The 38th Boston Jewish Film Festival opens its 11-day run across six Boston-area venues, bringing 15 films from nine countries to screens from November 4 through November 15. This year marks the festival's first edition under a new roof: JCC Greater Boston, following an organizational merger finalized at the start of 2026.
According to JCC Greater Boston, the integration of Boston Jewish Film became official on January 1, with the JCC announcing the acquisition days later. Under the new arrangement, Boston Jewish Film continues to run the annual festival and its other signature programs, and the JCC has said the partnership is meant to expand year-round programming and deepen collaboration with local artists and cultural institutions. The festival is presented by the JCC of Greater Boston, and this year's lineup includes narrative features, feature documentaries and short films, with short films paired with some features.
Opening Night Brings a Belgian Filmmaker to Brookline
The festival opens November 4 with The Soundman, a Belgian Dutch-language drama set in May 1940 on the eve of Germany's invasion of Belgium, staged inside the historic Art Deco Flagey building in Brussels. As reported by Fig City News, the 7 p.m. screening takes place at Coolidge Corner Theatre and is followed by a conversation with director Frank Van Passel.
Women Confronting the Odds Anchor This Year's Lineup
Festival organizers describe this year's slate as spotlighting women fighting against the odds and for a righteous cause. Among the films, JCC Greater Boston highlights stories ranging from a landmark abortion trial in 1970s France to a mother's decades-long search for her missing daughter. That French case appears onscreen in Women on Trial, which the Boston Herald describes as the festival's only U.S. premiere this year, centered on a landmark abortion trial from the early 1970s.
Also in the lineup is Women, which world premiered at Cannes last May and stars Charlotte Gainsbourg, per the Boston Herald. The festival also explores historical injustice, contemporary Jewish identity and LGBTQ+ experiences.
A Documentary Portrait and an Argentinian Tango Night
On November 8 at 1 p.m., the Museum of Fine Arts hosts The First Lady, a documentary centered on Efrat Tilma, who the Boston Herald reports became the first transgender volunteer in the Israeli police force. As reported by The Arts Fuse, the screening is followed by a conversation with Idit Klein and Kaden Mohamed. The Jewish Journal separately describes the film as chronicling Tilma's story as a transgender activist.
Two days later, on November 10, the festival screens I Had the Heart, an Argentinian film about an auto mechanic who performs tango, according to the Boston Herald. The screening is paired with a live tango band performing beforehand.
A Bar Mitzvah Story Closes Out the Festival
The festival concludes November 15 at Somerville Theatre with Ethan Bloom, which the Jewish Journal describes as closing out the 38th edition. The Boston Herald describes the film as the story of a bar mitzvah boy who considers Catholicism while making new friends. The closing selection caps 11 days of screenings at festival venues.
