Jewish International Film Festival: Interview with Eddie Tamir

The 2022 Jewish International Film Festival (JIFF) returns to the big screen this March, showcasing the very best in Jewish cinema. After two years of uncertainty, many, if not all of us, have adapted to change. This theme is a hallmark of the festival’s program this year, where each feature explores the challenges, the highs, the lows that accompany change. In cinemas from 2 March to 3 April 2022, Milk Bar met Eddie Tamir, JIFF’s Artistic Director, to get a sneak peek of what movies to earmark this year.

Congratulations on assembling an impressive programme of 55 feature films. Can you give our readers a sneak peek of what they can expect from this year’s Jewish International Film Festival (JIFF)? 55 brand new Australian premieres of features, documentaries and television series spanning a wide range of films from crowd pleasers to film festival award winners. Plus live events and a really impressive Australian section this year. With one feature film and two documentaries; The cross cultural feature Mother Mountain – featuring a Jewish and Indigenous Australian story with first time female director Celina Stang; and the documentaries Marianne Mathy & Her Legacy, about a Jewish immigrant and inspirational figure who has supported many Australian opera and classical musicians, creating the Marianne Mathy Scholarship; as well as The Narrow Bridge – centering on an Israeli father whose children were victims of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how they try to move forward and find a way to heal themselves, to a more healing space in the wider world, by Australian director Esther Takac. 

JIFF is known for featuring captivating true stories and thrilling features from award-winning filmmakers that illustrate the vastness of Israeli and Jewish-themed stories. Are there any particular films or documentaries showing this year that hold a special spot in your mind long after it concluded? Why is that? Our Opening Night film Simone Veil, A Woman of the Century, by award winning director Olivier Dahan (La Vie en rose). A biopic of a colossal character that is Simone Veil, who is basically the Ruth Bader Ginsburg of France. A Holocaust survivor, lawyer, human rights advocate and President of the European Parliament. 

Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song – focusing on the specific, singular song that is Hallelujah and all the famous cover versions that have been done over history and the resonance of the song throughout society. 

The Conference, 80 years on since the dastardly event of the Wannsee Conference, when the Nazis got together to plan the extermination of the Jews. A very powerful and high quality film that has high production value and is quite chilling.

Can you explain the process and project management involved in hand-selecting this year’s films and events?  It’s a year-long process to scour the world for Australian premiere features, documentaries and television series. Since travelling overseas has been problematic, we have had to rely on films being sent to us. Hopefully, in the year ahead we can travel again. We also have a great selection of live events this year, so we are also a festival of the arts. There are 4 stand-up comedy nights and 4 music gigs in our Southside performance room, all live and quality performers. Plus a live script reading of an upcoming feature film!

We reach out to the creative community and look to put together a compelling experience, which is fantastic for our audiences and for these live performers – we haven’t really them for the past 12 months and it’s great to welcome back performers to the live space. 

Greener Pastures looks like a riot. Why was it chosen as the film to launch the program? Good question! It’s a big box office hit in Israel, a crowd pleaser and comic romp caper film and at its heart, has some genuine authentic family relationships that run through it. Ultimately it’s moving and entertaining. (Melburnians can look forward to a special Classic Rooftop screening of Greener Pastures on Saturday 5 March.)

Jewish International Film Festival
Wednesday 2 March to Sunday 3 April 2022
At Classic Cinemas, Elsternwick and Cinema Lido, Hawthorn
jiff.com.au