Masters of Dox

When We Were Bullies

Jay Rosenblatt
Screening time  
04.04. / Monday, 22:00 - 00:00 Theatre 3 Ticket
06.04. / Wednesday, 17:00 - 19:00 Theatre 5 Ticket

When We Were Bullies begins with a mind-boggling "coincidence" from 25 years ago which ultimately leads the filmmaker to track down his 5th grade classmates (and 5th grade teacher) to see what they remember of a bullying incident from 50 years ago. In a playful yet poignant way, he begins to understand his complicity and the bully in all of us. Rosenblatt's honest, smart and well thought documentary uses promotional films, animated segments and filmed verbal confrontations with the protagonists in an attempt to reconstruct the puzzle made from pieces of guilt, shame, frustration, anger and aggression. Redemption usually comes through those steps.

Jay-rosenblatt_5b1_5d

Jay Rosenblatt

Jay Rosenblatt is an internationally recognized artist who has been working as an independent filmmaker since 1980 and has completed over thirty films. His films have received over 100 awards and have screened throughout the world. His most recent films screened for a week at MoMA, and eight of his films have been screened at the Sundance Film Festival. Jay is a recipient of a Guggenheim, USA Artists and a Rockefeller Fellowship. He is a member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and served on the Executive Committee for 9 years. Jay is originally from New York and has lived in San Francisco for many years. For more than 20 years he was a film and video production instructor at various film schools, including Stanford University, S.F. State University, and the San Francisco Art Institute. He is currently the Program Director of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. He has a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology and, in a former life, worked as a therapist.

General sponsor

When We Were Bullies

Germany, USA
2021, 36'

Directed by:
Jay Rosenblatt

Screenplay by:
Jay Rosenblatt

Cinematography:
Paul Foster, Kirsten Johnson, Ellie McCutcheon, Jay Rosenblatt, Jerome Rosenblatt, Roberta Rosenblatt

Edited by:
Jay Rosenblatt

Music:
Erik Ian Walker

Producers:
Elena Filippini, Jay Rosenblatt, Stefano Tealdi

Produced by:
Gonella Productions

Festivals & Awards:

Oscar Nomination (2022)
Florida FF: Grand Jury Award (2021)
Valladolid FF: Best Short Documentary (2021)
Virginia FF: Audience Award (2021)
Fargo FF: Best Documentary Short (2021)
Sundance FF (2021)
Krakow FF (2021)
Palm Springs FF (2021)
Ji.hlava (2021)
Docaviv (2021)

Contact:

Jay Rosenblatt
jayr@jayrosenblattfilms.com