Traditionally screened at various locations throughout Tidewater, the Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, presented by Alma & Howard Laderberg, offers a range of cinema experiences, from compelling documentaries to poignant comedies that engage and spark conversations.

 

 

 

33rd Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film
February 15-25, 2026

As one of the longest-running Jewish film festivals in the country, the Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, presented by Alma & Howard Laderberg, educates and engages diverse Tidewater communities, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, by presenting world-class film premieres, repertory cinema, and associated programs that are inspired by Jewish or Israeli history, heritage, and values. Our vision is to create shared experiences and connections through film and cultural programs inspired by Jewish legacy and values.

 

 

 Full Festival Pass: $80 (Must purchase by Sunday, Feb 1)

The BIG Saturday Night Celebration of Jewish Film: $45

Tickets for all other films: $15 each


Kids Night Out babysitting is available at the Simon Family JCC for the BIG Saturday Night Celebration of Jewish Film. Registration is required in advance. JewishVA.org/KNO

No refunds or exchanges

The Stronghold


Sunday, February 15 • 2:30 PM

Location provided on registration

Followed by a conversation with featured actor Michael Aloni (Shtisel, The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem).
 

Details

 

Director Lior Chefetz 113 min Israel 2024 Hebrew with English subtitles Historical Narrative Feature Not rated. Contains violence and themes that may be distressing to some viewers

 

Sinai Desert, Yom Kippur War, 1973. In a remote outpost, a company of Israeli soldiers are overwhelmed by a sudden Egyptian onslaught. After a week of ceaseless assaults, the survivors face imminent doom. With lives hanging by a thread, a young lieutenant and an army doctor confront a soul-shattering choice: a desperate last stand or a perilous gamble that could betray everything they stand for.

 

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Presented as part of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, Simon Family JCC, and Community Partners’ 15th Annual Israel Today Series.

 

 

The Ring

 

Thursday, February 19 • 2:30 & 7:30 PM

Location provided on registration

 

Details

 

Directors Adir Miller, Doron Paz, Yoav Paz ● 122 min ● Israel, Hungary ● 2024 ● Hebrew and Hungarian with English subtitles ● Narrative Feature ● Not rated

 

Arnon Noble was saved as a baby when his mother bribed a Hungarian soldier with a precious ring to spare his life during the Holocaust. Now a devout man living in Israel, his world is shaken when his beloved mother is hospitalized. Determined to uncover the truth behind his family’s past, he embarks on an emotional journey to Budapest with his estranged daughter, searching for the ring in the hope that it might once again bring salvation.

 

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tatami

Saturday, February 21 • 7:30 PM
Location provided on registration

 

THE BIG SATURDAY NIGHT CELEBRATION OF JEWISH FILM!
Followed by a dessert reception.

 

Details

 

Directors Guy Nattiv & Zar Amir Ebrahami ● 105 min ● Israel, Iran, Georgia ● 2025 ● English, Farsi with English subtitles ● Narrative Feature ● Not rated. Contains scenes with brief nudity and themes that may be distressing to some viewers

 

In this searing political sports thriller, a female Iranian judo champion and her coach face a harrowing ultimatum in a championship match against an Israeli opponent. Set during the Judo World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, rising star Leila is on the brink of victory when the Iranian regime intervenes, ordering her to forfeit to avoid a potentially humiliating loss.

 

Her coach, Maryam, joins her in an agonizing decision: withdraw under false pretenses to protect family in Iran or risk everything and defy the regime. The first film ever co-directed by an Israeli and an Iranian filmmaker, Tatami pairs stark black-and-white visuals with kinetic camerawork to amplify the adrenaline of competition and expose authoritarian rule.

 

Awards:
WINNER, Freedom of Expression Award | Venice International Film Festival, 2023

WINNER, Best Actress (Zar Amir-Ebrahimi) | Tokyo International Film Festival, 2023

 

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The Road Between Us:

The Ultimate Rescue

Sunday, February 22 • 2:30 PM
Location provided on registration

 

Details

 

Director Barry Avrich ● 95 min ● Canada ● 2025 ● English ● Captioned ● Documentary ● Rated R. Contains scenes that may be distressing to some viewers.

 

In a harrowing real-life story, The Road Between Us follows retired Israeli general Noam Tibon, who on October 7, 2023, received a desperate text from his son: terrorists had stormed his home, and he, his wife, and their two young daughters feared for their lives.

 

With no time to spare, Noam and his wife, Gali, embarked on a ten-hour mission across a country under siege to save their family. Relying only on his instincts and military training, Noam navigated ambushes, roadblocks, and a collapsing security system in a relentless race against time.

 

Awards:

WINNER, People’s Choice Award, Documentary | Toronto International Film Festival, 2025

 

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The Blond Boy

from the Casbah

Monday, February 23 • 7:15 PM
Location provided on registration

 

Preceded by the short film, DAYS BETWEEN REST

 

Details

 

THE BLOND BOY FROM THE CASBAH
Director Alexandre Arcady ● 128 min ● France ● 2024 ● French with English subtitles ● Narrative Feature ● Not rated

 

Having emigrated to France with his family years earlier, Antoine reconnects with his roots in a neighborhood of Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Nostalgic memories flood back—school, friends, his Sephardic upbringing, and his early fascination with cinema—as he presents his new film, an account of his childhood shaped by the unrest that ultimately forced them to flee.

 

As father and son bond over shared history, this sentimental sojourn, adapted from director Alexandre Arcady's memoir, is brought to life on the vibrant streets of Algiers, evoking a bygone time.
 

DAYS BETWEEN REST

Director Peter Decherney ● 12 min ● USA, Uganda ● 2024 ● English ● Documentary ● Not rated

 

Grammy-nominated Ugandan singer Rachel Namadosi reflects on growing up Jewish in Uganda, overcoming antisemitism, and the power of music, as she goes about her busy day and looks forward to her day of rest, Shabbat.

 

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For the Love of a Woman

Wednesday, February 25 • 2:30 PM & 7:30 PM
Location provided on registration

 

Details

 

Director Guido Chiesa ● 117 min ● Italy ● 2025 ● English ● Narrative Feature ● Not rated

 

Set across two eras, this evocative drama masterfully intertwines a love story with a gripping historical mystery, as a woman’s journey through 1970s Israel unearths the long-buried passions and secrets of another’s life in the same land in the 1930s.

This film contains violence and themes that may be distressing to some viewers.

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No refunds or exchanges

 

 

FILM DETAILS

A Feminist Lens:

The Art & Activism of Photographer Joan Roth

Tuesday, February 3  •  7:30 PM
Reba & Sam Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish Community
5000 Corporate Drive, Virginia Beach

 

Film Screening & Conversation

 

Details

 

An intimate portrait of internationally acclaimed photographer Joan Roth, this film focuses on five decades of Roth’s pioneering photography, in which she used her camera to advocate for homeless women in New York City, documented leaders in the U.S. Women’s Movement from the 1970s through today, and illuminated the diverse lives of Jewish women around the world.

 

A companion exhibition of Joan Roth’s photography will be displayed in the Simon Family JCC’s Leon Family Gallery, January 26 – March 27.

 

Free and open to the community. Registration required.

 

REGISTER NOW

 

 

 

Art Spiegelman:

Disaster Is My Muse

Sunday, March 15  • 2:00 PM
Chrysler Museum of Art

One Memorial Place, Norfolk, Virginia 23510

 

Details

 

This revealing portrait offers an intimate look at the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of Maus, exploring how personal trauma, cultural catastrophe, the Holocaust, and political unrest have shaped Spiegelman’s life and work.

 

After the screening, the film’s directors will take the stage to discuss the making of the film, the challenges of capturing such a complex figure on screen, and the creative choices behind telling Spiegelman’s story. Audiences will gain behind-the-scenes insights into the storytelling process, archival research, and the unique responsibility of documenting an artist whose work continues to resonate worldwide.

 

$8 for Chrysler Museum of Art members, $16 for non-members*. Tickets increase by $10 at the door. Registration is recommended.

*Tickets are included in the full festival pass for the Virginia Festival of Jewish Film. Registration is not required for festival passholders.

 

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This program is presented by the Chrysler Museum of Art in partnership with the Virginia Festival of Jewish Film and the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater

 

 

 

 

🎞️ Support those in need while enjoying a night out!

The Virginia Festival of Jewish Film is supporting Jewish Family Service of Tidewater's Community Food Pantry.
Donations to the food pantry will be accepted at the check-in table for each film. 


The pantry is in need of the following items:

 

  • Cleaning products (dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent, disinfectants, Clorox wipes, etc.)
  • Personal hygiene products (shampoo, body wash, bars of soap, deodorant, etc.) 
  • Toilet paper and paper towels
  • Cooking oil
  • Condiments (ketchup, mustard, pickles and relish, etc.)
  • Snack foods (cookies, crackers, pretzels, etc.)

Learn more about JFS's food assistance programs here.

 

 

🎞️ Programs Inclusivity

Thanks to the generous support of the Bartel Family, in honor of their parents and grandparents, Alan & Dolores Bartel, the following accessibility accommodations are available for these community programs (depending on the program location). Accommodations must be requested at least a week prior to the event.

 

Accomodations can be requested during the registration process, and include:

 

  • Closed captioning services for online programming
  • Interpreting services for Deaf or non-English speakers
  • Assisted listening services to amplify sounds
  • Preferential seating near a presenter to aid in comprehension
  • Sensory fidget tools
  • Noise-reducing headphones
  • Stand-assist devices
  • Audio recording of written materials for the visually impaired 

 

 

🎞️ Thank you to the 2026 Virginia Festival of Jewish Film Screening Committee 

 

Anne Fleder, Chair, Arts + Ideas 
Neil Rose, Co-Chair, Festival
Beth Scharlop, Co-Chair, Festival 
Mark Robbins, Chair, Screening 
Rebecca Auerbach
Rob Copeland 
Nathan Goldin
Helen Goldsticker Sissel

Evalyn Horowitz 

Scott Levin 
Amy Levy
Pati Olizewski
Judit Roth 
Dorothy Shiloff Hughes
Gloria Siegel 
Larry Stein 
Shelly Stein

 

🎞️  THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS PATRONS OF THE ARTS AND SPONSORS:

Karen and Avraham Ashkenazi
Rebecca Auerbach
Babbi and Brad Bangel
Lorelei E. Brice
Wendy and Ron Brodsky
Carol and Allan Brum
Stephanie Calliott and Don London
Marsha L. Chenman, in memory of her parents Sol and Bertha
Susan and Andrew Cohen
Cheryl Dronzek
Barbara Dudley
Susan and Jim Eilberg
Lois Einhorn
Mona and Jeffrey Flax
Alan and Esther Fleder Foundation
Anne and Lawrence Fleder
Alicia London Friedman and Robert S. Friedman
Shari Friedman and Andrew King

Laura and Fred Gross
Joanna Homrighausen
Ellen Rostov Hundley
Connie Jacobson
 

Jaffe Family Fund
Carol and Joel Jason
Betsy and Ed Karotkin
Jodi and Jay Klebanoff
Teresa Knecht and Marc Lindgren
Anne and Edward Kramer
Abbie and Steven Laderberg
Robert Lehman
Caren and Stephen Leon
David Leon
Sandra Porter Leon and Miles Leon
Betty Ann and Scott Levin
Joan London
Nancy Loewenberg and Richard Marten
Robin and Matthew Mancoll
Ronni Marcus
Marcia and Burton Moss
Stacie and Marc Moss
Heather Nevins
Nelson Noriega
Andrew Nusbaum
Dr. Holly Puritz and Dr. Stephen Wohlgemuth

 

 

Poole Brooke Plumlee PC
Lisa and Howard Roesen
Judith Rosenblatt
Sara Jo and Joel Rubin
Shikma and Danny Rubin
Terri and Lonny Sarfan
Laure and Richard Saunders
Beth Scharlop and Roger Schultz
Lynn Schoenbaum
Deborah and Peter Segaloff
Patricia and Herman Shelanski
Sandy and Norman Sher
Lynn and Sadie Sher Cohen
Leslie and Lawrence Siegel
Helen Sissel
Sonia Stein-Bonnie
Lawrence Steingold
Renee and John Strelitz
Myrna Teck and Allan Zeno
Tidewater Jewish Foundation
Dr. Alan and Jody Wagner
Alice and Eric Werner
Helen and David Wolfe
Amy and Frank Zelenka

 

 

 

The Virginia Festival of Jewish Film is presented by the Alma & Howard Laderberg Restricted Fund of the Tidewater Jewish Foundation and funded in part by the citizens of Virginia Beach and Norfolk through grants from the City of Virginia Beach Arts and Humanities Commission and the Norfolk Arts Commission.

The Big Saturday Night Celebration of Jewish Film is sponsored by Beth Sholom Village and Aviva Pembroke.

 

 

FOR TICKETS OR MORE INFORMATION

Contact Hunter Thomas, Director of Arts & Entertainment at  HThomas@ujft.org or (757) 965-6137.

 

 

PREVIOUS FILMS

 

Offering shared experiences and connections through film and cultural programs inspired by Jewish legacy and values for over 30 years, here’s a look back at the most recent films the community has enjoyed, many of which are now available through various streaming services.

 

2025

 

2024

 

2023

 

2022

 

2021

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015