Launching the inaugural Brisbane edition of the 2015 Jewish International Film Festival is Son of Saul, the critically lauded and multi-award winning Hungarian drama from writer/director László Nemes. Winning the Grand Prix at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and widely tipped to be a major 2016 Oscar contender, Son of Saul follows a father’s quest for moral redemption as he tries to salvage the body of a boy whom he believes to be his son, amidst the horrors of 1944 Auschwitz.

The festival will showcase several other cinematic gems including A Tale of Love and Darkness, Natalie Portman’s much-anticipated directorial debut, Experimenter, Felix and Meira, The Kind Words and To Life.

Closing the festival is the thrilling Sabena Hijacking – My Version, which was nominated for Best Documentary at the 2015 Ophir Awards (Israeli Oscars). This compelling docu-drama revisits the 1972 hijacking of Belgian’s Sabena Flight 571 by four armed members of the Palestinian Black September terrorist organisation, and the subsequent storming of the jet by Israel’s Special Forces Unit.

The 2015 Jewish International Film Festival runs until Sunday November 29.