EXCLUSIVE: After premiering at Sundance Film Festival, the documentary Coexistence, My Ass! has been selected as the Opening Night film for the 45th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.
Directed by Amber Fares, Coexistence, My Ass! follows Noam Shuster-Eliassi, who grew up the literal poster child for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process before making a hard pivot to stand-up comedy and political satire. But as the region sinks deeper into devastating violence, she must meet the moment by challenging her audiences with hard truths that are no laughing matter.
“We’re honored to open the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival with Coexistence My Ass! This festival has long championed bold, urgent storytelling, and we’re grateful for their support — not only as programmers, but also as funders of the film,” Fares said in a statement.
Fares and Shuster-Eliassi are expected to attend the July 17 screening, along with writer/producer Rachel Leah Jones. The screening will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Herbst Theatre in downtown San Francisco. The film screens a second time on July 22 at 6 p.m. at Landmark’s Piedmont Theater in Oakland, also with the filmmakers in attendance.
In 2024, the Jewish Film Institute honored Coexistence, My Ass! with its Envision Award, a completion grant that provides significant support to a project because of its singular ability to envision a world free of prejudice and hate. Earlier this year, it received the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Freedom of Expression at Sundance.
It also won the top award, the Golden Alexander at the Thessaloniki Int’l Documentary Festival and The Center for Documentary Studies Filmmaker Award at Full Frame.
“In a moment of escalating violence and a shrinking space for dialogue and artistic freedom — especially around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — Coexistence, My Ass! cuts through with clarity, courage, and sharp humor,” Lexi Leban, executive director of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, said in a statement. “It’s a timely reminder that art can hold complexity and catalyze dialogue when it’s needed most. We’re proud to have supported it through our Grants Program and to see it resonating on the global stage.”
JFI, which “champions bold films and filmmakers that expand and evolve the Jewish story for audiences everywhere,” has distributed more $400,000 in grants to filmmakers since 2020, including Sandi DuBowski’s Sabbath Queen, a 2024 Tribeca hit that closed out last year’s SFJFF, as well as Rachel Elizabeth Seed’s highly-decorated film A Photographic Memory.
SFJFF45 runs July 17 to August 3, 2025 in theaters throughout San Francisco and the East Bay. The full lineup will be announced on June 17, which is also when tickets to all programs go on sale.
