FilmMatters @ TJFF2024

Interested in an educational film screening for your students?

Don’t miss the chance to bring your students to the following free films during the Toronto Jewish Film Festival, running May 30 – June 9.

Each film includes a tailored study guide to help bridge the conversation from the cinema to the classroom.

THE BOY IN THE WOODS

Canada, 96 minutes

English

Recommended for Grades 7-9 (ages 12-14)

Based on Maxwell Smart’s best-selling memoir, The Boy in the Woods follows the true story of a resourceful young boy’s harrowing experience of surviving the war by hiding in the forest. After his family is rounded up by the Germans, Max’s mother helps him escape into the woods where he must learn to fend for himself. Events unfold in a manner reminiscent of a Grimm’s fairy tale as Max encounters another young boy in hiding and the two heroically save a baby girl. More than just an individual survival story, the film is testament to Max’s innate sense of compassion to set aside his fear to help others.

SOLD OUT — waitlist only

Monday, June 3 at 10am

Innis Town Hall

2 Sussex Ave
Toronto ON

To be added to the waitlist for this screening contact Susan Starkman at filmmatters@tjff.ca or call 416-324-9121

ONE LIFE

United Kingdom, 110 minutes

English, German, Czech, and French with English subtitles

Recommended for Grades 10-12 (ages 15-17)

Two-time Oscar winner Sir Anthony Hopkins plays Sir Nicholas Winton, who rescued 669 children from the Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in the months leading up to World War II. Director James Hawes deftly jumps between the young Nicky as a mind-mannered young stock broker (played by Johnny Flynn) in a race against time to bring the Jewish child refugees to safety in England before the borders close, and Winton fifty years later (Hopkins), who lives haunted by the fate of the children he wasn’t able to save. All this leads to a cathartic climax as he finally begins to come to terms with his memories of his heroic actions. This stirring drama also stars Helen Bonham Carter as Nicky’s mother Babette, who assists him in navigating the bureaucracies in England.

Tuesday, June 4 at 10am

Leah Posluns Theatre, Prosserman JCC

4588 Bathurst St
North York ON

For bookings contact Susan Starkman at filmmatters@tjff.ca
or call 416-324-9121

WHERE IS ANNE FRANK

Belgium/France/Netherlands/Israel, 99 minutes

English and French with English subtitles

Recommended for Grades 6-8 (ages 11-13)

Similar to his ground breaking film Waltz with Bashir, director Ari Folman uses vivid animation to reinvent the classic story of Anne Frank through a contemporary lens, linking the past and the present to underscore the message of Anne Frank’s diary. At the centre of the film is Kitty, Anne’s imaginary friend who magically comes to life in modern-day Amsterdam, unaware of Anne’s fate. As she searches the streets for her friend, she bonds with a young refugee at risk of deportation. After they learn what happened to Anne, Kitty realises that even though Anne’s name is ubiquitous throughout the city, her message is at risk of being lost.

SOLD OUT — waitlist only

Friday, May 31 at 10am

Innis Town Hall

2 Sussex Ave
Toronto ON

SOLD OUT — waitlist only

Wednesday, June 5 at 10am

Innis Town Hall

2 Sussex Ave
Toronto ON

Thursday, June 6 at 10am

Leah Posluns Theatre, Prosserman JC

4588 Bathurst St
North York ON

To book seats or be added to the waitlist for this screening contact Susan Starkman
at filmmatters@tjff.ca or call 416-324-9121

Check out the FilmMatters Online catalogue
for other films available to screen by request