The Haifa International Film Festival has announced the films participating in the Israeli Film Competition and additional programs of Israeli films. Now in its 42nd edition, the festival will take place from September 26 – October 3, 2026.
Israeli Film Competition
I Want to Tell My Story
Israel/Germany/2026/75 min/Hebrew, German, Yiddish, English/Subtitles in Hebrew and English
Directed by Tomer Heymann
In anticipation of his 100th birthday, Shimon Rothschild, together with director Tomer Heymann, stages the story of his life: the series of coincidences that saved him from the gas chambers at Auschwitz, the cruel medical experiments in Sachsenhausen, the March of Death, and life after the war. In a studio expressly built for him, and through actors portraying people from his past, Shimon walks through the space giving orders with uncompromising determination and a unique sense of humor and tests the borders between memory and reconstruction.
Hager (Land)
Israel/Ethiopia/2026/87 min/Amharic, Hebrew, Arabic/Subtitles in Hebrew and English
Directed by Shmuel Beru
In 1973 the Jews of Gond Roch-Marim, Ethiopia, prepare for a dangerous journey on foot through Sudan to Israel. 58-year-old Itzhak, a successful independent farmer, refuses to leave his land and crops for a journey into the unknown. His 45-year-old wife Sarah is determined to leave with their three children. When the family becomes embroiled in unexpected events, Itzhak is forced to send his wife and children on the journey to Israel via Sudan. He remains behind, close to his land and his son Adisi, who was forced into serving in the Ethiopian army. Their family saga becomes part of the heroic Aliyah story of Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
Stay!
Israel/2026/75 min/Hebrew/Subtitles in English
Directed by Reut Akkerman
Amit is called to her biological mother’s deathbed, and rushes to the hospital, but arrives too late. Without ever having opened her adoption file, she is suddenly confronted with a family she has never met, and with her biological father Prosper, a drug addict whom she has not seen since she was five years old. Shaken by the encounter, Amit returns to the home where she grew up, with her adoptive parents on the kibbutz in the north, her spirit torn as she tries to reconcile two conflicting worlds and identities.
Thou Shalt Love
Israel/France/2026/80 min/Hebrew, Yiddish, English/Subtitles in Hebrew and English
Directed by Nitzan Gilady
28-year-old Naomi is an unconventional Ultra-Orthodox woman. A yoga teacher, she is married to her childhood sweetheart, 31-year-old Neria, a scholar at the kolel. The couple have trouble conceiving. When Naomi discovers why her husband did not come to an important meeting with their rabbi, her world collapses and her love for her husband is put to the test.
Spikes
Israel/2025/85 min/Hebrew/Subtitles in Hebrew and English
Directed by Shiran Sharabani
Three childhood friends from a remote village in the north, decide to run away from home and hitchhike to a costume party in the desert. On the way, between empty gas stations, hostels, and nights without sleep, they begin to realize that this is the last time they will have this experience, to be together just the three of them, without plans or responsibilities. In an attempt to have one more moment of youth and freedom, love surges and threatens the one thing they thought they would never lose.
Journey Dreams
Israel/2026/60 min/Russian and Hebrew/Subtitles in Hebrew and English
Directed by Manya Lozovsky
A mother and daughter set out on a journey together in Ukraine during the war. The daughter asks questions regarding identity and a sense of belonging to Ukraine and Russia, while the mother is certain that Israel is their tribe and home. On the way to visit the mother’s childhood friend in war-damaged Kharkov, they reflect on their past lives in the former Soviet Union, and their life in Israel, and try to articulate a sense of belonging to the place where they live.
Children of Hebron
Israel/2026/60 min/Hebrew/Subtitles in Hebrew and English
Directed by Elad Goldberg
They grew up on the battlefield of Hebron, at the heart of the blood-soaked conflict between Abraham’s two sons. There on the narrow streets these children had a taste of paradise, and of the inferno of the Second Intifada. What happens to children who grow up in the midst of war? What kind of adults do they become? What can we learn from their story about the complex time we are in, Israel of 2026? This is the story of the children of Hebron.
A Place Called Hope
Israel/2026/77 min/Hebrew, Arabic, English/Subtitles in Hebrew and English
Directed by Eitan Cohen
Michael learns the word “hope” in preschool and thinks that “hope is a place where everyone is nice to one another.” During one of the ceasefires of the endless war, his father Eitan decides to take him on a journey throughout the country to find the hope that they both have lost.
Blue Marks
Israel/France/2026/110 min/Hebrew, French/Subtitles in Hebrew and English
Directed by Dina Zvi-Riklis
Iris Alush, the daughter of immigrants from Tunisia, grew up in Netanya with a mother who made wedding dresses. She decides to rebel against her fate, dreaming of creating herself anew and travels to Paris to study fashion design. Having grown up speaking French, she feels comfortable in Paris. She finds a job at a bistro, and a small apartment that she shares with Ilan, a French-Israeli journalist, and enrolls in a prestigious design school. An unexpected event disrupts all her plans. The film is based on Emilie Moatti’s debut novel of the same name.
Farewell to Dough
Israel/France/2026/101 min/Hebrew/Subtitles in English
Directed by Shimon Shai
Living above his parents in Jerusalem, bachelor Itzik anchors his existence to a daily bourekas at Mussa’s. When dizzy spells force him to give up carbs completely, this dietary change turns into a life crisis. In a city where sacred and everyday collide, his absurd, painful journey leads him unexpectedly to love.
Double Panther
Israel/2025/100 min/Hebrew/Subtitles in Hebrew and English
Directed by Marco Carmel
The true story of Yaakov Elbaz, a criminal who was planted as a mole in the Black Panthers by Turgeman. Elbaz gives Turgeman information, but begins to identify with the protest and his new friends, and is caught in a game that could ruin his life. A crime drama on the protest that changed Israel, and a criminal who is trying to mend a family. The documentary drama is based on historical events.
Peace By 2030
Israel/2026/60 min/Hebrew, English, Arabic, Italian/Subtitles in Hebrew and English
Directed by Uri Levi
On October 7th Maoz Yinon loses both his parents. As the war continues, violence escalates and Israel becomes increasingly divided, full of pain and revenge, Maoz chooses a different battle, a battle for peace. Embarking on a journey from his personal loss, he seeks to transform his pain into action, and his despair to hope.
Israeli Short Film Competition
24 short films (10 are student films), will participate in this year’s short film competitions: the Student Short Film Competition; the Independent Short Film Competition; the Animated Short Film Competition. The winner of the Independent Short Film Competition will be screened for the members of the American Academy and will compete for a place on the list of nominees for an Oscar in the short film category.
First Exposure – New Israeli Film
A curated selection of five Israeli short films from the past year will be shown in a festive premiere. As well as the following films:
Judoka
Israel/2026/93 min/Hebrew/Subtitles in English
Directed by Raanan Tessler
When 17-year-old Yaron learns a disturbing family secret, and the situation at home takes a dangerous turn, he decides to leave the sports boarding school to return home. He is willing to sacrifice his dream of an Olympic gold medal to save his family, but when he arrives, he realizes he is not wanted there.
Many Waters
Israel/2026/85 min/Hebrew/Subtitles in Hebrew and English
Directed by Imri Matalon
Natalie, a dominant young woman, is paralized after an accident at sea. While in rehabilitation she meets Yossef, a kind Palestinian paraprofessional who treats her with calm despite her rage. The two grow closer and develop a connection that transcends time and place. But the world beyond the rehab center intervenes and seeks to separate them.
Negative
Israel/2025/80 min/Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, English/Subtitles in Hebrew and English
Directed by Michael Mysh Rozanov
As the city around boils with protests, Maayan – a genderqueer volunteer – opens another shift at an HIV testing clinic at the outskirts of Tel Aviv. The tense routine of the shift explodes, when a young soldier, Aurel, gets a positive result. His violent reaction triggers Yonatan, the clinic doctor – a grizzled activist. Their confrontation escalates, and a shot is fired, critically wounding the doctor. Aurel and his “bro” David – another soldier – react in the only way the Army taught them – use their guns to take over the clinic. Other visitors swiftly take sides, and as their identities, secrets and traumas clash with each other, the clinic descends into a bloody mayhem. In this miniature Civil War, some succumb to their violent impulses, while others discover compassion and the ability to see beyond their prejudices. Part horror thriller, part farce, “Negative” is a story of society tearing itself apart through intolerance. *The film will be screened in the Haifa’s Wild Nights program.
Leading Cultural Figures
A new program featuring documentaries focused on leading figure who played a key role in developing Israeli culture and society.
Alice, Last Conversation
Israel/2026/53 min/Hebrew/Subtitles in English
Directed by Nurit Jacobs Yinon
An intimate cinematic portrait of Israel Prize Laureate and feminist activist Professor Alice Shalvi. The film documents the final year of her life, and reflects on her years of advocacy for women’s rights, social justice, and peace.
Between Green and Stones
Israel/2026/93 min/Hebrew/Subtitles in Hebrew and English
Directed by Ron Omer and Shai Lahav
The turbulent biography of songwriter Naomi Shemer, a popular public figure whose private life was very private. The film features interviews with Shemer’s children and close friends, as well as selections from her letters and diaries.
Topol: Fiddler on Top of the World
Israel/2026/70 min/Hebrew/Subtitles in English
Directed by Alon Gur Arye
Chaim Topol was an Israeli actor who achieved international fame, he won a Golden Globe for Best Actor and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his 1971 film portrayal of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. The film follows Topol through critical points in his career, and the surprising choices he made.
Special Screenings
Yehoram and Gila
Israel/2026/98 min/Hebrew/Subtitles in Hebrew and English
Directed by Gabriel Bibliowicz
The film will be screened in the presence of Gila Almagor and Yehoram Gaon. Full of humor, pain, and beauty, the film is the story of two actors holding on to one another, and to the stage that defines them, until the final curtain call.
The Road to Jericho
Israel/France/UK/2026/75 min/Hebrew, Arabic, French, Yiddish, English/Subtitles in English
Directed by Amos Gitai
Special screening and panel discussion with Amos Gitai. The Road to Jericho is a musical and visual journey, a poem in images – a hybrid of documentary and fiction that weaves archival images from earlier films, with the voices of Samuel Fuller, Jeanne Moreau, Arthur Miller, and Yitzhak Rabin, among others, into the contemporary reality of the Bedouins of Khan El Ahmar, now threatened with eviction by settlers on this road to Jericho. A poignant, sensitive meditation on human destinies on this desert land, steeped in history.
Our Loves
Israel | 2026 | 117m | Hebrew, Arabic/Subtitles in Hebrew and English
A discussion with Director Avi Nesher, moderated by film critic Yair Raveh, on “Covert Political Cinema in the Films of Avi Nesher” will take place after the screening. Our Loves tells of the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack through the stories of 7 different individuals whose stories intertwine. The film introduces each of the characters on October 6th, as each of them struggles within a relationship. They all believe that October 6th is the worst day of their lives, the day that love went wrong. The viewer becomes acquainted with each character over the course of October 6th, empathizing with their troubles and smiling at the comic aspects of their lives – then the next day finds them struggling to survive.
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.
