Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival

The Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival (GPJFF) announces its upcoming 27th Annual Festival taking place February 19 through March 5, 2023. This year marks the gradual return to theaters after going virtual the past couple years.

The 2023 Festival will feature both in-person and virtual screening components, each celebrating Jewish culture with an exciting lineup of films showcasing Jewish life, traditions, history and heritage. The longest-running film festival in the Valley, the Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival enters its 27th year by presenting 24 feature-length Jewish films hailing from over a dozen different countries. The festival’s executive director Robert Nagle joins Ted to talk about the event.

“The mission is to bring Jewish themed or Jewish profiles to the general community, not just the Jewish community,” said Nagle.

The films highlight Jewish history, heritage and traditions, among other things, are highlighted in the films. The event showcases a variety of types of film including comedy, drama, thrillers and documentaries. In fact, the festival will feature its first ever animated film this year.

The animated feature, Charlotte, highlights the voice of Kiera Knightley as a young Jewish artist who escapes from Germany to France.

“She tried to paint her life story before something terrible should cut her own life short,” said Nagle. “It’s a wonderful film.”

This year, the Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival is back in person, but only for a limited time.

“For our festival, we’re reintroducing live shows, bringing the festival back to an audience, a crowd that can interact with each other,” said Nagle. “But we’re introducing that slowly, we’re having two days of features. ”

In person viewing will be held this Sunday February 19, and Monday February 20, in multiple theaters across Scottsdale and Tempe.