The Oklahoma Jewish Film Festival’s mission is to use the power of compelling stories to bring people of all religions and cultures together to enrich, educate, and entertain about the global Jewish experience. We offer films that bring people together, spark conversations, and combat antisemitism and all forms of hatred. OKJFF includes an educational component, offering a free Holocaust educational film to middle and high school teachers as part of their curriculum teaching students about history, hate, intolerance, and the effects of being a bystander.
For special programming information click the blue button under the film description.
Tickets: $12/film or $70 for Festival Pass; Tickets can be purchased at the Circle Cinema box office or on their website.
Sunday, March 23, 3 pm
Bad Shabbos
Comedy | English | 84 minutes
Winner of the 2024 Tribeca Audience Award, this fast-paced comedy is set on a single night during a New York City Shabbos dinner. Bad Shabbos follows an engaged interfaith couple who are about to have their parents meet for the first time. Then, an accidental death gets in the way. Uproariously funny with an ensemble featuring Kyra Sedgwick, Method Man, David Paymer, and Milana Vayntrub, this dark comedy is filled with twists, turns, and laughs you won’t see coming!
Chairs: Moishe Pod Tulsa, David and Sarah Howman
Sunday, March 23, 7 pm
Sabbath Queen
Documentary | English | 105 minutes
With special guest Alistair Abulafia DeVane Summers
Filmed over 21 years, Sabbath Queen follows Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie’s journey as the heir of 38 generations of Orthodox rabbis who is torn between accepting his ancestral destiny or becoming a drag queen rebel. In addition to his drag persona, Lau-Lavie is a queer bio-dad and the founder of Lab/Shul: an everybody-friendly, G-d optional, artist-driven, pop-up experimental congregation. With incredible access, award-winning director Sandi DuBowski (Trembling Before G-d, Sundance 2001) joins Rabbi Amichai on a life journey and cinematic quest to creatively and radically reinvent religion and ritual while challenging gender norms in a rapidly changing 21st century.
Monday, March 24, 7 pm
Soda
Drama | Hebrew (subtitled) | 99 minutes
With a special introduction by director Erez Tadmor
Lior Raz (Fauda) stars as Shalom Gottlieb, a former partisan leader and factory foreman in an Israeli working-class neighborhood in 1954. Eva (Rotem Sela, Beauty and the Baker) is a beautiful seamstress who arrives in town with her daughter. For Shalom, she represents a chance at happiness and a life filled with beauty and laughter. But rumors of her past as a Kapo during the Holocaust shake the community, and Shalom’s desire to be with Eva betray both his family and the fellow survivors living in the neighborhood. Amidst these swirling suspicions, he is determined to discover the truth. Nominated for 3 Israeli Academy Awards.
Chair: Mark Lobo
Tuesday, March 25, 7 pm
Yaniv
Comedy | English | 85 minutes
Two desperate high-school teachers from the Bronx become embroiled in a high-stakes caper that is way over their heads. Their misadventure begins with noble intentions, as they try, albeit unsuccessfully, to secure funding for a spring musical production for their students. Their unconventional solution? Infiltrating an underground card game called “Yaniv” run by an ultra-Orthodox Jewish group, all in pursuit of claiming the coveted prize money. However, despite their best-laid plans, chaos ensues, resulting in a riotous, comedic unraveling with moments of profound depth and heartwarming warmth.
Chairs: Dancey Apple and Craig Kovin
If you are a Festival Pass holder and want to purchase dinner, please call 918-935-3662.
Wednesday, March 26, 1 pm
Shari and Lamb Chop
Documentary | English | 92 minutes
Introduction by Tulsa puppeteer David Bizarro
All film goers have a chance to win a Lamb Chop doll!
This heartfelt and entertaining film charts the life, loves, and career hits and misses of the spunky children’s television pioneer Shari Lewis, a young Jewish girl from the Bronx to the country’s most famous ventriloquist. She was a dancer, singer, and magician, but was best known as the ventriloquist behind sock puppets Charlie Horse, Hush Puppy and, of course, Lamb Chop. Featuring ventriloquists she inspired and nostalgia-laden clips, this upbeat portrait brims, like Lewis, with warmth and charm.
If you are a Festival Pass holder and want to purchase lunch, please call 918-935-3662.
Wednesday, March 26, 7 pm
The Blond Boy from Casbah
Drama | Subtitled | 126 minutes
Introduction by Dr. Danielle Gurevitch, Director, The Dangoor Centre, BIU Israel
A film within a film, this loving portrait of the once thriving Sephardic community in Algiers in the 1960s finds a famed French filmmaker returning home with his teenage son to present his beautifully reenacted memoir. Growing up in the final moments of Algeria’s pre-independence period, the young Antoine discovers his profound fascination with cinema and starts to understand who he truly is. In the present, the adult Antione wanders through the city, immersed in the moments of happiness, laughter, and tears of his youth – spent between school, friends, and his Jewish family.
Chairs: Kate Basch and Donna Gantner
If you are a Festival Pass holder and want to purchase dinner, please call 918-935-3662.
Thursday, March 27, 7 pm
Running on Sand
Comedy/Drama | Subtitled | 104 minutes
Optional pre-film African-inspired meal at 5:45 pm
Post-film discussion with Rabbi Dan Kaiman and Genevieve Rahim from Congregation B’nai Emunah, Refugee Resettlement Program
When Aumari, a young Eritrean refugee living in Israel is about to be deported back to his home country, he is mistakenly identified as the new key acquisition for the Maccabi Netanya soccer team. Despite the absence of any soccer talent, Aumari’s survival depends on his ability to heal the divisions of his struggling team and lead them to success. Nominated for the Israeli Academy Award for Best Film and a popular sensation in Israel, this heartfelt and humorous tale of mistaken identity sheds light on the challenges faced by refugees – and stars the charismatic Congo-born actor Chancela Mongoza and a group of other African migrant actors.
Chairs: Jackie Lasky and Terry Marcum
If you are a Festival Pass holder and want to purchase dinner, please call 918-935-3662.
Festival Sponsors:
Brian E. Brouse
David and Randee Charney
Lithaprint
Mizel JCDS
Scott and Jolene Sanditen Philanthropic Fund
Jon and Angie Stolper
Dave (z”l) and Barbara Sylvan
OKJFF Educational Film
Free Educational Screenings
Tuesday, March 25 — Thursday, March 27 at 10 am
BIG SONIA (Documentary; 45 minutes)
at the Circle Cinema
Teaching materials provided for pre-movie viewing and post-movie discussion with our Holocaust Education team.
A limited amount of transportation scholarships are available by request.
For more information contact Sofia Thornblad, Director of Holocaust Education at 918-492-1818.
Teenage Sonia Warshawski was living in Poland when the German army invaded. Her father and brother were shot, her sister disappeared; she and her mother became slave laborers and were finally deported to a death camp. Now in her nineties, Sonia is a vibrant woman who speaks to students and prison inmates about her story of unimaginable suffering, but also of hope, resilience, and a refusal to hate. An emotional yet charming film, Big Sonia has won countless theatrical awards. She is the ultimate survivor, a bridge between cultures and generations, and her story must never be forgotten.
Become a Sponsor!
With your support, the OKJFF preserves and celebrates the rich tapestry of Jewish heritage, offering films that bring awareness to important issues. Your commitment helps us bring some of the world’s best Jewish and Israeli films to Tulsa each year and continue to grow our educational outreach. We have sponsorship opportunities for individuals and businesses, with plenty of visibility for your business. Thank you in advance for your generous support!
