The Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival will take place from December 13 – 18, 2025 at the Jerusalem Cinematheque. Now in its 27th edition, the festival will feature over 40 films from 15 countries, presenting contemporary perspectives on Jewish identity, history, and culture, this year, with a special homage to the nursing profession. The full program and tickets purchases are available on the festival website.
Opening the festival will be Soundman, a love story set in 1940s Brussels, directed by Flemish filmmaker Frank Van Passel. 18-year-old Berre is a shy young man intrigued by the world of sound. His uncle André, who works at the National Radio in Brussels, arranges an internship for him at the studios in the Flagey building, “the world’s largest sound factory.” When there is a sudden opening for a sound engineer, Berre steps in, creating soundscapes for live radio plays. Elza, an aspiring young actor, decides to fulfill her dream, performing in radio plays. And above it all hovers the Nazi threat…The film will also participate in the International Competition.
“In Between Shifts: A Tribute to the Nursing Profession” will take place on December 14th at 19:30. The nurses who cared for people, saved lives and stood on the front lines of Israel’s healthcare system are placed at the center of an emotional visual journey that reveals the history of nursing through rare archival footage and images drawn from the depths of cinematic memory. The tribute – a joint initiative of the Israel Film Archive at the Jerusalem Cinematheque and the Nursing Administration at the Ministry of Health, with the support of the Goshen Foundation – seeks to highlight the professional, human and communal aspects of the quiet backbone of the healthcare system.
As part of the tribute, an online anthology edited by journalist Neta Halperin will be launched, accompanied by a panel event, and the screening of Labors of Love: The Life and Legacy of Henrietta Szold on December 15th at 18:00. Directed by Abby Ginzberg, the film focuses on Henrietta Szold who founded Hadassah in 1912, connecting American women with communities in Palestine and helping to build a healthcare system based on equality for Arabs and Jews. Through this organization, she established the region’s modern healthcare system, built on a mandate to treat Arabs and Jews equally. Later, she spearheaded Youth Aliyah, an operation that rescued 11,000 Jewish children from Nazi Europe. This heartfelt documentary honors her legacy and celebrates a woman who reshaped history through compassion and conviction. The screening will be followed by a discussion with Director Abby Ginzberg and Haaretz writer Judy Malz.
Roni Mahadav-Levin, Executive Director of the Jerusalelm Cinematheque, and Daniella Tourgeman-Glass, Artistic Director of the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival released a statement: “The Jewish Film Festival is not just a cultural event, it is an essential platform for discussions, a meeting between worlds, deepening the connection between Israel and the Diaspora, and strengthening our understanding of Jewish identity in all its hues, thanks to the diverse audiences, original creations, a rich cultural foundation, and rising international interest.
Especially in Israel, a unique center of filmmaking, there exists fertile ground for designing a meaningful and influential festival that makes a point of including diverse content from leading international festivals every year, films that also offer an external perspective on Jewish identity. We create an encounter between many voices – secular, religious, traditional, new immigrants, local and international filmmakers. The Israeli cultural space enables us to delve deeply into themes at the heart of the Jewish experience: community, history, philosophy, struggle and belonging, even without a religious definition – Judaism as a culture. The festival creates a bridge between filmmakers and audiences, between tradition and change, and between personal stories and significant historical events.”
International Competition
Two Pianos, directed by Arnaud Desplechin.
After years of self-imposed exile in Asia, classical musician Mathias Vogler returns to France. His former mentor, Eléna, invites him to perform a series of piano concerts with her at the Auditorium de Lyon. But soon after his arrival, a chance encounter with a child who looks just like him, throws Mathias into turmoil, threatening to drag him down, and leads him back to Claude: his first love.
Orphan, directed by László Nemes.
The film is set in Budapest, 1957 — one year after the failed Hungarian Revolution. A Jewish boy, 12-year-old Andor (Bojtorján Barabas), raised by his mother to believe that his father will return from the camps, has his hopes shattered when a brutish stranger appears on their doorstep to reclaim the family. Barabas delivers a moving performance in this coming-of-age narrative, as Andor struggles with all he has learned, and must make his choices.
The Safe House, directed by Lionel Baier.
Paris, May 1968. A nine-year-old boy is delighted to spend a few extra days with his grandparents in their apartment, joined by his two lively uncles—a visual artist and an aspiring intellectual—and their vibrant great-grandmother from Odessa, while his parents take part in the historic protests. As the country is turned upside down, the family must confront long-buried truths when an illustrious guest seeks refuge in their storied hideout. Adapted from a novel by Christophe Boltanski, nephew of renowned artist Christian Boltanski, this buoyant comedy offers a spirited portrait of a family caught in the chaos of revolution.
The Tasters, directed by Silvio Soldini.
In 2012, at age 95, Margot Wölk revealed she had been one of several young German women forced to taste Hitler’s meals—a secret kept for decades. The only known survivor among the tasters, her remarkable story later inspired Rosella Postorino’s novel At the Wolf’s Table and the film The Tasters.
Summer Beats, directed by Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret.
Good friends, Shai (Shirel Nataf) and Djeneba (Fanta Kebe) are 19 years old. Djeneba works at a day center for youth, while Shai still seems to be at loose ends, so when the opportunity arises to accompany the group on a camping trip, she is eager, if not quite pedagogically prepared, to join. Shai is Jewish, and in love with Ismael, who is Muslim, a relationship she hides from her controlling family. Djeneba has her own family issues to contend with – a one-year-old brother and a mother who disappears for hours, and even days at a time.
The children at the camp range in ages, and come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, as do the counselors, and there is an atmosphere of tolerance and acceptance at the camp. The ensemble cast of children are all delightful in the candor of their speech and the authenticity of their demeanor. Akoka and Gueret have somehow cracked the code of letting kids be kids onscreen, and it’s both entertaining and poignant. The counselors are all caring and supportive of the children, even as they struggle with their own individual issues.
Fantasy Life, directed by Matthew Shear
After losing his job as a paralegal, Sam Stein (Matthew Shear) suffers a panic attack that unexpectedly lands him a babysitting job for his psychiatrist’s three granddaughters. Their mother, Dianne (Amanda Peet)—a stalled actress in a troubled marriage to a touring rock bassist—shares a surprising bond with Sam over their struggles with mental illness. Over a summer on Martha’s Vineyard, surrounded by kids, grandparents, and emotional landmines, an unexpected connection grows.
