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The World’s Largest Jewish Film Festival Runs January 14-29, 2026
The Miami Jewish Film Festival (MJFF), the world’s largest Jewish and Israeli film festival, proudly announces the full program for its 29th edition, returning January 14-29, 2026, with its most expansive lineup to date. This year’s Festival will present 139 films from 20 countries—including 105 features and 34 shorts—featuring 15 world premieres, 19 international premieres, 13 North American premieres, and 3 U.S. premieres. The hybrid festival will offer more than 90 live screenings across eight venues throughout Greater Miami, expected to welcome over 50,000 attendees, alongside an online program showcasing more than 80 films available to audiences across Florida and the United States.
Opening the Festival is Once Upon My Mother, a triumphant and big-hearted French box-office hit that celebrates the transformative power of maternal love. The premiere will take place at the historic Miami Beach Bandshell amphitheater, where more than 800 guests will join acclaimed director Ken Scott for an unforgettable evening under the stars. Closing the 29th edition is the International Emmy Award–winning Israeli drama The Ring, a powerful and deeply emotional odyssey following a father and daughter’s journey from Tel Aviv to Budapest as they search for a gold ring that once saved their family during the Holocaust.
Headlining this year’s slate is the world premiere of From Cuba to America, a made-in-Miami portrait of beloved community icon George Feldenkreis and his extraordinary journey from Havana to building the Perry Ellis fashion empire. Featuring original music by Grammy-winning legend Emilio Estefan, the film reflects Miami’s creative spirit and the Festival’s commitment to celebrating local storytelling. Also debuting as a headline premiere is Influenced, a laugh-out-loud, big-hearted comedy starring Jill Kargman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Drew Barrymore, Matt Damon, and David Krumholtz. Director Rachel Israel and Jill Kargman will attend the highly anticipated world premiere event.
The Festival will welcome more than 75 filmmakers and distinguished guests from around the world. Among this year’s international guests are Amanda Peet and director Matthew Shear, who will present the charming romantic comedy Fantasy Life, also featuring two-time Oscar nominee Judd Hirsch, Alessandro Nivola, and Jessica Harper. Peet will also introduce a special nostalgic screening of the modern classic Igby Goes Down. Acclaimed producer Nancy Spielberg and award-winning Israeli filmmaker Tom Shoval will be in attendance for the premiere of their timely new documentary A Letter to David, following David Cunio, abducted from an Israeli kibbutz on October 7.
Additional guests include trailblazing singer, songwriter, and pop-culture icon Carol Connors for the documentary Elvis, Rocky, and Me; Israeli comedic duo Guy Amir and Hanan Savyon for the premiere of Pure Luck; legendary documentarian Alan Berliner presenting Benita; and filmmaker Paula Eiselt premiering her joyfully nostalgic documentary We Met at Grossinger’s.
A robust slate of world premieres further defines this year’s edition, including Jerusalem ’67, a gripping historic war thriller from director Oded Raz; Mahler in New York, a musical documentary by Hilan Warshaw; and Tropical Paradise, a riveting Panamanian docu-thriller by Abner Benaim. Additional world premieres include the historical documentary They Called Us Trujillo’s Jews, featuring survivors attending in person; the emotionally charged WWII thriller Vindicta; and the revelatory nonfiction exposé Sapiro v. Ford: The Jew Who Sued Henry Ford.
Continuing to expand its interdisciplinary programming that blends cinema with live performance, MJFF will present the North American premiere of Hold On to Your Music, accompanied by a live classical piano performance. Filmmakers Josh Aranson and Adam R. Wood will participate in the event alongside pianist Mona Golabek, the film’s subject. This initiative underscores the Festival’s commitment to immersive, cross-disciplinary experiences that foster community, dialogue, and cultural connection.
Among the Festival’s special presentations is The New Yorker Theater: A Talbot Legacy, an inspiring chronicle of a visionary Jewish couple whose passion reshaped American film culture. The documentary will be paired with a special screening of Robert Bresson’s masterpiece A Man Escaped, introduced by Miami Film Festival founder Nat Chediak, who also appears prominently in the film.
This year’s program features several official Academy Award entries, including Israel’s bold and controversial selection The Sea; Hungary’s Orphan, the most intimate work to date by Oscar winner László Nemes; and Poland’s Franz, a daring portrait of Franz Kafka directed by the legendary Agnieszka Holland. Additional standout selections include Dead Language, nominated for 12 Israeli Academy Awards and based on the Oscar-nominated short Aya; and Holding Liat, produced by Darren Aronofsky and winner of the Best Documentary Award at the Berlin Film Festival.
Distinguished international filmmakers participating this year include Academy Award-winner Juan José Campanella, who will join a panel for the North American premiere of Bibas: Murdered for Being Jewish, a powerful chronicle of the Argentine Bibas family, victims of the October 7 attacks in Israel. International auteur Fatih Akin will present his stunning Cannes-premiered drama Amrum, while celebrated French filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin unveils his new music-themed drama Two Pianos, starring Academy Award nominee Charlotte Rampling.
Deepening its commitment to championing local storytellers, MJFF continues to spotlight Florida filmmaking as a cornerstone of its mission. This year’s “Made in Florida” selections include the U.S. premiere of Sheitel: The Beauty in the Hidden, exploring the significance of hair covering among Jewish women in Miami’s Bal Harbour community; Parting the Waters, an inspiring portrait of Florida native Michele Kupfer’s journey to the Maccabiah Games; Baseball Mensch: The Marty Lurie Story, a heartfelt look at the legendary Major League Baseball broadcaster; and Justin Schein’s acclaimed Death & Taxes, featuring Robert Reich, Paul Krugman, David Stockman, and Grover Norquist in a probing examination of wealth, tax policy, and inequality.
The Festival’s Next Wave Competition—judged by a jury of young professionals and college students ages 21 to 35—returns with a vibrant lineup, including the Israeli comedy Bella, produced by the Dardenne Brothers; the irreverent summer camp comedy The Floaters, starring Seth Green and Steve Guttenberg; the 1980s-set coming-of-age drama The Legend of Juan Jose Mundo; and Nandauri, a visually stunning, five-time Israeli Academy Award winner set in remote, snowy Georgia.
MJFF will also shine a spotlight on French cinema with a curated “Focus on France” showcase featuring 14 acclaimed new films. Highlights include the profound documentary All I Had Was Nothingness, companion to Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah; The Future Awaits, based on a gripping true story preserved by the Shoah Foundation; the North American premiere of the bittersweet World War II comedy Lucky Star; the East Coast premiere of the sumptuous romance The Pianist’s Choice; the whimsical comedy The Safe House; and the North American premiere of Splendours and Miseries of the Camndo Family, chronicling the extraordinary saga of the so-called “Rothschilds of the East.”
In partnership with the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach, MJFF will offer several free community screenings dedicated to Holocaust education. The lineup includes the premiere of Disposable Humanity, which examines the devastating legacy of the Aktion T4 program, followed by a panel discussion with director Cameron S. Mitchell led by the Miami Jewish Abilities Alliance. Also premiering is This Ordinary Thing, a poignant film that brings to life the testimonies of ordinary individuals who risked everything to save Jews during the Holocaust. Featuring an extraordinary ensemble cast—including Helen Mirren, Jeremy Irons, F. Murray Abraham, Jeannie Berlin, Eric Bogosian, Ellen Burstyn, Bill Camp, Carrie Coon, Hope Davis, Stephen Fry, Marcia Gay Harden, Stephen Lang, John Leguizamo, and Lily Tomlin—the film will be followed by a panel with director Nick Davis, moderated by the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach.
By the numbers, the 2026 Miami Jewish Film Festival will showcase 139 films, including 15 world premieres, 19 international premieres, 13 North American premieres, 3 U.S. premieres, 8 East Coast premieres, 48 Southeast U.S. premieres, and 20 Florida premieres, along with more than 50 conversations with filmmakers, artists, and scholars from across the globe.
Full program details and tickets are available at: www.miamijewishfilmfestival.org
