SFJFF: Lost Cause

Part of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival

Actors sit in a theater, ready to tell a story. Their tale begins on Yom Kippur and unfolds in a synagogue—“a little microcosm of society.” Songs are woven between scenes, adding emotional and intellectual depth. At times, images and voice-over provide additional context. Lost Cause is a story of exploration—of sprawling questions and unresolved answers—as a community tries to understand and save itself.

Writer, director, and actor Adam Kritzer’s Lost Cause is a singular work of art. A meta-narrative, the film functions as much as a multimedia art piece as it does a musical. It does not shy away from this blending of forms; instead, it revels in its pliability, using it to examine its subjects’ inner psyches and the broader consequences of their actions. Lost Cause is neither farce nor foil—it is a clear artistic exploration of the unanswerable questions facing our country today. —Anisse Elias

World Premiere