Still from Marzipan Flowers

Now in its 26th year, the Washington Jewish Film Festival returns this week to explore gender, identity, sexuality, and artists at work.

The Festival kicks off Wednesday, February 24 with its Opening Night presentation of Israel’s submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award, Baba Joon, and runs for 12 days, presenting 69 films and over 150 screenings, culminating in a Closing Night presentation of Natalie Portman’s directorial debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness.

This year’s lineup includes new and classic films; sharing a crop of bold, independent, films that have garnered praise at Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, and elsewhere, with DC audiences. While the Festival touches a broad set of themes, this year’s lineup offers two major focuses – one on the lives of artists (“Re-framing the Artist”) and the other on LGBTQ experiences (“Rated LGBTQ”). “Reframing the Artist” features an in-depth exploration of visual and performing artists’ lives, accomplishments, and inspiration. The seven film “Rated LGBTQ” series explores sexuality, gender, and identity from diverse and often unheard perspectives from across the queer spectrum.

Festival highlights include screenings of Compared to What: The Improbable Life of Barney Frank, featuring a panel discussion with Barney Frank, husband Jim Ready, and filmmakers Sheila Canavan and Michael Chandler; and the WJFF Visionary Award presentation of Avalon, featuring an extended Q&A with award recipient Armin Mueller-Stahl. Legendary guitarist Gary Lucas and Tony-nominated singer and actress Sarah Stiles will also join the Festival for Gary Lucas’ Fleischerei: Music From Max Fleischer Cartoons, a loving musical tribute to the swinging, jazzy soundtracks that adorned Max Fleischer’s wacky and Yiddish-inflected cartoons of the 1930s, backed by the cartoons themselves.

In addition to a groundbreaking film lineup, the Festival will host talkbacks and panel discussions with over 50 domestic and international filmmaker guests, and engage attendees with off-screen programming including Story District Presents: God Loves You? True Stories about Faith and Sexuality and the 6th Annual Community Education Day on Arab Citizens of Israel.

Visit WJFF.org for a full Festival lineup.