The 41st Haifa International Film Festival will take place from October 5 – 14, 2025 and features a diverse and intriguing program of international films that reflects the power of cinema to foster understanding of ourselves and the world, connecting people, and providing healing and hope in these troubled times.
Special Events:
There will be a special screening of the documentary The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, in the presence of the director Barry Avrich. The film follows Noam Tibon’s heroic journey to rescue his family and others following the October 7th massacre, and merges new interviews with footage from the day itself, including footage from Hamas bodycams. The film held its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the People’s Choice Award, Documentary.
Award-winning composer Erran Baron Cohen will be a guest of the festival and conduct a master class. Baron Cohen has collaborated with his brother Sacha Baron Cohen, and composed the scores for Borat, Brüno, The Dictator, Grimsby and more. In addition to composing for film, television, and musical theatre, Baron Cohen has released two albums with his band, Zohar, as well as a solo album, Songs in the Key of Hanukkah. The master class will be moderated by Yonatan Bar Giyora, with guests Idan Alterman and Alon Gur Arieh.
Special screenings at the festival include some fun nostalgia. The Lion King will be screened accompanied by a live performance of the soundtrack by the Haifa Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Yaron Gottfried. Appealing to a different audience, will be the celebration of the cult classic mockumentary This is Spinal Tap (1984), with a screening of the film in a double feature with Rob Reiner’s sequel Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. The wonderful animator Hayao Miyazaki’s first feature film as a director – The Castle of Cagliostro, will be screened for the first time in Israel. Marking the 40th anniversary of the timeless film, there will be a screening of a digitally restored version of Back to the Future.
Carmel – The International Cinema Competition
A Pale View of Hills, directed by Kei Ishikawa, is based on Nobel Laureate Kazuo Ishiguro’s debut novel. The film moves through two timelines – Japan in the 1950s and England in the 1980s. The film follows Etsuko (Suzu Hirose) in Nagasaki as she decides to give up a career in music to be a full-time mother to her child. In the 1980s, the years have wrought many changes in Etsuko’s life (now portrayed by Yoh Yoshida), and her journalist daughter Niki (Camilla Aiko) seeks to understand her mother’s life.
Orphan, directed by László Nemes (Son of Saul), is the festival’s opening film and Hungary’s selection for Best International Feature at the 98th Academy Awards. Set in 1957, in the ruins of Budapest after the violent suppression of the Hungarian uprising against the Communist regime. Andor (Bojtorján Barabas) is a Jewish boy living with his mother Klára (Andrea Waskovics), who tells him of his father’s heroism during the war. But when Berend Mihály (Grégory Gadebois), a brutish man, begins to visit the family home, the tales begin to unravel, and the truth of Andor’s mother’s survival is revealed.
Living the Land, directed by Huo Meng, was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival. Set in 1991, the film follows the changes taking place in rural China through the experiences of 10-year-old Chuang (Wang Shang). As technological advances alter rural life, Chuang’s parents move to the city to seek work, while Chuang remains in the village to be raised by his grandmother.
Dreams, directed by Dag Johan Haugerud, was awarded the Golden Bear at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival. Part of Haugerud’s trilogy, which includes the films Sex and Love, it explores human relationships, sexuality, and social norms. The complete trilogy will be screened at the Haifa Film Festival.
Mother’s Baby, directed by Johanna Moder, is a thriller crafted from the fears and doubts of new motherhood. Julia (Marie Leuenberger) is a 40-year-old orchestra conductor who longs for a child. She and her husband conceive through fertility treatments, but once the child is born, she experiences difficulty connecting to the infant, as well as paranoia.
Silent Friend, directed by Ildikó Enyedi, is a film with an unusual protagonist: an ancient gingko tree in the botanical garden of a university town in Germany. The tree is at the center of three narratives in the film, that take place, respectively, in 1908, 1972, and 2020. The film held its world premiere at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, where it was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize, and Marcello Mastroianni Award for the actor Luna Wedler.
Mother, directed by Teona Struger Mitevska in her English language feature debut, held its world premiere in the Orizzonti section at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival. Noomi Rapace stars as Mother Theresa, in a fictional account of several days in her life in Kolkata, India, when she decided to establish her own religious order, the Missionaries of Charity.
No Other Choice, directed by Park Chan-wook, is a black comedy thriller based on the novel The Ax by Donald Westlake. The film held its world premiere at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival. Lee Byung-hun (The Squid Games) stars as Man-soo, an expert in the paper industry, content with his work and with his family. But when he is laid off, everything changes. The film is South Korea’s selection for Best International Feature at the 98th Academy Awards.
The Disappearance of Josef Mengele, directed by Kirill Serebrennikov, held its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, and is based on the eponymous non-fiction novel by Olivier Guez. August Diehl stars as Josef Mengele, and the film follows the Nazi doctor’s life in the years after WWII, when he lived in Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil, hiding from prosecution.
Woman and Child, directed by Saeed Roustayi, held its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. In this drama, Mahnaz (Parinaz Izadyar), a widowed nurse, is about to marry Hamid, as she struggles with her rebellious son Aliyar. One day, an accident changes everything.
The Haifa International Film Festival takes place with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports – Israeli Film Council, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Regional Cooperation, and the Haifa Municipality. The festival’s Artistic Director is Yaron Shamir, and it is produced by Ethos – The Haifa Municipality Art, Culture and Sports Association Company. The full program and ticket information will be available on the Haifa Film Festival website: https://www.haifaff.co.il/eng.
