Natalie Portman makes her directorial feature debut with an adaptation of Amos Oz’s internationally acclaimed autobiographical novel A Tale of Love and Darkness. Set during the birth of Israel, the film examines suffering even after salvation. At its core, Amos’s story is about his relationship with his tragic, complicated mother, portrayed by Portman. Determined to make the film in Hebrew, Portman took eight years to write the script and find funding. The result is a beautiful rendering of the bestseller. —Neha Talreja

Ariel lives in New York, far from the lively Jewish district in Buenos Aires where he grew up. But when his father summons him back home for help, Ariel reluctantly returns. The Tenth Man is a kindhearted comedy with a gentle romantic touch. Director Daniel Burman (All In, SFJFF 2012) joyfully upends the old adage that you can never go home again and instead says, maybe under the right circumstances, you can. —Jay Rosenblatt

This quirky and poignant documentary examines the challenges of Jewish life in small-town America. Focusing on four tiny Jewish communities, directors Brad Lichtenstein and Morgan Elise Johnson examine in intimate detail what happens to a congregation when there are scarcely enough Jews left to form a quorum for religious activities, much less to maintain a vibrant community. An unusual and intriguing look at a segment of American Jewish life that is rarely examined. —Seth Barron

In this Jewish Grey Gardens, Avraham is a sixtysomething Orthodox Jew living in Brooklyn in his deceased parents’ family home. Avraham passes his time in his claustrophobic apartment petting his cats and sitting on a dilapidated couch among old newspapers, books, bed bugs and rotten food. When a deep cleaning crew arrives, he finally has to face his fears and confront his inability to separate himself from the past. —Shevi Loewinger

Former Berkeley resident Jo Milgrom's outsider art mixes Torah and trash. The 87-year-old artist/feminist Jewish thinker scavenges Jerusalem dumpsters for choice junk that she combines with worn-out ritual objects rescued from synagogues and funeral homes. Armed with only a glue gun, she challenges the religious establishment by juxtaposing the sacred and the mundane in her assemblages. This rich visual portrait will forever change the way you see a trash can. —Joshua Moore