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Jewish Story Partners (Jsp), which works to “stimulate and support the highest caliber of independent films that expand the Jewish story,” has selected 26 documentaries to receive $545,000 in a major new round of grants, TheWrap can exclusively reveal.

The new grantees for Jsp, which was launched in 2021 with the support of Kate Upshaw and Steven Spielberg’s Righteous Persons Foundation, have crafted narratives that explore the current state of U.S. democracy, antisemitism, the mission to help build a more peaceful society and the conversations that are taking place following the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.

Among the titles are “The Day After,” “Hannah Arendt: Facing Tyranny,” “The Paradox” and “White Rose.” There were more than 220 applications submitted by filmmakers. The funding round was curated by filmmaker Amy Berg, Impact Partners’ Geralyn Dreyfous and Michael Renov, a USC professor of critical studies and Vice Dean for Academic Affairs.

“With its capacity to humanize the ‘other’ through storytelling,...

Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival has unveiled the program for its 27th edition, which will take place in the Czech city of Jihlava between Oct. 24-29. The festival will showcase 357 films in both competitive and non-competitive sections, with 115 world premieres, 22 international premieres and 17 European premieres.

This year’s program touches on themes of artificial intelligence and new technologies, the changing planetary climate, migration, transformation of the democratic system and society, as well as the search for new paths to freedom and happiness.

Festival director Marek Hovorka says of the concept of this year’s edition: “The world in which we live is rapidly changing, and this year’s Ji.hlava brings images of these transformations. The films in the program are thematically and formally very diverse, allowing us to recognize and contemplate the world’s transformation.”

Works related to the theme of this year’s Ji.hlava include Sophie Compton...

The Los Angeles Chinese Film Festival announced that its 3rd edition will be held from October 25t​h​ to October 27t​h​ at the Downtown Independent Theater in Los Angeles. From its inception as the premier film festival in the Los Angeles area for Chinese independent film, the Lacff celebrates the growing number of Chinese heritage and language films from established filmmakers and emerging artists. The three-day festival will have a juried competition in four different categories – Documentary Short, Documentary Feature, Narrative Short, and finally, Narrative Feature. In addition, the festival has invited a number of esteemed film industry professionals and Hollywood elites to participate in the festival’s industry panel and other VIP events. Ticket sales for Lacff 2019 have already begun. For more information about Lacff’s services and our new series of packaged tickets, please visit their official website ​here​ or the Los Angeles Chinese Film Festival Wechat page.