5th Moscow Jewish Film Festival
The 5th Moscow Jewish Film Festival is an annual international film festival, which aims to gather in the program features, documentaries, shorts and animated films on the subject of Jewish culture, history and national identity and contemporary problems.
The festival was held in Moscow from 23 to 30 June 2019 at the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, Documentary Film Center, cinema GUM, KARO 11 cinema Oktyabr, Moskino Zvezda, Moskino Kosmos, Knizhniki and Moscow Jewish Community Center.
== Opening film ==
The ceremony opened with the concert of the composer Alexei Aigui and Ensemble 4'33'. The welcome speech at the Opening ceremony was held by the President of Jury Timur Weinstein and American director Shawn Snyder presented his film To Dust as the Russian premiere and the opening film of the 5th Moscow Jewish Film Festival.
== Jury ==
Timur Weinstein – President of the jury General producer of the NTV television company, member of the International Academy of EMMY, Academy of Russian Television, Russian Academy of Cinematographic Arts.
Main CompetitionArtem Vasilyev – Producer, CEO of METRAFILMS Studio. Producer of such films as Paper Soldier, A Room and a Half, Act of Nature, Under the Electric Clouds, Anna's War, Dovlatov, The Humorist.
Nigina Sayfullaeva – Russian film director, screenwriter and producer. The creator of such films as About love. Only for adults, What is my name, Loyalty.
Stephen Mao – American film producer and President of Studio Mao a film production, distribution, and finance company.
Jacqueline Semha Gmach – Author of From Bomboloni to Bagel: A Story of Two Worlds. A board member of San Diego Organizations, Anti-Defamation League, Agency for Jewish Education, American Technion Society, etc. She is a project director of USC Shoah Foundation.
Nick Holdsworth – Writer, journalist and filmmaker with 25 years’ experience of covering Russian and Eastern European affairs.
Nikita Lavretski – Film director. Nikita Lavretski made his feature film debut with ‘Belarusian Psycho’ which received the Best Belarusian Film Award at the 2015 Minsk International Film Festival Listapad. His 2019 feature ‘Sasha's Hell’ was selected by Moscow International Film Festival.
Svetlana Ustinova – Theatre and film actress, producer, scriptwriter. Graduated Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, with Vladimir Grammatikov as professor. In 2018 she was accepted to Chekhov Moscow Art Theatre's troupe.
Documentary Film Competition JuryYevgeny Gindilis – Russian film and TV producer. A member of the European Film Academy and Kinosouyz. He is the Head of CentEast Moscow; Executive Director of the Red Square Screenings film market. Co-Founder of Kinopoisk film market. General producer of TVINDIE Film Production.
Georgy Molodtsov – Director, producer and VR content expert. Board member of the Russian Documentary Guild. As director and creative director at the Social Advertising Laboratory he implemented more than thirty social-issue campaigns.
Denis Kataev – Journalist, host of the information service, as well as programs Artificial selection and Lectures on the Rain TV channel.
Narrative Short Film Competition JuryKirill Vasilyev – Director of the film Well, Hello, Oksana Sokolova, the TV series Fitness. The winner of the film festival “Koroche” 2016.
Yanna Buryak – Producer, founder of the Mimesis film company and co-founder of the distribution company VOSTOK. Mimesis' most successful films are: Fedor's Journey Through Moscow At The Turn Of The XXI Century and Milk.
Dmitry Yakunin – Producer, director of the Youth Center of the Union of Cinematographers of Russia, Secretary of the Union of Cinematographers of Russia, General Producer of the All-Russian Project Short Film’s Day, Director of the Moscow Film Festival Budem Zhit.
== Public Council ==
A public council, created in 2017, continued its work and included the following filmmakers and leaders of the Jewish community:Alexander Boroda, Chairman of the Public Council – Rabbi, the President of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, Founder and General Director of the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, a member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation
Yuri Kanner – President of Russian Jewish Congress, Vice President and member of the steering committee of World Jewish Congress
Mikhail Gusman – Journalist, First deputy director general of ITAR-TASS, recipient of the Russian State Prize, Honored Journalist of the Russian Federation.
Boruch Gorin – Journalist, publisher
Dorit Golender – diplomat, public figure, former Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the State of Israel in the Russian Federation (2010-2015)
Alexander Mitta – film director, screenwriter
Garry Koren – diplomat
Svetlana Maksimchenko – Producer, Moskino General Director and Executive Secretary of Moscow Film Commission.
Susanna Alperina – journalist, writer
Anton Dolin – Journalist, film critic
== Board Of Trustees ==
Elena Kaller – Entrepreneur, co-founder of the Yakov Kaller Award
Anton Klyachin – Lawyer, Managing partner of the law firm Salomons.
Igor Marich – Financier, Managing Director for money and derivatives markets, member of the Management Board of PJSC Moscow Exchange.
== Creators ==
CEO and Producer – Egor Odintsov
Program Director – Vanya Bowden
Producer – Konstantin Fam
Executive Producer – Anna Adamskaya
Executive Producer – Elena Barkova
Educational Director – Michael Libkin
Line Producer – Diana Nadarova
Educational Manager – Tatyana Bezhenar
Media Manager – Margarita Voevodina
== Program ==
=== Main Competition ===
 Narrative Feature:
To Dust (2018) — United States
Fig Tree (2018) — Ethiopia, France, Germany, Israel
Dolce Fine Giornata (2019) — Poland
Red Cow (2018) — Israel
The Unorthodox (2018) – Israel
Seder-Masochism (2018) — United States
=== Competition ===
 Documentary Feature:
93Queen – United States
Advocate (2019) — Israel, Canada, Switzerland
Chekhov and Levitan (2019) – Russia
The Waldheim Waltz (2018) — Austria
City of Joel (2018) – United States
Dina Rubina. On the sunny side (2018) – Russia
In Her Footsteps (2017) — Israel
 Documentary Short:
Arpad Weisz (2018) – Italy
The Archive (2018) – United Kingdom
Death Metal Grandma (2018) – United States
Never locked (2018) – Israel
Life Through a Lens (2016) – United States
Art Undercover (2017) – Israel
Nazi VR (2017) – Germany
A Night at the Garden (2017) — United States
My Father’s Son (2018) — Israel
Wendy’s Shabbat (2017) — United States
Edek (2018) – United Kingdom
 Narrative Short:
The Entertainer (2017) – United Kingdom
Still alive (2017) – Australia
Double Date (2016) – Canada
Division Ave (2019)  – United States
A Hand Sewn Star (2018) – France
Mum's Hairpins (2019) – Ukraine, Russia, Germany
Mr. Bernstein (2016) – Canada
A Prayer (2017) – United States
In His Place (2018) – Israel
Hope Dies Last (2017) – United Kingdom
OMA (2017) – United States
The Offspring (2018) – Israel
Travelogue Tel Aviv (2017) – Switzerland
Shmelky (2018) – Israel
=== Out of Competition ===
 Special screenings
Anna's War (2018) — Russia
Skin (2018) — United States
Sefarad (2019) – Portugal
 Narrative feature
Here and Now (2018) – Israel
Winter Hunt (2017) – Germany
New Year Repair (2019) – Russia
Promise at Dawn (2017) – France, Belgium
The Mover (2018) – Latvia
Synonyms (2019) — Israel, France
 Documentary feature
Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life (2018) — Israel, Germany
Itzhak (2017) – Israel, United States
Carl Laemmle (2019) – United States
King Bibi (2018) – Israel
Megiddo (2018) – Israel, Canada
Museum (2017) – Israel
After Auschwitz (2017) – United States
Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz (2018) — United States
 Retro
Inglourious Basterds (2009) — United States, Germany
From Hell to Hell (1996) – Russia, Belarus, Germany
Triumph Over Violence (1968) — Soviet Union
=== Education ===
The educational program was organized with the support of the Genesis Philanthropy Group.
Stephen Mao held a discussion about significance of the film Skin in today's political and social environment. The Q&A session following the documentary Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life took place in Documentary Film Center, where Jonathan Agassi’s mother Anna Langer and film director Tomer Haymann talked about a story of love and trust.
Main Competition participants were invited to Moscow to present their films and talk to MJFF audience. Thus, Eliran Malka presented his film The Unorthodox and the star of Red Cow Avigaiil Kovari with Israeli sexologist Katya Katsman held discussion about female friendship, old traditions and modern prohibitions. Seder-Masochism were presented by its director Nina Pailey, who held a Q&A session with film critic Dina Goder. A conversation about love, loss and decomposition followed the screening of To Dust with Shawn Snyder as a guest.
A Q&A “Filming in Ethiopia with an international crew” led by Yotam Ishay — Graduate of the Film and Television department in Tel-Aviv University, following the screening of the feature film Fig Tree took place at the Oktyabr Cinema center. 
The Jewish Museum and Tolerance center hosted the screening of Triumph Over Violence and arranged a dispute “Why everyone should watch Triumph Over Violence” with Nikolai Svanidze, Vsevolod Chaplin, Mikhail Gusman, Boruch Gorin, Konstantin Fam, Jacqueline Gmach as special guests.
=== Events ===
The 5th Moscow Jewish Film Festival opened with the screening of To Dust, directed by American director Shawn Snyder, who held the welcome speech at the Opening with the President of Jury Timur Weinstein. The closing ceremony of the 5th Moscow Jewish Film Festival was held in the Moskino Kosmos. The jurors presented awards in each of the four competition categories and one special prize.
Moreover, within the festival the Honorable prize for outstanding contribution to the development of Jewish cinema in Russia was presented to Dmitry Astrakhan for his film From Hell to Hell.
This year Yakov Kaller award for the best Russian Jewish film of 2019 was given to Anna's War by Aleksey Fedorchenko. Elena Kaller, Yakov Kaller’s widow, presented the award to producer of the film Artyom Vasilyev.
The inaugural special Organizers' Award was bestowed upon director Nina Paley, the author of the animated feature Seder-Masochism.
Berel Lazar, the Chief Rabbi of Russia, awarded the Special Award of the 5th Moscow Jewish Film Festival for Contribution to Preservation of Sephardic Culture and History to Yigal Dias Benzion, the President of the Jewish Community of Oporto who represented the film “Sefarad”.
== Winners ==
Winner of nomination Best Film – The Unorthodox (2018)
Winner of nomination Best Documentary Feature – Advocate (2019)
Winner of nomination Best Short Film – Travelogue Tel Aviv (2017)
Winner of nomination Best Documentary Short Film – My Father’s Son (2018)
Jury Prize – To Dust (2018)
Honorable prize for outstanding contribution to the development of Jewish cinema in Russia – Dmitry Astrakhan
Yakov Kaller Award – Anna's War (2019)
Organizers' Award – Seder-Masochism (2018)
Special Award of the 5th Moscow Jewish Film Festival for Contribution to Preservation of Sephardic Culture and History – Sefarad (2019)
== Partners ==
Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia
Blavatnik Family Foundation
Genesis Philanthropy Group
Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center
Russian Jewish Congress
The network of cinemas Karo
The network of cinemas Moskino
Azimut Hotels
Ekaterinburg Jewish Film Festival

== External links ==
Official website