Miami Jewish Film Festival Returns With Award-Winning and Locally Made Movies

The Miami Jewish Film Festival (MJFF) returns for its 27th edition January 11-25, bringing with it 120 films from 25 countries to South Florida audiences. Long touted as America's largest Jewish film festival, MJFF continues to craft engaging programming around Jewish cinema, history, and culture. The programming can be enjoyed either virtually or in person at several venues throughout the city.

Next month's program is bookended with opening and closing night celebrations at the Miami Beach Bandshell. Two-time Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins stars in the opening night film One Life by director James Hawes. Hopkins plays Sir Nicholas Winton, a British stockbroker who aided in the rescue of hundreds of children during the precipice of World War II. A nearly forgotten story, screenwriter Lucinda Coxon (The Danish Girl) will be in attendance for a conversation following the screening. MJFF closes with a laugh thanks to Avi Nesher's The Monkey House, which earned 11 Ophir Awards, Israel's equivalent to the Academy Awards.

The festival will also premiere Avenue of the Giants, an emotional tale of generational trauma told through an unlikely multigenerational friendship with touching performances by Stephen Lang (Avatar) and Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade), both of whom will be in attendance. This year's headliners program features standouts from international film festivals and celebrated filmmakers, such as Marco Bellocchio's historical drama Kidnapped, Michael Winterbottom's political thriller meets romance Shoshana, and Cédric Kahn's courtroom drama The Goldman Case.
For the most devoted cinephiles, there is a duo of cinematic documentaries paired with classic films. Emmy-winning director Richard Shepard will be present to screen his work Film Geek, coupled with a 35mm screening of Barry Levinson's classic holiday film, Dinner. Likewise, the documentary Remembering Gene Wilder will accompany a 50th-anniversary screening of Young Frankenstein, co-presented with South Florida's horror film festival Popcorn Frights.

With more than 100 films scheduled, MJFF can be daunting, but a few sections that should not be missed include the festival's many initiatives spotlighting the diversity of Jewish cinema. The "Made in Florida" section platforms local emerging talent. Films like Between the Stone and the Flower, a documentary about Miami author Genie Milgram's decades-long journey to trace her Jewish lineage, or the Miami family drama Sholem Soul Goal about a family grieving the loss of its youngest son, manage to capture something about both the Jewish and Miami experience. The "New Wave Competition" sidebar continues with college students and young professionals judging a collection of films like the dance documentary Call Me Dance or the musical comedy Less than Kosher, among other titles. The "Spotlight on Israeli Cinema," a staple of the festival, brings 31 feature films this year, including Israel's official Academy Award entry, Seven Blessings by Ayelet Menahemi, and The City, a film noir rap opera and Israel's biggest blockbuster of the year, with director and star Amit Ulman in attendance. A special subsection will be focused on Holocaust education with a collaboration with the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach, featuring multiple free community screenings like UnBroken with documentarian Beth Lane and Aviva Kampner presenting her film A Pocket of Miracles.

With 18 films mentioned here, this only cracks the surface of what the Miami Jewish Film Festival has in store next month.

Miami Jewish Film Festival. Thursday, January 11, through Thursday, January 25, at various locations; miamijewishfilmfestival.org.