We are proud to be highlighting four projects created by Reboot Network members and supported by Reboot Studios that will be presented at the 44th annual San Francisco Jewish Film Festival next month! The films, Sabbath Queen, We Should Eat, We’ve Been Here Before and Breaking Home Ties, explore diverse aspects of Jewish identity and history, charting new pathways into Jewish ideas for every audience with immersive spiritual experiences, live music, and more. Reboot Studios aims to empower artists, storytellers and innovators to transform society with inspirational and provocative new Jewish content, and at such a difficult time, we believe these films help us delve into and wrestle with what it means to be Jewish.

If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, use code: REBOOT44 for a 10% discount on all tickets and passes! Learn more below about the films and the opportunities to see them in your area.

West Coast Premiere:
Sabbath Queen

Filmed over 21 years, Sabbath Queen follows Rabbi Amichai Lau Lavie’s epic journey as the dynastic heir of 38 generations of Orthodox rabbis who rejects his traditional destiny and becomes a drag-queen rebel, a queer father, and the founder of Lab/Shul – an everybody-friendly, God-optional, artist-driven, pop-up experimental congregation in New York! Sabbath Queen, supported with funding from Reboot Studios and executive produced by Adrian Salpeter, captures director Sandi DuBowski and Amichai Lau-Lavie (all Reboot Network members) on a lifelong and cinematic quest to creatively and radically reinvent religion, ritual, and love for a challenging, rapidly changing 21st century. The film is a recipient of a 2023 JFI Completion Grant.

• Saturday, July 27 – SoulSpa (a meditative spa for soul and body) service
• Sunday, July 28 – Closing Night of SFJFF at The Palace of Fine Arts at 8:05 p.m. (West Coast Premiere)
• Tuesday, July 30 – Additional screening of Sabbath Queen in Oakland at The Piedmont at 1:00 p.m.

Tickets are available here.

Watch SabbathQueen.com for information about future opportunities to see the film.

World Premiere:
We Should Eat
Friday July 19, 2024 || 3:15 p.m.
Vogue Theater

We Should Eat humorously touches on age-old familial irritations with Jewish mothers, the intricacies of raising pre-teen daughters, existential dread and of course, the perpetual struggle to figure out what to order for dinner. The film stars Alysia Reiner (Orange Is the New Black), Tovah Feldshuh (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Jackie Hoffman (Only Murders in the Building), Joel de la Fuente (Walking Dead), Bob Ari (Law and Order SVU) and Lexi Perkel (Sack Lunch Bunch). Written and directed by Shaina Feinberg.

The film will be making its world premiere as a part of the Oys and Joys: Narrative Shorts collection and tickets can be found here. The film is expected to be in other festivals around the world soon! Watch Rebooting.com for updates!

California Premiere with Live Score:
Breaking Home Ties
Tuesday July 23, 2024 || 6:30 p.m.
Vogue Theater – Limited Tickets, Buy Now!

Live score by Steve Berlin, Scott Amendola, Gretchen Gonzales and Adam Dorn

Back on the big screen after 100 years, the long-thought-lost silent era drama was discovered in a Berlin archive and lovingly rescued and restored to its original glory by The National Center for Jewish Film (NCJF). Presented in collaboration with Reboot Studios and NCJF, the screening of Breaking Home Ties will feature live musical accompaniment led by 12-time Grammy-nominated musician Steve Berlin of Los Lobos and award-winning musicians Scott Amendola, Gretchen Gonzales, and Adam Dorn.

David Bergmann, a young man who flees pre-revolutionary Russia for New York City, thinks he’s committed a terrible crime. His parents follow, but are unable to locate their son, who is hiding from his past. The rigors of immigrant life take their toll and David must reckon with his prior decisions. Made by Jewish filmmakers George K. Rolands and Frank N. Seltzer to combat 1920s antisemitism, this timeless tale movingly captures the arc of Jewish immigrants adapting to American life. Breaking Home Ties will be an unforgettable experience for film enthusiasts and music lovers alike.

Stay tuned for more screenings and performances in the months ahead. To arrange a screening of Breaking Home Ties with recorded score for film festival, museum, theater or event screenings, contact info@rebooting.com.

Tickets and more info can be found here

We’ve Been Here Before
Friday August 2, 2024 – 3:30 p.m.
Piedmont Theatre

We’ve Been Here Before connects the dots between mass shootings, the rise in anti-semitism, and the rise in hate violence in America in a fresh light. It follows the work of Eric Ward, a renowned expert on the relationship between authoritarian movements, hate violence, and preserving inclusive democracy. Ward was in the punk rock subculture when neo-Nazi’s infiltrated the punk scene in the 1980’s and 90’s. The short documentary film, by Jacob Kornbluth and a part of Reboot Studios’ latest round of funding, is a deep dive into the punk subculture that fought back against White Nationalists and neo-Nazis, and the lessons they have to share with the larger struggle against hate not just in America, but the world.

The film will be screened as a part of the Reality Bites: Documentary Shorts program. Tickets are available here.