Now in its 12th year, the Jewish Film’s Institute short WinterFest is showing half a dozen films, kicking off with the Bay Area premiere of “Among Neighbors,” a documentary directed by Berkeley-based Yoav Potash and executive-produced by Anita Friedman, longtime executive director of S.F.-based Jewish Family and Children’s Services. It is screening once, on Feb. 18, and is co-presented with the San Francisco IndieFest.
The documentary combines real footage and hand-drawn animation to tell the chilling story of a small town in Poland both before and after World War II. It is based on research that Friedman and her family did on their own roots and some of the secrets that were uncovered.
For bibliophiles, “Free for All: The Public Library” is a must. Co-directed by Dawn Logsdon and Lucie Faulknor, both of San Francisco, the uplifting documentary celebrates the library as a civic home for the masses where intellectual freedom is a core value — and where something amazing happens every day.
Tatyana Tenenbaum’s documentary “Everything You Have Is Yours” explores the complicated legacy of Zionism and art. The film follows Israeli American choreographer Hadar Ahuvia as she examines the Arab roots of Israeli folk dances she grew up with. Tenenbaum and Ahuvia will also join a Feb. 23 festival panel discussion on “Creative Interventions: The Role of Art in Healing Political Division.”
Also showing at WinterFest will be “Outsider. Freud,” a documentary on the legacy of Sigmund Freud, as well the darkly comedic “Most People Die on Sundays” and the first three episodes of “The Zweiflers,” a critically acclaimed German television series about a modern German Jewish family’s everyday challenges.
JFI WinterFest
Feb. 18, Feb. 22-23 at the Vogue, S.F. Festival pass $75 members, $100 general. (Pass does not cover “Among Neighbors.”) Single tickets $15 members, $20 general, $19 seniors/students. Panel, $10. jfi.org/programs/winterfest-2025