crazy.

It’s Only Life After All

Edlavitch Jewish Community Center, Cafritz Hall 1529 16TH STREET NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036, DC, United States

Blending forty years of home movies, raw film archive, and intimate present-day verité, a poignant reflection from Amy Ray and Emily Saliers of Indigo Girls – the iconic folk rock duo. A timely look into the obstacles, activism, and life lessons of two queer friends who never expected to make it big.

Your Fat Friend

Edlavitch Jewish Community Center, Cafritz Hall 1529 16TH STREET NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036, DC, United States

From anonymous blogger to NYTimes best-selling author, and beloved podcast host, Aubrey Gordon is ushering in a paradigm shift in the way that we view fat people. A film about fatness, family, the complexities of making change, and the deep, messy feelings we hold about our bodies, Your Fat Friend charts the complexities of finding a place in the world when you don’t quite fit in.

Queendom

Edlavitch Jewish Community Center, Cafritz Hall 1529 16TH STREET NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036, DC, United States

Gena, a queer artist from a small town in Russia, stages radical performances in public that become a new form of art and activism—and put her life in danger.