Best of Fest
31 CANDLES (SJFF 2026 Sold-Out Closing Night Film)
Dir. Jonah Feingold | Narrative (Rom-Com) | USA 2025
To impress his Jewish summer-camp teen crush, Leo decides to finally have that bar mitzvah—in his 30s.
Plays with: NIGHT SESSION (short)
JINXED a.k.a PURE LUCK (מזל חתולה)
Dirs. Hanan Savyon, Guy Amir | Narrative (Comedy) | Israel 2024
Comedy duo Guy Amir and Hanan Savyon strike comedy gold with this hilarious farce about two TV repairmen caught in the crosshairs of an Israeli mob hit.
Plays with: NIGHT SESSION (short)
LABORS OF LOVE: THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF HENRIETTA SZOLD (SJFF 2026 Audience Award Winner)
Dir. Abby Ginzberg | Documentary | USA 2025
Hadassah founder and pioneering humanitarian who inspired generations with her healthcare and education work on behalf of immigrants, the persecuted, and Jews and Arabs alike.
Plays with: BUTTERFLY (short, SJFF 2026 Audience Award Winner)
MATCHMAKING 2 (בחורים טובים 2)
Dir. Erez Tadmor | Narrative (Rom-Com) | Israel 2024
Still searching for his soulmate, bachelor Baruch falls for his tough matchmaker boss’s daughter in this delightful and hilarious rom-com.
Plays with: NIGHT SESSION (short)
THE RING (הטבעת) (SJFF 2026 Israeli Spotlight)
Dirs. Adir Miller, Doron Paz, Yoav Paz | Narrative (Dramedy) | Israel 2024
Popular Israeli comedian Adir Miller wrote, codirected and stars in this comic melodrama about a family’s trip to Hungary to discover the whereabouts of their matriarch’s fabled ring.
Plays with: BUTTERFLY (short, SJFF 2026 Audience Award Winner)
THE SEA (הים) (SJFF 2026 Audience Award Winner)
Dir. Shai Carmeli Pollak | Narrative (Drama) | Israel 2025
Winner of five Israeli Academy Awards (Ophirs), a tender, wryly comic and profound story about a Palestinian boy wandering through Tel Aviv on a quest to see the beach for the first time.
Plays with: BUTTERFLY (short, SJFF 2026 Audience Award Winner)
