Festivals & Series
Sonoma County Jewish Film Festival
Since the Fall of 2000, the Jewish Community Center of Sonoma County has called Rialto Cinemas home for its annual Jewish Film Festival. Produced and programmed by the Jewish Community Center, the Jewish Film Festival presents films about the Jewish experience, both past and present, here at home and around the globe. Over the years, this festival has become a cherished tradition, presenting captivating films that explore the rich tapestry of the Jewish experience, spanning both historical narratives and contemporary stories.
Beginning in April of 2024, Rialto Cinemas will team with the JCC to present a monthly film series showcasing a diverse selection of films that celebrate Jewish heritage, culture, and identity.
Jewish Film Festival
Stay With Us
Tuesday, August 20 1 & 7pm
Not Rated
90 mins
Comedy
After three successful years living and working in America, French-Jewish actor and comedian Gad Elmaleh decides to move back home to Paris. He misses his family and friends. Or, at least that’s what Gad tells his loving yet overbearing parents, Régine and David. However, it’s not long before his parents find out the true reason for their son’s return — after a long period of ambivalence towards his own Jewishness, Gad has officially decided to convert to Catholicism. Dumbfounded by his sudden obsession with the Virgin Mary, and with only five weeks before his baptism, Gad’s family endeavor to bring him back to Judaism for fear of losing him forever…MORE INFO
Jewish Film Festival
Vishniac
Tuesday, September 17 1 & 7pm
Not Rated
90 mins
Documentary
From the cosmopolitan streets of pre-war Berlin to the shtetls in Poland and Lithuania to the Princeton offices of Albert Einstein, VISHNIAC takes viewers on a journey, through the lens of one of the foremost photographers of the 20th century. Roman Vishniac is best known for having traversed Eastern Europe from 1935 through 1938, on assignment for the American Joint Distribution Committee, to photograph Jewish life in Eastern Europe. The purpose of the photographs was to raise funds for impoverished Jewish communities. Few predicted that less than a decade later, these communities would be wiped out, and that Vishniac’s photographs would provide the last visual records of an entire world…MORE INFO
Jewish Film Festival
Bella! This Womans Place is in the House
Tuesday, October 15 1 & 7pm
Not Rated
TBD mins
Documentary
As Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi lead the nation, they travel a path blazed by several women before them, notably Bella Abzug. In 1970, when the United States was ruled by men, Bella challenged the status quo, running a successful campaign from the streets of Manhattan that elevated her all the way to the halls of Congress. With her trademark hat and Bronx swagger, Bella entered Congress swinging, battling for credit cards for women, equality for the LGBTQ community and trailblazing a path for leadership that reflected the broad diversity of the country…MORE INFO
Jewish Film Festival
The Road to Eliat
Tuesday, November 19 1 & 7pm
Not Rated
105 mins
Drama
In Hebrew with English Subtitles
Albert, an aging war veteran, brilliantly played by Shmuel Vilozni, makes a drunken bet: he will drive his beat up tractor (top speed: 35km/hour… downhill) the length of Israel to Eilat, in one week. Ben, his grumpy, unemployed son, is obligated to join him. Their funny and bittersweet journey towards forgiveness and understanding takes them on a road trip from their kibbutz through Israel’s neglected backyard, meeting others along the way who also strive for a better life.
Jewish Film Festival
The Klezmer Project
Tuesday, December 17 1 & 7pm
Not Rated
110 mins
Documentary
Argentinian cameraman Leandro makes a living from filming Jewish weddings. At one of his jobs, he falls in love with Paloma, the clarinetist of the wedding band. To seduce her he pretends to be shooting a documentary film about Klezmer, the traditional Yiddish folk music. What Leandro does not know is that his “fake” film project will take him on an unscripted journey throughout Eastern Europe in search of the last remaining Klezmer melodies.