Jascha Heifetz:  God's Fiddler
Feature Documentary, USA, 2011, director Peter Rosen, 88 minutes, color, English  
Not since Paganini had there been such a magician on the violin. Jascha Heifetz was the first truly modern virtuoso, a man about whom Itzhak Perlman said, 'When I spoke with him, I can't believe, I'm talking to God'. Heifetz was a legendary but mysterious figure whose story embodies the dual nature of artistic genius. The paradox of how a mortal man lives with immortal gifts - gifts he must honor, but which extract a life-long price. Is the man and the artist the same person? What is the price each pays? And who was the man behind the music?

2012 Award Recipient:  Peter Rosen
The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to an outstanding Jewish filmmaker whose contributions to the Motion Picture Industry have made a difference in the pursuit of filmmaking excellence.

Peter Rosen has produced and directed over 100 full-length films and television programs which have been distributed world-wide and have won awards at all the major film festivals. He has worked directly with some of the most important figures in the arts such as Leonard Bernstein, Yo-Yo Ma, Beverly Sills, Sherrill Milnes, Stephen Sondheim, Alexander Godunov, Midori, Martha Graham, Placido Domingo, Van Cliburn, Claudio Arrau, Byron Janis, I. M. Pei, and Garrison Keillor.  

Q&A with Peter Rosen to follow the screening.

Online ticket sales now closed.

Please come at least 30 minutes early to venue to purchase your tickets for this event! 

The Longing: The Forgotten Jews of South America
Feature Documentary, Argentina, 2007, director Gabriela Bohm, 77 minutes, color, Spanish with English subtitles
A small group of South Americans are eager to affirm their Jewish faith. Their ancestors, Spanish Jews, were forced to convert during the Inquisition. Even after centuries of living in the New World as Catholics and intermarrying, their families still managed to secretly pass down some Jewish traditions from generation to generation. These practices have convinced them that they were originally Jews and fuel their desire to convert.  Isolated in Catholic countries, rejected by local Jewish communities, they battle to become Jews regardless of the consequences. 

Q&A with the Director along with an open conversation with representatives from the Converso Community of Santa Maria, CA.

Online ticket sales now closed.

Please come at least 30 minutes early to venue to purchase your tickets for this event! 

San Luis Obispo Museum of Art
Let your kids (or grandkids) enjoy some hours of theatre while you attend the festival!

The Bris
Narrative Short, Australia, 2010, directed by CJ Johnson, 15 minutes, color, English
James is dying of liver failure at an old age. Called to his bedside, his son Marcus discovers that James is not only not circumcised, he is not even a Jew! And unless he can get circumcised before he dies, he will not be allowed to be buried next to his wife in the Orthodox cemetery in which she lies.
Q&A with the director CJ Johnson after the film.

Losing Control
Narrative Feature, USA, 2011, directed by Valerie Weiss, 105 minutes, color, English
A quirky romantic comedy about a female scientist applying scientific thinking to her love-life to who wants prove her boyfriends is “the one.”  The film is directed by Valerie Weiss, a critically-acclaimed, award-winning writer and director who has won numerous awards including a BAFTA Student Film Award. The film stars a talented ensemble cast headed by Miranda Kent and Reid Scott.

A Q&A with the director Valerie Weiss after the film.

Online ticket sales now closed.

Please come at least 30 minutes early to venue to purchase your tickets for this event! 

A very special dinner and celebration of this year’s festival at the lovely Ciopinot Seafood Grille Restaurant. Fine wines and wonderful fresh grilled fish (no shellfish), local fruits and vegetables and unique desserts, including a sundae bar! 

Each dinner ticket includes entry to the 7 pm Movie Screening IV.

Online ticket sales now closed.

Please come at least 30 minutes early to venue to purchase your tickets for this event! 

The Big Bris
Narrative Short, USA, 2011, director Olen Pelg, 18 minutes, color, English
Mo Green is a young aspiring comedian whose first big comedy gig falls on the same night as his circumcision ceremony.
Q&A following the film with director Olen Pelg and actor Casey Adler.

The Matchmaker
Narrative Feature, Israel, 2011, director Avi Nesher, 112 minutes, color, Hebrew with English subtitles
A teenage coming of age story about Arik, a teenage boy growing up in Haifa in 1968, gets a job working for Yankele Bride, a matchmaker and mysterious Holocaust survivor. As Arik begins to learn the mysteries of the human heart through his work with Yankele, he falls in love with Tamara, who has just returned from America and is full of talk of women's rights, free love and rock and roll. The disparate parts of Arik's life collide in unexpected, often funny and very moving ways as he lives through a summer that changes him forever. 

Online ticket sales now closed.

Please come at least 30 minutes early to venue to purchase your tickets for this event! 

Includes tickets to all festival movies, Opening Reception, and Dinner

Includes all Sunday movie screenings and Filmmakers Dinner at Ciopinot