Mark Zuckerberg and Roman Roy walk into a bar. Sort of.
In A Real Pain, which headlines the Jewish International Film Festival, The Social Network’s Jesse Eisenberg and Succession’s Kieran Culkin star as mismatched cousins who, along with a gang of retirees, travel through Poland on a historical tour of Holocaust sites. Eisenberg’s darkly funny film – marking his first outing as director, writer and star – garnered rave reviews at Sundance.
In addition to A Real Pain, the Jewish International Film Festival brings a further 40 feature films to local audiences, many of which are making their Australian premiere at the festival. Focusing on Jewish life and culture, the films come from creators in 17 countries.
The festival will run in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart and Perth.
Highlights from the documentary program include The Commandant’s Shadow, a factual counterpart to the Academy Award-winning The Zone of Interest, which follows Hans Jürgen Höss as he explores his father’s legacy as the commandant of Auschwitz and Janis Ian: Breaking Silence, which charts the singer-songwriter’s career over six decades, starting from the ’60s when she made waves as a teenager at the heart of the American civil rights movement.
The festival’s narrative film program is equally strong. Tatami, which is set over the course of a single day at the World Judo Championship, is directed by Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv. The film is the first collaboration between Iranian and Israeli filmmakers. Helen Mirren and Gillian Anderson star in White Bird, a follow-up to the best-selling novel Wonder. The Kiwi-made Kid Sister will also make its Australian premiere at the festival. The comedy follows Lulu, a young woman who is approaching 30 (and with it, the label of spinster), as she navigates her family’s expectations with the added obstacle of a pregnancy to her very-not-Jewish boyfriend.
Melbourne
Sun October 27 to Wed December 4 – Classic Cinemas, Elsternwick
Mon October 28 to Tue December 3 – Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn
Sat November 9 to Wed November 13 – Cameo Cinemas, Belgrave
Sydney
Mon October 28 to Thu December 5 – Ritz Cinemas, Randwick
Thu November 7 to Wed November 20 – Roseville Cinemas, Roseville
Adelaide
Thu November 7 to Sun November 17 – The Piccadilly, North Adelaide
Brisbane
Thu November 7 to Sun November 17 – New Farm Cinemas, New Farm
Canberra
Sat December 7 & Sun December 8 – Dendy Canberra, Canberra
Hobart
Thu November 7 to Sun November 17 – State Cinema Hobart, North Hobart
Perth
Sat December 14 to Sun December 22 – Luna Leederville, Leederville
