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Film Festival

Film has the magical power to bring people together, to inspire, to educate, to help us explore our identities, and uncover new and forgotten stories.

 

For 30 years JCC Sonoma County has fostered a strong appreciation of Jewish and Israeli Cinema within the communities of our county. Continuing the tradition of superior cultural programs, the festival brings the newest and best of Jewish-themed and Israeli films that are rarely if ever featured on our local silver screens. 

Since the Fall of 2000, JCC SoCo has partnered with Rialto Cinemas to give a home for its annual Jewish Film Festival. A partnership we are proud to be a part of, and thank our friends at Rialto for their support over the years. 

The Rialto theatre in Sebastopol pictured at night looking into the bright and welcoming interior.
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2025 Film Fest

This year's film festival runs April through December, screening one film a month. Screenings take place on a Tuesday and run at 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM that day. 

April 8 and 29, May 13, June 10, July 08, August 12, Sept. 9, Oct. 14, Nov. 11, Dec. 9 

COMING UP

NewFilms
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APRIL 29th • 1 & 7pm

Yom Hashoah Special Selection

Resistance: They Fought Back

“People have this myth stuck in their heads that Jews went to their deaths like sheep to the slaughter. But this is where the real story begins…Jews did not go as sheep to the slaughter… They fought back.” Professor Richard Freund

We’ve all heard of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, but most people have no idea how widespread and prevalent Jewish resistance to Nazi barbarism was. Instead, it’s widely believed “Jews went to their deaths like sheep to the slaughter.” Filmed in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Israel, and the U.S., Resistance – They Fought Back provides a much-needed corrective to this myth of Jewish passivity. There were uprisings in ghettos large and small, rebellions in death camps, and thousands of Jews fought Nazis in the forests. Everywhere in Eastern Europe, Jews waged campaigns of non-violent resistance against the Nazis.

SONOMA COUNTY 2025 YOM HASHOAH COMMEMORATION
April 27th, 2025 • 3 PM
New Location: Congregation Shomrei Torah

LEARN MORE

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MAY 13th • 1 & 7pm

Bad Shabbos

Winner of the top audience prize at the Tribeca Film Festival, this darkly hilarious, highly entertaining, one-night-in-New-York story turns a Shabbat family dinner into a chaotic whirlwind they will never forget.

 

When two couples, Abby and Benjamin, and David and recently-converted-to-Judaism Meg, gather for what should be a typical Shabbat family dinner, an unexpected shadow looms over their night—an accidental death (or is it murder?) threatens to unravel the whole evening. As the night spirals out of control, the arrival of Meg’s Catholic parents from Wisconsin, meeting their future in-laws for the first time, only adds to the hilarious mayhem that ensues. Scrambling to maintain a façade of normalcy for their Midwestern guests, the family finds themselves creatively bending traditions—and even inventing a few new ones out of sheer desperation!

Kyra Sedgwick kills (not literally!) as the neurotic matriarch, leading an outstanding ensemble cast that includes Method Man, Milana Vayntrub, Catherine Curtin, and more familiar faces. The film’s rapid-fire dialogue, twisty script, and masterful editing keep the chaotic momentum going, delivering pure comedic gold. With its blend of family antics, sharp humor, and a warm heart, Bad Shabbos is a charmingly modern screwball comedy that brilliantly captures the hilarity and madness of one family’s unforgettable Shabbat.

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JUNE 10th • 1 & 7pm

All God's Children

In an unprecedented attempt to heal centuries of racism and antisemitism, and combat the rising racial and ethnic tension in their Brooklyn communities, activist Rabbi Rachel Timoner teams up with Baptist Reverend Robert Waterman to unite their congregations. As their faith is put to the test, both congregations struggle to not let their differences drive them apart.

ALL GOD’S CHILDREN follows their journey, offering a powerful blueprint for how other communities might bridge divides and foster true unity. This compelling narrative lays the foundation for an impact campaign that could ignite transformative change far beyond Brooklyn.

Following the feature will be a 25 min pre-taped Q&A from the World Premiere in November at DocNYC with the filmmakers and subjects
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JULY 8th • 1 & 7pm

UnBroken

As each generation ages, the need to record family history before it is forever lost increases in urgency. Filmmaker Beth Lane embarks on an international quest to uncover answers about the plight of her mother and her six siblings who, as mere children, escaped Nazi Germany relying solely on their own youthful bravado and the kindness of strangers. After being hidden in a laundry hut by a benevolent farmer, the children spent two years fending for themselves. Emboldened by their father’s mandate that they ‘always stay together,’ the children used their own cunning and instincts to fight through hunger, loneliness, bombings, and fear. Their journey culminates with a painful ultimatum, when, separated from their father, they are told that they must declare themselves as orphans in order to escape to a new life in America. Unbeknownst to them, this salvation would become what would finally tear them apart, not to be reunited for another 40 years.

 

Told with wit, warmth, and a sense of unfolding discovery, UnBroken is a heartwarming achievement.

7 PM SHOWING SPECIAL
Director Beth Lane will attend the evening showing, and do Q&A afterwards.  
2025 Sponsors

SPONSORS

Thank you to our 2025 sponsors

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PAST SHOWINGS

BECOME A SPONSOR

Become a Sponsor and enjoy all the benefits associated with your level of Sponsorship!

2025 Sponsorship Levels

ALL SPONSORS

Can expect a welcome mailer, and Sponsor's Gift Bag in person at their first attendance of the year.

PRESENTING SPONSOR | $2500 

• 4 tickets for each film

• Reserved seats

• Top-recognition on:

+ All publicity, including Film Festival website and marketing (ex: weekly eNews)

+ Pre-video advertisement at every film

• Priority underwriting on one film of one choice, with additional presenting sponsor recognition on calendar event marketing 

PREMIER SPONSOR | $1800 

• 2 tickets for each film

• Reserved seats

• Premier-tier recognition on:

 + All publicity, including Film Festival website and marketing (ex: weekly eNews)

+ Pre-video advertisement at every film

• Underwriting on one film of one choice, with additional presenting sponsor recognition on calendar event marketing 

PRODUCER | $1200

• 2 tickets for each film 

• Reserved seats

• Producer-tier (logo-only) recognition on:

+ Film Festival website and marketing materials 

+ Pre-video advertisement at every film

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DIRECTOR | $650

• 2 tickets for each film

• Director-tier (logo-only) recognition on:

+ Film Festival website 

+ Pre-video advertisement at every film

EDITOR | $500

• 2 tickets for each film

• Logo recognition on Film Festival website

​​

STAR | $250

• 1 ticket for each film

• Logo recognition on Film Festival website

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