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Jewish filmmakers

Director Rachel Israel, right, and producer Shai Korman arrive at the premiere of 'The Floaters' during the 2025 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, August 3, 2025. (Miikka Skaffari/Getty Images via JTA)
August 7, 2026, 1:53 am
With 2 new films, director Rachel Israel offers comic relief for Diaspora Jews on edge
In ‘The Floaters’ and ‘Influenced,’ the New York filmmaker shows Jewish identity as the backdrop for friendship, family and ambition rather than antisemitism or crisis
By Stephen Silver
Director Sam Firstenberg and the poster for his 1989 'Riverbend.' (Courtesy of Firstenberg)
April 24, 2026, 7:29 pm
A popular US theater is reviving a lost film by Israeli B-movie director Sam Firstenberg
Alamo Drafthouse theaters in five cities will screen the 1989 action drama ‘Riverbend’ on April 29, signaling renewed interest in a filmmaker critics praised as a master of ‘earnest schlock’
By Stephen Silver
Frederick Wiseman at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 16, 2024, in Cannes, France. (Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/ via Getty Images/ via JTA)
February 17, 2026, 8:18 pm
Oscar-winning documentarian Frederick Wiseman, shut out for being a Jew, dies at 96
The director of ‘City Hall,’ ‘The Store’ and dozens of other films fought antisemitism as a college student
By Andrew Lapin
Writer-director Rob Reiner poses for a portrait in New York, May 2, 2016. (Brian Ach/Invision/AP)
December 15, 2025, 11:16 am
Rob Reiner, Jewish comedy giant behind slew of iconic Hollywood films, dies at 78
Son of famed comedian Carl Reiner got his start acting on ‘All in the Family’ before becoming acclaimed filmmaker with ‘Stand By Me,’ ‘The Princess Bride’ and ‘When Harry Met Sally’
By AP and ToI Staff
Richard Trank (left), filming in Tel Aviv in December 2019. (Courtesy)
November 25, 2025, 5:57 am
Oscar-winning filmmaker moves to Israel and trains his lens on October 7 survivors
Richard Trank, who produced over a dozen films on Jewish and Israeli themes, feels there is ‘a lot I can contribute’ by settling in the Jewish state after decades in Los Angeles
By Amy Spiro
A demonstrator holds a placard that reads 'You are all an audience to genocide' during a march in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza, during the Film Festival in Venice, Italy, August 30, 2025. (Photo by Alessandra Tarantino/Invision/AP)
September 10, 2025, 5:38 pm
Amid Gaza war, Israeli filmmakers battle international condemnation and isolation
In festivals from Venice to Toronto, Israeli creators face protests and boycotts, forcing them to choose: blue-and-white filmmaking — or having their work seen under another flag
By Abigail Macias
Rabbi Moses 'Mo' Zaltzman, played by actor Mark Feuerstein, in 'Guns & Moses.' (Courtesy)
March 16, 2025, 6:19 am
A gunslinging rabbi takes on an antisemitic whodunit in this thrilling Jewish Western
Screening March 16 at the Boca International Jewish Film Festival, ‘Guns & Moses’ targets all-too-real themes for US Jews while keeping audiences on the edge of their seats
By Rich Tenorio
Civil rights leaders Roy Wilkins and A. Phillip Randolph during a protest at Maryland's Glen Echo Park in 1960. (Courtesy/George Meany Library)
January 14, 2025, 7:42 am
Film charts lasting impact of rollercoaster Black-Jewish protest of segregated park
Documentary film ‘Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round,’ screening Jan. 29 at the NY Jewish Film Festival, shows how a 1960 neighborhood demonstration in Maryland shifted civil rights
By Luke Tress
Jeff Baena arrives at the premiere of "Spin Me Round," August 17, 2022, at The London in West Hollywood, Calif. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
January 5, 2025, 8:11 am
Director Jeff Baena found dead in his home at 47
Circumstances of death still unknown; Los Angeles medical examiner’s office says details won’t be revealed until investigation is concluded
By AP and ToI Staff
Charles Shyer attends 'The Noel Diary' screening at The Bay Theater on November 10, 2022 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix/AFP)
December 30, 2024, 9:38 am
Charles Shyer, filmmaker behind ‘Father of the Bride’ and ‘Baby Boom,’ dies at 83
Writer and director best known for a string of comedies in the ’80s and ’90s with his then-wife, Nancy Meyers, including ‘Private Benjamin’ and ‘The Parent Trap’
By Lindsey Bahr
Major Jewish movies of 2024 included (clockwise from top left) "Between the Temples," "September 5," "A Complete Unknown," "The Brutalist" and "A Real Pain." (Photo illustration: Grace Yagel/70 Faces Media)
December 26, 2024, 12:56 am
Despite US Jews’ anxiety over antisemitism and Israel, Jewish films are having a moment
‘The Brutalist,’ ‘A Real Pain’ and ‘A Complete Unknown’ are all on this year’s prominent top-10 lists as they and others are expected to see plenty of attention come Oscar season
By Andrew Lapin
Arthur Harari (right) as attorney Georges Kiejman in 'The Goldman Case.' (Courtesy of Menemsha Films/Moonshaker)
December 4, 2024, 1:35 am
Award-winning French film about Jewish radical shrouded in mystery makes US debut
‘The Goldman Case’ tells the story of Pierre Goldman, who was convicted of murdering two pharmacists in a robbery before a retrial cleared him of the charges
By Shira Li Bartov
Director Jim Abrahams speaks onstage at the screening of "Top Secret!" during the 2017 TCM Classic Film Festival on April 8, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Charley Gallay / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
November 28, 2024, 7:54 pm
Jim Abrahams, co-creator of ‘Airplane!’ and ‘The Naked Gun,’ dies at 80
Filmmaker was known for a string of comedy movies made alongside childhood friends David and Jerry Zucker, who he met at synagogue
By ToI Staff
Zack Weiner’s 2021 campaign to represent the Upper West Side was fodder for his new film, 'Citizen Weiner.' (Courtesy Zack Weiner via JTA)
November 6, 2024, 8:53 pm
This Jewish actor made a ‘reality film’ about his not-quite real campaign for NYC Council
In mockumentary ‘Citizen Weiner,’ young filmmaker Zack Weiner actually runs for office, campaigning on issues close to his heart – and experiencing the consequences of public life
By Joseph Strauss
June Squibb, left and Fred Hechinger star in 'Thelma,' opening the 41st Jerusalem Film Festival on July 18, 2024 (Credit David Bolen)
July 7, 2024, 8:44 pm
Jerusalem Film Festival to open with comic ‘Thelma’
The annual summer film event announces international offerings, including Josh Margolin’s feel-good flick about his wily grandmother
By Jessica Steinberg
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