Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dr. Ruth and Jonathan Agassi: 3 reasons to get into the Jewish International Film Festival

Featuring 60 films from 23 countries, the Jewish Film Festival builds on almost 30 years of bringing the best of Jewish cinema to Australia, presenting 28 features, 29 documentaries, and full season screenings of three superb TV series to audiences in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Canberra.

“This year’s Festival celebrates stories of people who have forged new paths – from the groundbreaking sexual therapist Dr Ruth Westheimer and the late actor Anton Yelchin, to innovators like Lea Gottlieb, the designer behind the iconic Gottex bather brand,” said Jewish International FilmFestival Artistic Director, Eddie Tamir. “We are also thrilled to present the premieres of three excellent Australian films; a great selection of American indie titles; compelling stories from the Holocaust era; and Jojo Rabbit – one of the strongest films we have ever presented.”

3 Must-See movies at Jewish Film Festival:

Bigger: is the story of fitness pioneer, Joe Weider, a Jewish child of the Depression whose obsession with weight training and bodybuilding was born from aspiration to strengthen and emancipate himself from schoolyard prejudice. of weight-training and bodybuilding, and ultimately creates a fitness empire. We fall his beginning through to the the late 1960s, where he nurtured an unknown Austrian named Arnold Schwarzenegger to worldwide acclaim on the Mr. Olympia/Mr. Universe circuit.

Showing at the following cinemas:
Event Cinemas Morley
Cameo Cinemas Belgrave
Classic Cinemas Elsternwick
Ritz Cinemas Randwick

Melbourne Fitness Show Preview: Press Play to Listen
Health & Fitness Editor, Chris Walker interviews pro-bodybuilder and Ninja Warrior Australia contestant, Kwame Duah. We see a different side to the fitness influencer who talks candidly about the challenges both physically and mentally after a bicep tear that almost threatened his career

Jonathan Agassi saved my life: was filmed over 8 years focusing on subject matter that is publicly controversial yet privately enjoyed by many blurring the lines of freedom and oppression. It’s the real-life story of one of the world’s most successful gay porn stars, who courageously re-defines traditional understandings of family and sharing some of the most intimate details of his darkest moments he tries to ease with drugs. It also offers an answer to why some in the industry view such transgressions as empowering in one of the most revealing moments in the film.

Showing at the following cinemas:
Lido Cinemas Hawthorn
Classic Cinemas Elsternwick
Ritz Cinema Randwick

Ask Dr. Ruth: America’s most famous German-born sex therapist voiced opinions and ideas candidly with strong conviction. The story is told on the eve of her 90th birthday celebrating her groundbreaking moments while exploring her traumatic past as a child survivor of the Holocaust which shaped her progressive world views and open mind. Ask Dr. Ruth

Showing at the following Cinemas:
Lido Cinemas Hawthorn
Classic Cinemas Elsternwick
Ritz Cinema Randwick
Event Cinemas Morley
Dendy Canberra
New Farm Cinemas Belgrave
Roseville Cinemas