Highlights from WinterFest 2024

Filmmaker Barak Heymann meets audience members outside of his WinterFest Presentation of Subjective POV: Filmmaker Barak Heymann Reflects on Israel’s Complex Reality. Photo by Pat Mazzera.

We were delighted to welcome our community to the 11th annual WinterFest at the Vogue Theater in San Francisco! This year’s weekend Festival included an dynamic slate of interactive programs that addressed diverse topics including the legacy of the holocaust, human rights for migrants and refugees, and the ongoing impact of trauma and violence on communities in Israel and Palestine.

WinterFest featured two extended programs at the Jewish Comunity Center of San Francisco, where audience members attended post-film conversations, mingled with filmmakers, and noshed on snacks in their beautiful atrium. We were also fortunate to host a number of filmmakers and prominent guests, with surprise appearances including All We Carry subject Magdiel, and Bay Area Kindertransport descendants who attended the screening of One Life.

Thank you to our valued WinterFest Community Partners: Albany FilmFest, BAVC, B’nai Israel Jewish Center, The Brandeis School of San Francisco
CARECEN SF, Facing History and Ourselves, Jewish Bar Association of San Francisco, Litquake Foundation, New Lehrhaus, Peninsula Sinai Congregation, Roxie Theater, SFFILM, SF IndieFest, SketchFest
Congregation Sherith Israel, Temple Israel of Alameda, Women in Film San Francisco Bay Area, Workers Circle/Arbeter Ring — Northern California.

Second and third generation descendants of child holocaust survivors whose lives were saved during the Kindertransport receive recognition during the WinterFest presentation of One Life. Photos by Pat Mazzera.

All We Carry Panelists pose outside the Vogue Theater. From left to right: Cecilia Candia, CARECEN SF Senior Staff Attorney; Marcia Jarmel JFI Filmmaker Services Director; All We Carry director Cady Voge, Joe Goldman, HIAS Community Engagement Director, Western Region. Photo by Pat Mazzera.

Photo 1: All We Carry director, and JFI Completion Grantee, Cady Voge poses outside the Vogue Theater before her WinterFest screening. Photo 2: Cady Voge and All We Carry subject Magdiel reveal he will be a surprise guest at a panel following the screening. Photos by Pat Mazzera.

Photo 1: JFI Filmmaker Services Director Marcia Jarmel introduces a panel following the WinterFest presentation of All We Carry. From left to right: Cecilia Candia, CARECEN SF Senior Staff Attorney; Magdiel, All We Carry film subject; director Cady Voge, Joe Goldman, HIAS Community Engagement Director, Western Region. Photo 2: Cady Voge and Joe Goldman. Photos by Pat Mazzera.

Audience members attend a panel and reception following the WinterFest screening of All We Carry at the JCC of San Francisco. Photos by Pat Mazzera.

Filmmaker Barak Heymann inside the Vogue Theater before his presentation. Photo by Pat Mazzera.

Filmmaker Barak Heymann gives a presentation featuring clips from 20 years of his life’s work at WinterFest. Photo by Pat Mazzera.

Photo 1: Barak Heymann connects with audience members during his presentation. Photo 2: Barak Heymann greets former JFI Executive Director Peter Stein and former JFI Executive Artistic Director Janis Plotkin at the reception following his event at the JCC of San Francisco. Photos by Pat Mazzera.

How to Come Alive with Norman Mailer director Jeff Zimbalist and editor Alannah Byrnes pose outside the Vogue Theater before the WinterFest presentation of their film. Photo by Pat Mazzera.

How to Come Alive with Norman Mailer director Jeff Zimbalist and editor Alannah Byrnes participate in a Q&A led by JFI Program Director Jay Rosenblatt. Photo by Pat Mazzera.

The Vogue Theater on Closing Night of WinterFest 2024. Photo by Pat Mazzera.