2023 Shorts

Australian filmmakers Carolyn Saul and Chris Bennett received JIFF Short Film Fund funding to complete the films Majong & Mahashas and Stones to premiere at this year’s festival. The JIFF Short Film Fund is an initiative that encourages and supports the production and exhibition of diverse short films on themes that engage with Jewish life. JIFF is committed to supporting and championing local filmmakers and stories reflecting the global Jewish experience.

Mahjong & Mahashas
AUSTRALIA — 2023, 15 MIN
DIRECTOR Carolyn Saul — WORLD PREMIERE
Mahjong and Mahashas is a rich and vibrant smorgasbord, an archival exploration of a family’s culture. The clatter of the mahjong tiles, the aroma of Middle Eastern spices and the celebration of age-old traditions are some of the flavours in the melting pot that is Sydney’s Singaporean Sephardic community.

Stones
AUSTRALIA — 2023, 19 MIN
DIRECTOR Chris Bennett, Stephanie Osztreicher — WORLD PREMIERE
As a woman struggles to deal with the loss of her aunt, mysterious packages containing stones from strangers all over the world begin to arrive on her doorstep, which leads her on a journey to face her grief.

Cut
AUSTRALIA — 2023, 19 MIN
DIRECTOR Samuel Lucas Allen
Daniel, a teenage boy caught in a web of lies, is pulled in different directions by his best friend and burgeoning Neo-Nazi, his secret lover, and his orthodox Jewish father. As his ability to juggle his identities falters, he finds himself haunted by a Hasidic spectre demanding a sacrifice.

The Swap
AUSTRALIA — 2023, 16 MIN
DIRECTOR Natasha Kaminsky — WORLD PREMIERE
What would you prefer - to tell a lie, or to get divorced? Moishe Levi and Francesco Levi are far from related, but when they accidentally confuse and swap their children at birth, their lives and their lies become forever intertwined.

Demonstrating for Democracy: On the Frontline of Israel’s Protest Movement
ISRAEL, AUSTRALIA — 2023, 5 MIN
DIRECTOR Danny Ben-Moshe — WORLD PREMIERE
A journey into the unprecedented protest movement in Israel, as civil society fights to save democracy. Shot on the ground at the pro-democracy protests in Israel by documentarian Danny Ben-Moshe, this is a work in progress of what will be an immersive virtual reality film.

Join us for the premiere of five exciting new short films, including the two JIFF Short Film Fund 2023 winners and three short films from talented Jewish filmmakers from across Australia. Directors will be in attendance to introduce their work.