Boston Jewish Film Appoints New Artistic Director

Boston Jewish Film, New England’s largest film-based organization, has promoted 2024 Boston Jewish Film Festival curator Joey Katz to the position of full-time Artistic Director.

“This appointment means the world to me,” says Katz, who has served in a variety of roles at Boston Jewish Film since 2019. “I am honored that the BJF board has entrusted me with the responsibility for our creative side, to grow the organization, and to build on the momentum we achieved at our November festival. This is truly an honor.”

“We are thrilled to have Joey as our Artistic Director,” says Ken Shulman, President of the Board at Boston Jewish Film. “He knows our organization and community as well as anyone. With his energy, encyclopedic cinematic knowledge, and youth, he will provide thoughtful entertainment for our traditional audiences and help expand our reach into new communities and demographics.”

“Joey is the right man for the job!” says Susan Adler, Executive Director of Boston Jewish Film. “Joey has learned about Festival curation and production in the best and worst of times – think Covid. He has a strong work ethic, commitment to excellence and to advancing BJF’s mission. We are excited to have him as our Artistic Director. ”

Founded in 1988, Boston Jewish Film runs the annual Boston Jewish Film and Boston Israeli Film Festivals. BJF also oversees SITCA — the School Initiative to Combat Antisemitism — and runs a series of yearlong activities including BJFStudio — a mobile filmmaking workshop — and the monthly BJF Film Club.

Born in Illinois and raised in Cooperstown, New York, Katz has loved film for as long as he can remember. “One of my earliest memories was attending a screening of “Yellow Submarine” at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago when I was five,” says Katz, who graduated from SUNY Purchase in 2018 with a degree in cinema studies. “From that moment, I was hooked.”

Katz moved to Boston in 2018 and joined BJF the following year as a Program Associate. “Entering the world of Jewish film was eye-opening,” says Katz, who at the same time worked as a house manager at The Brattle Theater in Cambridge. “I’d grown up in a town with just three Jewish families. There was so much I wanted to learn about my culture. Jewish film has such a broad global reach. In film, we see that Judaism isn’t monolithic. This is comforting for Jewish audiences and illuminating for non-Jewish audiences.”

The 2024 Boston Jewish Film Festival — curated and programmed by Katz — saw record post-pandemic attendance and multiple sold-out screenings.

“We need to make sure our audience connects with our programming.” says Katz. “To include dance and music and card games and cooking classes — all the things that will bring someone to the theater instead of waiting to screen the film online. I have lived from paycheck to paycheck. I understand that a theater ticket might be the difference for someone going into overdraft in their checking account. I am dedicated to offer programming that is always worth the price of admission.”