A past PJFM event at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History. Photo by Stephen Silver
There are a lot of great community events in Philadelphia, but what’s better than getting in a room with your fellow Jews and watching a good movie?
Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media has been showing Jewish media to Philadelphians since 1981, and as the group embraces new formats of storytelling, it is happy to be recognized for the role it plays in the community, said Program Director Larry Fried.
“We’re the oldest film festival in Philadelphia. We are the second-longest running Jewish film festival in the country. We’ve been around for a long time, and every year, we are consistent in that we provide opportunities for folks to get together, see the best in Jewish storytelling and, in many cases, hear from the artists who bring the storytelling to life,” he added.
What started out as a simple film festival has evolved into a nonprofit that is constantly putting on events and breaking barriers with new methods of storytelling. It plans to work not only with traditional feature-length films, but also AI, augmented reality, graphic novels and music videos.
At its core, though, the organization is still a group of Jewish film lovers who want likeminded folks to come together and enjoy a good tale.
“I think that that consistency for 45 years, plus or minus, and just the incredible support that we had from our sponsors, from our donors, from our partners … I think we’ve become a reliable source of community and thought-provoking art and film,” Fried said. “And when you have that kind of consistency, year in and year out, you stick with people; you become a yearly event for them. You become something that they look forward to.”
With their annual festival coming up in November, Fried said that the team at PJFM is moving “full steam ahead.”
“It’s a jam-packed schedule, and I think we are really ushering in a new era for PJFM through this festival,” he said.