Miami Jewish Film Festival Returns with More Than 100 Films That Highlight the Jewish Experience

With the disturbing and exhausting resurgence of anti-Semitism worldwide — specifically in the United States — it feels more important than ever to celebrate the Jewish experience through cinema. Luckily for everyone in South Florida, the Miami Jewish Film Festival (MJFF), the largest Jewish film festival in the country, returns for its 26th edition on Thursday, January 12, with two weeks worth of programming that concludes on January 26.

As usual, MJFF has curated a gargantuan lineup of 105 films to be enjoyed in person at venues across South Florida and virtually in the comfort of your own home. With it being the city's film festival of the year, MJFF remains committed to both accessibility and inclusion while investing unabashedly in Jewish storytelling and the Jewish community via cinema.

Two comedies will bookend this year's festival with opening and closing night celebrations at Miami Beach Bandshell. Kicking off the festivities will be the affecting comedy, Karaoke, a 13-time Israeli Academy Award (Ophir) nominee featuring winning performances by Israeli stars Lior Ashkenazi and Sasson Gabay, who will be in attendance with the film's director Moshe Rosenthal. With equal star power and laughs, the festival will close with the celebrated comedy, My Neighbor Adolf, starring renowned actor Udo Kier.

Still, between the opening and closing nights, there will be an electrifying lineup featuring award contenders, festival favorites, and a myriad of premieres.

In conjunction with the 75th anniversary of the Israeli nation, the festival is putting a special spotlight on Israeli cinema featuring 29 films produced in the country. In addition to Karaoke, Sasson Gabay will also attend an open-air screening of his beloved film-turned-Broadway-musical, The Band's Visit. New movies like Jake Paltrow's June Zero look at Israeli history, and Ofir Raul Graizer's America explores a man's return to contemporary Israel. This section also includes the comedy Paris Boutique, which has earned six Ophir nominations, Matchmaking, Israel's biggest box office hit of the year, and Cinema Sabaya, Israel's official entry at this year's Oscars.

Likewise, as with past years, MJFF has a robust documentary program reflective of the Jewish community's past, present, and future. Filmmakers Nancy Spielberg and Barry Avrich will be in attendance for their respective films, Closed Circuit and The Talented Mr. Rosenberg. Other standouts include The Art of Silence, the first-ever authorized film about Marcel Marceau, Filmmakers for the Prosecution, about the search for film evidence to be used during the Nuremberg trials, and Women of Valor which charts ultra-orthodox women entering Israeli politics. If you favor music over politics, look for The Rhapsody, a look at the life of Leo Spellman and his long-long musical masterpiece. If you like politics with your music, catch This Is National Wake, which explores the South African punk band that fought against apartheid at a screening featuring a performance by band member Ivan Kadey.

And with an eye to the future and a concerted effort to foster a new generation of cinephiles, MJFF continues its New Wave program centered around a jury of students and young professionals. Reflective of cutting-edge and provocative cinema, this section provides a plethora of films varying between romantic films like Goy and March '68, provocative dark comedy Concerned Citizen, family drama Trust, and Israeli drama Barren, among others.

Speaking of the new wave, MJFF focuses on contemporary French cinema this year with a collection of 14 films featuring renowned directors and a litany of French stars. In addition to the award-winning animated film Little Nicholas, this year's festival includes Daniel Auteuil in Farewell, Mr. Haffmann from the producers of last year's Oscar winner Coda, Charlotte Gainsbourg in Yvan Attal's #metoo drama The Accusation, and Natalie Baye in the high-fashion set Haute Couture. Furthermore, Rebecca Zlowtowski's Other People's Children, starring Virtine Effira, comes to Miami following its celebrated premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, and director Olivier Dahan returns to the world of prestige biopic after directing Marion Cotillard to a Best Actress victory with his latest film Simone Veil, a Woman of the Century. If you are looking for technical awe, make sure to see Shttl, a French-Ukrainian coproduction that features a single shot in a makeshift Ukrainian village.

The films mentioned are only the tip of the iceberg for the 26th edition of the Miami Jewish Film Festival. There are numerous ticket packages available, including in-person events at some of Miami's great screening spaces like Miami Beach JCC, Miami Theater Center, and O Cinema Miami Beach, or virtual passes to be enjoyed at home. Regardless of how you see the films, this year promises to be another stellar year for the festival and its featured filmmakers.

Miami Jewish Film Festival. Thursday, January 12, through Thursday, January 26, at various locations; miamijewishfilmfestival.org. Tickets cost $14 to $325.