Date/Time
March 14 - March 28
7:00 pm
Location
Jewish Community Center of Houston
Details
March 14, 8:30 pm – Opening Night: Tatami
Tatami combines the thrill of a sports drama with the excitement of a political thriller. Leila, an Iranian judo athlete, is ordered by her government to fake an injury and withdraw from the world championships rather than face an Israeli rival. With her family’s safety on the line, Leila faces an impossible choice. Shot covertly, Tatamiis the first feature film to be co-directed by Iranian and Israeli filmmakers.
March 15, 2pm – The Most Precious of Cargoes
Striking watercolor backgrounds convey the harsh landscape beauty in this animated film about a baby thrown from a train bound for Auschwitz and found in the snow by a childless woodcutter’s wife. The child transforms the lives of her adoptive parents, despite the threatening danger from the “hunters of the heartless”, the antisemites. Almost silently, the film merges fairytale elements with the reality of the Holocaust, revealing both horror and humanity.
March 15, 7pm and March 20, 1pm – Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire
Elie Wiesel’s life journey, from his family’s deportation to his legacy as a writer and human rights advocate, is narrated in his own eloquent voice. With unique access to personal archives, original interviews and employing hand-painted animation, the film stands as a testament to an extraordinary man who helped shape our collective memory of the darkest chapter of the twentieth century. This documentary is an intimate encounter with Wiesel’s humanity and determination to inspire action against injustice. Director Oren Rudavsky will be in attendance at March 15 screening.
March 16, 7:30pm – The Great Dictator
The Great Dictator was Charlie Chaplin’s first talkie—a bold, satirical attack on Hitler and fascism, years before the United States entered World War II. Chaplin used humor and his uncanny resemblance to Hitler to expose the tyranny and repression. Chaplin produced the film himself after studios warned that it would never be shown in the UK or the US; it was later nominated for five Academy Awards. This work of resistance is a powerful plea for democracy and humanity and remains highly relevant today.
March 17, 7:30pm – An Evening of Shorts
The “An Evening of Shorts” program for the 2026 Jewish Film Festival features eight diverse short films. These include dramas like We Have Sinned Before You (secrets revealed on Yom Kippur) and The Client (a lawyer babysits her Palestinian client’s daughter). Animated shorts are also featured, such as the poignant Holocaust-themed Shoah, Bernard Orès, the artistic The Sacred Society (exploring the tahara ritual), and Guygu (blending reality and fantasy around an October 7 kidnapping). Completing the lineup are documentaries like Days Between Rest (following a Ugandan Jewish singer) and Liorah (profiling a Jewish artist), along with the comedic take on Mean Girls, Yiddish Mean Girls.
March 19, 7:30pm – The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue
This documentary chronicles retired Israeli general Noam Tibon’s heroic efforts to rescue his family from a besieged kibbutz during the October 7 attacks. Using the invaders’ archival and bodycam footage, interviews with survivors and Tibon’s personal accounts, the film unfolds with heart-pounding intensity. Set against the backdrop of one of Israel’s darkest days, the film is both a gripping cinematic retelling of an extraordinary rescue and an unflinching look at the failures and resilience revealed on October 7.
March 21, 8:30pm – Matchmaking 2
After breaking box office records with their first film, the characters from Matchmaking return in this endearing romantic comedy set against Ashkenazi and Sephardic cultural tensions. Full of joy, warmth and the ultimate romantic entanglements, this refreshing and feel-good romantic drama brings us back to the pressure cooker of high-stakes Haredi dating. Endlessly witty, this film is a tender, side-splitting celebration of clashing traditions and big-hearted characters, starring some of Israel’s most dazzling young talents.
March 22, 4pm – A Rugrats Passover
Rugrats was one of the first animated series to focus on a Jewish holiday. In this groundbreaking episode, Grandpa Boris retells the story of the Exodus during a family Passover seder and the kids imagine themselves as part of Moses’s journey out of Egypt. Through their playful misunderstandings and adventures, they come to grasp themes of freedom, courage and faith, infusing humor into this heartfelt introduction to the meaning of Passover.
March 22, 7pm to 9pm – Midas Man
Set against the vibrant backdrop of “Swinging Sixties” Britain, Midas Man chronicles the life of Brian Epstein, the Jewish manager who transformed The Beatles from a scrappy Liverpool club band into a global phenomenon. Featuring Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (The Queen’s Gambit), alongside Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan, Eddie Izzard and Jay Leno, the film explores Epstein’s radical belief in talent, his groundbreaking influence on music history and the profound personal sacrifices he made while navigating fame, identity and isolation.
March 23, 7:30pm – Neuilly-Poissy
Daniel has it all: a booming business, a comfortable family life and a gift for persuasion. But when financial misconduct sends him from a luxury Neuilly apartment to a cramped prison cell in Poissy, his world is turned upside down. Stripped of his status and privilege, Daniel must learn an entirely new set of rules. Armed with humor, charm and sheer adaptability, he navigates prison life in this fast-paced, socially observant comedy about power, identity and resilience.
March 28, 8:30pm – Closing Night: The Ring
A heartfelt drama about memory, survival and reconciliation. When his Holocaust-survivor mother’s health declines, Arnon travels to Budapest in search of the ring that once saved her life. Joined by his estranged daughter, the journey becomes an intergenerational reckoning shaped by identity and love. Starring, co-written and co-directed by beloved Israeli comedian Adir Miller (The Matchmaker), and inspired by his own family history, the film blends warmth and humor into a moving testament to family and legacy.
