Ames Amzalak Rochester Jewish Film Festival

July 26–August 2, 2026

All Festival Passes

Support the festival by purchasing an
All Festival Pass and see every film for less!

JCC Member: $180
Non-Member: $220

NOTE: When purchasing your All Festival Pass, you will be prompted
to reserve your seats for every film that you plan to attend.

Individual tickets will be available for sale starting June 8.

Sunday, July 26	Monday, July 27	Tuesday, July 28	Wednesday, July 29	Thursday, July 30	Friday, July 31	Saturday, August 1	Sunday, August 2
	Mahler in NY 11am	All I Had Was Nothingness 11am	Ada: My Mother the Architect 11am	My One and Only 11am	We Met at Grossinger’s 11am
The Future Awaits 1pm	The Safe House 1:15pm	Halisa 1:15pm	Charles Grodin 1:15pm	Swedishkayt 1:30pm	Labors of Love 1:30pm		Lucky Star 12pm
Tovah 3pm	Tatami 6pm	A Letter to David 6pm	Oxygen 6pm	The Road Between Us 6pm			Among Neighbors 2:15pm
Once Upon My Mother 7pm	Frontier 8:15pm	The Soundman 8:30pm	The Stamp Thief 8:15pm	Bella 8:30pm		Rosenthal 7:45pm	Love, Statistically Speakings 6pm

Sunday, July 26

The Future Awaits (La vie devant moi)

The Future Awaits (La vie devant moi) tells the story of Tauba Zylbersztejn, a young Jewish girl who, along with her parents, lived in hiding for two years in a maid’s room in Paris during the German Occupation. This space—at once a refuge and a prison—becomes the setting for a silent struggle for survival. Based on true events, this narrative sheds light on a dark period of history when entire families were forced to sacrifice their freedom to escape Nazi roundups.

Underwritten by The William and Sheila Konar Foundation

Community Partner

Tovah

Sunday, July 26, 3pm; Dryden Theatre
Documentary | 2026 | 60 min. | English | USA | Director: David Serero

For more than fifty years, Tovah Feldshuh has delighted Broadway, film, and television audiences with a host of memorable performances, including roles in Yentl, Walking Tall, Othello, Lend Me a Tenor, and her acclaimed stage portrayal of Golda Meir. Now she’s enchanting a new generation with her appearances on Netflix’s Nobody Wants This. The legendary artist will join us for our very special opening night event: a screening of this new biographical documentary, followed by a conversation and book signing with her.

Post-film speakers: Tovah Feldshuh and director David Seraro

Underwritten by The Rubens Family Foundation

Once Upon My Mother

It’s 1963 in Paris, and Esther gives birth to clubfooted Roland, the youngest child in a large, raucous family. All the experts agree he will never walk normally, but Esther knows better, and devotes herself to ensuring Roland will have the amazingly, wonderful life she promises him. Spanning decades, Ester’s advocacy, perseverance, and miracles, are at times comic, poignant, and extraordinarily moving, but in the end, this film is about an incredible destiny and the greatest love of all: a mother’s love for her child.

Underwritten by Gary and Marcia Stern Family Foundation

Opening night party to follow!

Monday, July 27

Mahler in NY

Monday, July 27, 11am; JCC Hart Theater
Documentary | 2026 | 93 min. | English | USA | Director: Hilan Warshaw

As both composer and conductor, Gustav Mahler was one of the most pivotal figures of late-nineteenth-century European music. But the final years of his life were largely spent in New York City. Here, he worked on his last symphonies, transformed New York’s musical life by leading both the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera, and confronted the greatest emotional crisis of his life, his marriage to the famously complicated Alma, who remains a controversial figure to this day.

Join us at 10:30am for a Mahler musical tribute featuring RPO musicians Rebecca Gilbert and Cary Ratcliff

Underwritten by
Dr. Stuart Hanau and Linda Lohner, Joyce Schachter, and Elise and Joseph Wojciechowski

Community Partner

Safe House

A buoyant comedy set in Paris, May 1968. That’s when students, workers, and others joined a national strike that turned France upside down. Our hero is a 9-year-old boy. While his parents have joined the protests, he’s thrilled to stay in his grandparents’ apartment with his eccentric uncles and colorful great grandmother. As the title suggests, it was a hideout during the darkest days of WWII, which becomes clear when an illustrious visitor seeking shelter comes knocking.

Post-film speaker: Professor Michael Dobkowski

Underwritten by
Donna and Bruce Cohen, Heidi and Mike Fishman, and Dr. Paul and Suzanne Rosenberg

Community Partner

Tatami

Monday, July 27, 6pm; Dryden Theatre
Narrative | 2024 | 103 min. | English, Farsi (w/ subtitles) | Georgia, UK, USA
Director: Guy Nattiv, Zar Amir

A surprising collaboration between Israeli Academy Award-winning filmmaker Guy Nattiv (Golda) and Iranian actress-turned-director Zar Amir Ebrahimi (star of Holy Spider), Tatami delivers a daring takedown of state oppression via the world of competitive judo. Iranian judoka Leila Hosseini is an underdog at the world championship this year, but that doesn’t lessen her determination to take the gold. But the meet has barely begun when her coach Maryam gets a phone call from the Iranian regime demanding that Leila drop out of the competition and lose to avoid facing an Israeli opponent, or be branded a traitor to her country. An edge-of-your-seat thriller.

Underwritten by Skirboll Family Foundation in memory of Mort Skirboll ^z”l
and Linda Cornell Weinstein and Sherwin Weinstein

Frontier

A timely political thriller set in 1943 Spain. Fascist dictator Franco wants to stop Jews from crossing over the Pyrenees mountains to escape the Nazis, and orders the border closed. In a small border village an anti-Franco civil servant, a French smuggler, and a local woman defy orders and help as many as possible. But it’s a dangerous game that taunts them with memories of the still recent Spanish Civil War that ended with Franco firmly in power.

Underwritten by Erni and Randy Schuster

Tuesday, July 28

All I Had Was Nothingness

Tuesday, July 28, 11am; JCC Hart Theater

Claude Lanzmann’s monumental masterpiece, Shoah, remains the definitive Holocaust documentary. This cinema verité style film has no archival “horror scenes” of the camps, only Lanzmann’s own interviews with victims, perpetrators, and witnesses. Using words drawn from his memoirs and never-before-seen footage, this extraordinary film explores why Lanzmann decided upon his unique approach, the di iculties and dangers it created (including filming people in secret), and how he overcame them to produce a film now part of UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.

Underwritten by Miller Family Foundation:
Carolyn, Michael, Deanna, Sophie, Andrea and Aaron

Community Partner

Halisa

Every day, Sarah cares for other people’s babies at the Children’s Health Center in Haifa’s impoverished, multi-ethnic Halisa neighborhood, but she also yearns for a child of her own. After two years of failed attempts, her desperate desire for motherhood collides with the struggles of a young mother, culminating in a risky decision with potentially devastating consequences. This moving story features a touching lead performance by acclaimed Israeli actress Noa Koler.

Underwritten by Kowal Family Fund, Kathy London, Margaret Shavick and Stephen Wallace

Community Partner

A Letter To David

Filmmaker Tom Shoval crafts a personal cinematic letter to David Cunio, who was abducted from Nir Oz to Gaza on October 7th and was released after 738 days in captivity. Ten years ago, David and his twin brother Eitan starred in Shoval’s award-winning debut feature film Youth (Berlinale 2013), which focused on the powerful bond between brothers and, in a tragic and unimaginable twist of fate, revolved around a kidnapping. Through unedited behind-the-scenes footage, Shoval builds a multi-layered documentary that explores the inexplicable connections between life and cinema, memory and reality, and the catastrophic consequences of war.

Post-film speaker: Producer Nancy Spielberg

Underwritten by Rochester Periodontal & Dental Implants, Oren I. Weiss, D.M.D., M.P.H.

The Soundman

One of the most imaginative films we’ve ever shown, a unique love story set in a radio station right before the 1940 German invasion of Belgium. He is an extraordinarily talented sound engineer whose soundscapes create entire worlds. She is a luminous voice actress offering joy in uncertain times. Through lyrical visuals, sumptuous period detail, and breathtaking use of sound, we experience their deepening love as the radio station becomes their haven against pre-war Europe’s gathering darkness.

Underwritten by Peter Lovenheim and Elise Siegel

Wednesday, July 29

Ada: My Mother the Architect

Ben-Gurion airport, the Open University Campus, the Supreme Court of Israel: some of the world’s most innovative, influential, and inspiring buildings, yet few outside the fiercely competitive, male-dominated field of architecture know who created them: the Israeli architect Ada Karmi-Melamede. This biographical portrait directed by her daughter explores the extreme sexism she fought, and the cost to her relationship with that daughter, which remains a complex combination of distance, admiration, tension and love.

Underwritten by Lorraine and Daan Braveman and Ann and Bruce Leonard

Charles Grodin: Rebel with a Cause

Wednesday, July 29, 1:15pm; JCC Hart Theater
Documentary | 2025 | 92 min. | English | USA | Director: James L. Freedman

Can you imagine anyone stealing a film from Robert DeNiro? Grodin did. Just check out 1988’s Midnight Run. He was equally impressive as the loathsome yet pitiable Heartbreak Kid. But he also wrote eight books and three plays, hosted his own talk show, and used them all to champion a wide range of issues of social justice. This treasure trove of film clips, interviews, and memories reveals the lasting impact of Grodin’s singular talent on entertainment – and humanity.

Underwritten by Debi and Ralph Brenner
and Brighton Memorial Chapel, Inc.

Oxygen

Single mother Chani (the great Israeli actor Dana Ivgy) is eagerly awaiting her son’s discharge from the Israeli army, and their long-planned trip together to India. But when a war with Lebanon begins, she’s alarmed to discover he’s opted to rejoin. Despite her pleas, and e orts to intervene, he’s determined to risk his life and go back into battle. So Chani decides to take matters into her own hands, to the extreme . . . Don’t miss this powerful, deep look into one family’s complex reality.

Underwritten by Sharon Brodsky and Noreen Salerno

Community Partners

The Stamp Thief

Wednesday, July 29, 8:15pm; Dryden Theatre

What happens when you combine a Seinfeld producer, a fake film crew, and a decades-old Nazi legend? Gary Gilbert tells all in this thrilling documentary that’s part detective story, part heist film, and part history, covering his team’s exploits in traveling across the Atlantic to unearth an old rumor. Afraid that the truth will hamstring their investigation before they can begin, he and his team craft an elaborate story to disguise their real goal – finding a cache of rare stamps buried underneath a pre-war apartment building in Poland. The logistics are convoluted, the close calls numerous – this film will have you holding your breath until the final conclusion is reached.

Come, welcome, and meet the new CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester, Gustavo Rymberg!

Underwritten by Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester

Community Partners

Thursday, July 30

My One and Only

Weeks after birthing her first child, a newly religious woman tells her rabbi that her husband has been replaced by a double. The rabbi’s wife thinks she’s unstable; the rabbi’s not so sure. But he has secrets of his own. Meanwhile, a secular bride-to-be is having her own peculiar problems. While this may sound like a Twilight Zone-like fantasy, it’s actually an exceptionally sophisticated look at how we change in relationships and how the person closest to us can become a stranger.

Underwritten by
Mona Friedman Kolko Family Fund and Dan and Marilyn Waingarten

Swedishkayt: Yidlife Crisis in Stockholm

In 1999, Sweden recognized five minority languages within its borders: Finnish, Meänkieli, Romani, Sami languages, and…Yiddish? Could that be right? Comedy duo Eli Batalion and Jamie Elman embark on a journey north to discover what Jewish roots lie in this Scandinavian nation. From language classes to theatrical performances, they explore the culture, history, and lives of the 20,000 Jews still living in Sweden today. Comical yet emotionally resonant, this film explores a history often overlooked but no less important to the diasporic Jewish story.

Underwritten by
Jan Feldman and Tobie and John Olsan

Community Partner

The Road Between Us

A tense, heartwrenching film, The Road Between Us recounts the incredible true story of Noam and Gali Tibon. When he heard of Hamas’ attacks on the Nahal Oz kibbutz on October 7th, the retired IDF General and his wife made the shocking decision to head straight into danger – moving south along deserted roads in an e ort to rescue their son and his family. Along the way they help injured civilians, rendezvous with soldiers, and show that this family’s love is stronger than their fear.

Live Virtual Q&A with director Barry Avrich to follow

Underwritten by Festival Friends

Bella

When Yaki returns home for his father’s funeral, he doesn’t expect anything from the will – and certainly not the responsibility of caring for his dad’s pet bird, Bella. However, once he realizes that she is actually a prizewinning dove and expected to fetch a high price at auction the next day, he sets off on a wild goose – er, dove chase – to bring her home. Joined by his childhood friend and their wives, they crash a wedding, try to dupe border guards, and drive hundreds of miles across the desert in order to track down Bella in time for the sale to go off without a hitch.

Underwritten by
Maxine and Jerry Rosen
and Israel Bonds

Friday, July 31

We Met at Grossinger's

Friday, July 31, 11am; JCC Hart Theater
Documentary | 2026 | 104 min. | English | USA | Director: Paula Eiselt

Let’s be honest: for many of us, documentaries about the Catskills in the 50s–70s are irresistible. This delightful, nostalgic romp through Borscht Belt history focuses on Grossinger’s and its beloved matriarch, Jennie Grossinger. Warm, welcoming, generous to a fault, the “Queen of the Catskills” treated her guests as family, including legendary non Jewish figures like Jackie Robinson and Eleanor Roosevelt. And as the title implies, she was always happy to play cupid for them. So come and enjoy a little dirty dancing with us.

Following the film, enjoy Yiddish music performed by Bonnie Abrams and Allen Hopkins

Underwritten by Lynn Astarita Gatto and Richard Gatto in memory of Ann and Murray Astarita ^z”l

Labors of Love: The Life and Legacy of Henrietta Szold

Friday, July 31, 1:30pm; JCC Hart Theater
Documentary | 2025 | 80 min. | English, Hebrew (w/ subtitles) | USA | Director: Abby Ginzberg

Most of us know Szold founded Hadassah more than a century ago. But few know that she also pioneered Palestine’s (as it was called then) healthcare system built on a mandate to treat Arabs and Jews equally, and ran an operation that saved 11,000 Jewish children from Nazi Europe. And who better to narrate this remarkable woman’s story than a contemporary remarkable woman, Tovah Feldshuh, whom you’ll meet on opening night when her own story is told.

Underwritten by Barbara and Marvin Gray and Lester and Monika Katzel

Community Partner

Saturday, August 1

Rosenthal: The Great Showman

In 1978, Hans Rosenthal is the “Alex Trebek” of Germany’s most popular game show. Audiences flock to the TV studio for live broadcasts, while the rest of country watches in anticipation at home. Hans loves his success and doesn’t seem bothered that his audience doesn’t know he’s Jewish. But when the big anniversary broadcast is scheduled on the same night as the 40th anniversary of Kristallnacht, Hans must decide between his career or his heritage. A moral conundrum wrapped in an entertaining feature that is sure to spark discussion.

Join us outside at the George Eastman Museum after Rosenthal: The Great Showman to share in a special Havdalah with our RJFF friends and family.

Underwritten by Debby Goldman

Sunday, August 2

Lucky Star

Mixing outrageous farce with serious suspense, Lucky Star shows what happens when foolish Jean Chevalin (noted Belgian comedian Benoit Poelvoorde) believes the absurdities of antisemitism. As Germany is about to invade France, and he hears that “Jews always come out on top,” he convinces his family to pretend to be Jewish. What follows, including unexpected friendships with “real Jews” and being mistaken for a noted Resistance fighter, educates Jean and keeps us laughing – when we’re not biting our nails.

Underwritten by Samloff Family Fund

Among Neighbors

Sunday, August 2, 2:15pm; Dryden Theatre
Documentary | 2025 | 100 min. | English, Polish (w/ subtitles) | Poland, USA | Director: Yoav Potash

Combining magical realism with traditional documentary techniques, Among Neighbors examines the mystery of a small, rural town where people of two di erent faiths lived side by side for centuries – until the killing began. The film reveals both love and betrayal as it zeroes in on a crime committed among neighbors: the murder of Holocaust survivors in Poland, six months after the end of World War II. The chilling facts revealed in this documentary have led the o ice of Poland’s nationalist president to call for a ban on the film.

Among Neighbors was recently awarded the prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award from the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center.

The film will be shown with an exclusive prerecorded Q&A with the filmmaker Yoav Potash

Underwritten by Ken and Judy Livingston and Fred Rosen

Community Partner

Love, Statistically Speaking

Sunday, August 2, 6pm; Dryden Theatre
Narrative | 2026 | 90 min. | Hebrew (w/ subtitles) | Israel | Director: Amichai Greenberg

Reuben is an 80-year-old actuary who lives his life by the numbers. He believes statistics give you the odds for all things, but they can’t tell you what to do about them. So when his deceased wife’s insurance money goes missing, Reuben faces a probable dilemma. Enter his free-spirited granddaughter, his opposite in personality, but his partner in solving the mystery, all while discovering something far deeper. Our closing night film is warm, funny, and (no matter what statistics might say) unpredictable. And a fine lead in to a fun themed party that will, most likely, entertain and amuse you!

Underwritten by Sherry and Richard Goldstein

Community Partner

Closing Night Party to follow!

All Festival Passes

Support the festival by purchasing an
All Festival Pass and see every film for less!

JCC Member: $180
Non-Member: $220

NOTE: When purchasing your All Festival Pass, you will be prompted
to reserve your seats for every film that you plan to attend.

Individual tickets will be available for sale starting June 8.

Sunday, July 26	Monday, July 27	Tuesday, July 28	Wednesday, July 29	Thursday, July 30	Friday, July 31	Saturday, August 1	Sunday, August 2
	Mahler in NY 11am	All I Had Was Nothingness 11am	Ada: My Mother the Architect 11am	My One and Only 11am	We Met at Grossinger’s 11am
The Future Awaits 1pm	The Safe House 1:15pm	Halisa 1:15pm	Charles Grodin 1:15pm	Swedishkayt 1:30pm	Labors of Love 1:30pm		Lucky Star 12pm
Tovah 3pm	Tatami 6pm	A Letter to David 6pm	Oxygen 6pm	The Road Between Us 6pm			Among Neighbors 2:15pm
Once Upon My Mother 7pm	Frontier 8:15pm	The Soundman 8:30pm	The Stamp Thief 8:15pm	Bella 8:30pm		Rosenthal 7:45pm	Love, Statistically Speakings 6pm

Support the Festival

Thank you to our generous supporters for allowing us to continue bringing quality Jewish films to the Rochester community.

Festival Information

JCC Hart Theater
1200 Edgewood Avenue
Rochester, NY 14618

Dryden Theatre
900 East Avenue
Rochester, NY 14607

Special Thanks

Special thanks to the RJFF Committee who work tirelessly to produce this event

Allen Buell and the Dryden Theatre and George Eastman Museum staff

The JCC staff

Director Emerita Andrea Miller

All of our dedicated RJFF ushers and volunteers!

Committee & Staff

About Us

2025	2024	2023	2022
2021	2019	2018	2017
2016	2015	2014	2013
2012	2011	2010	2009
2008	2007	2006	2005

Ames Amzalak Rochester Jewish Film Festival

July 26–August 2, 2026

All Festival Passes

Individual tickets will be available for sale starting June 8.

Sunday, July 26

The Future Awaits (La vie devant moi)

Tovah

Once Upon My Mother

Monday, July 27

Mahler in NY

Safe House

Tatami

Frontier

Tuesday, July 28

All I Had Was Nothingness

Halisa

A Letter To David

The Soundman

Wednesday, July 29

Ada: My Mother the Architect

Charles Grodin: Rebel with a Cause

Oxygen

The Stamp Thief

Thursday, July 30

My One and Only

Swedishkayt: Yidlife Crisis in Stockholm

The Road Between Us

Bella

Friday, July 31

We Met at Grossinger's

Labors of Love: The Life and Legacy of Henrietta Szold

Saturday, August 1

Rosenthal: The Great Showman

Sunday, August 2

Lucky Star

Among Neighbors

Love, Statistically Speaking

All Festival Passes

Individual tickets will be available for sale starting June 8.

Support the Festival

Festival Information

About the Festival