Santa Cruz Jewish Film Festival

10/12/2026

Screened at the 2025 SCJFF, the feature documentary TORN: The Israel-Palestine Poster War, has won the 2026 New York Emmy® Award for Best Documentary - Cultural.

WATCH the filmmaker's Emmy acceptance speech here.
https://us.list-manage.com/QelRwtAldVm?e=da9cff8e81&c2id=b18619d81badf92917a46729d48f1f35

And if you haven't seen TORN yet, the film is available to rent online.

Following ten New Yorkers caught in the conflict over the October 7 "Kidnapped from Israel" posters, the movie explores what happens when solidarity, protest, and personal grief collide on the streets of one of the world's most diverse cities.

10/08/2026

Individual tickets and festival passes now on sale for the Santa Cruz Film Festival, which opens on October 14!

Nice article today in the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

Event brings filmmakers, fun
https://edition.pagesuite.com/popovers/dynamic_article_popover.aspx?guid=9db532bb-3506-469b-a274-14c9f2aef64b&appcode=SAN180&eguid=31b0a235-2a86-435b-96cc-0c42d9c8b7eb&pnum=

From Oct. 14-18, Santa Cruz is set to become a center of the independent film world as film screenings, panel discussions, Q&As with actors and directors, and after parties are on the schedule. For lovers of film, this is a celebration not to be missed. The Sentinel had the chance to sit down with L...

09/13/2026

The Santa Cruz Jewish Film Festival is delighted to partner with the Santa Cruz Film
Festival in the screening of two films in the festival coming soon. Both films have local connections.

The Lonely Child
Thursday, October 15 at 6 pm
Del Mar Theater

UCSC grads Alix Wall and Marc Smolowitz explore the history of the Yiddish lullaby “Dos Elnte Kind”, written for Alix’s mother in the Vilna ghetto during the Holocaust.

My Name Is Gitta
Sunday, October 18 at 5 pm (closing night)
The Rio Theater

Your Gitta ticket includes admission to the SCFF closing night party!

Vivacious local Holocaust survivor Gitta Ryle retraces her steps across Europe running from the N***s, and reconnects with the people and organizations that saved her life.

Please support the SCFF and come out for these movies and events!!

To learn about the films and buy tickets visit

An artist-driven, filmmaker-forward festival for original films world-wide. Santa Cruz & the Greater Monterey Bay Area, since 2000.

07/24/2026

I'm thinking of including this 16-minute documentary from 1945 in the 2027 SCJFF. What do you think?

The Palestine "problem" is nothing new, as this short documentary f...

06/19/2026

Watch the very entertaining Q & A with Dan Sturman, Dirctor of THE STAMP THIEF on YouTube, thanks to Chelsea George.

The Stamp Thief is part detective story, part heist film, and part ...

06/18/2026

An extraordinary period drama set in a shtetl in 1930's Ukraine, SHTTL is now availabe to rent on streaming services. If you like black & white art films, you'll love the production values of this one.

In one continuous shot, SHTTL shows the lives, loves, and inner conflicts within a Yiddish-speaking shtetl on the border between Ukraine and Poland - one day before the N**i invasion of the Soviet Union. 

06/15/2026

UNravling UNRWA wins Best Documentary Award at the prestigious Toronto Jewish Film Festival!

Here's the JURY STATEMENT: “A skillfully made film that charts UNRWA’s history from its well-intentioned origins as the UN’s agency, from providing humanitarian relief for Palestinian refugees to becoming a key player in preventing the possibility of peace between Israel and the Palestinians, perpetuating misery for successive generations. The film then unpacks, with nuance and care, how this evolved.

With articulate interviewees and judicious use of archival film, UNRAVELING UNRWA gets to the heart of the Middle East conflict. The film gives space to diverse opinions, from the euphoria that accompanied the peace process of the 1990s to the involvement of UNRWA employees in Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel and hostage taking.

We admired the film for addressing this complicated history with clarity, and for making accessible for a wide audience the paradox behind one of the most intractable issues of our time.”

Unraveling UNRWA documentary: After the October 7th massacre and claims of UNRWA staff involvement in kidnappings, Israel cut ties with the agency amid Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. This documentary examines UNRWA’s 75-year journey—from its post-1948 origins as a temporary refugee agency to its ...

06/01/2026

REBOOT is an independent short film series now streaming on ChaiFlicks, "the Jewish Netflix", with half off a yearlong subscription to the entire catalogue of film and TV programming-- only $48.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IZA5pbn9V0
Here's a bit about the early June lineup:

Monday, June 1 – Pride Month
ARAVA is a coming-of-age story about faith, rebellion, friendship, identity and the complicated pull between individual freedom and community, sSet against the street-punk scene of early 2000s Jerusalem,

Monday, June 8 – Ahead of Anne Frank’s Birthday
ANNE explores the story of two actresses, one white Jewish American and one African American, who both identify deeply with The Diary of Anne Frank.

and THE ANNE FRANK GIFT SHOP, an award-winning dark satire about antisemitism, collective memory and contemporary culture.

A new partnership between Reboot Studios and ChaiFlicks kicks off today, June 1, 2026, with a month-long short film festival spotlighting bold, unexpected Je...

05/31/2026

A Scandanavian young woman is recruited to infiltrate European pro-Palestinian non-profit organizations. This documentary exposes uncomfortable truths about the Pro-Palestinian movement's funding, its leadeship, and true goals.

Hashtula: The secret agent who uncovered the secrets of Hamas in Europe. Episode one. קרדיט: ערוץ 13, צבי יחזקאלי וקודה הפקות. תחקיר: ארגון עד כאן.If you wis...

05/02/2026

THE SAND AND THE SEA
A story about the Exodus refugee ship is available for viewing online now through Sunday, May 10th.

The film explores one of the most defining journeys in Israeli history, told by the people who lived it.

Two men who met aboard the Exodus ship in 1947, the young ship captain and a Holocaust survivor, meet again decades later to reflect on the perilous journey, and on what became of the dream they once shared.

Then you can meet the Director in a Live Filmmaker Conversation on Zoom! Yonatan Nir will host director Ronen Zaretzky on Sunday, May 3rd at 10:00 AM (PacificT ime).

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Join a DocuNation online film screening and enjoy a rare opportunity to watch a documentary and meet the filmmakers behind it through a live conversation.