Festival Blog 2026: Thursday

The third day of the 32nd Jewish Film Festival Berlin Brandenburg is dedicated to powerful documentary and fictional narratives from Israel and Palestine. Several filmmakers will be present in person and join the audience for discussions following the screenings.

Looking Back at the Second Festival Day
Yesterday’s festival day brought many special encounters and intense conversations: As part of the educational program, Maria Schrader spoke with ninth-grade students about AIMÉE & JAGUAR. Together with Deutsche Kinemathek, we also celebrated the anniversary “80 Years of CCC-Film” with two restored films from the production company founded by Artur Brauner. At the industry gathering JFBB pro at the Nordic Embassies, filmmakers and industry professionals came together, while audiences enjoyed the first engaging post-screening discussions with guests from various festival sections.
You can find impressions from yesterday’s festival day in the slideshow – from film talks and special guests to the industry gathering and the anniversary event “80 Years of CCC-Film”.

Program Highlights on May 7
At Filmkunst 66 in Berlin, we are screening OUT OF ORDER by Rani Saar (IL 2025) at 4:00 PM. After losing her partner and the father of her three children on October 7, Noga Friedman begins documenting her everyday life with a camera. The result is a deeply honest cinematic diary about loss, grief, and survival. Director Rani Saar will be present for a Q&A following the screening.

Also at Filmkunst 66, SOME NOTES ON THE CURRENT SITUATION by Eran Kolirin (IL 2025) will screen at 5:00 PM. In six loosely connected episodes, Kolirin paints an absurd yet unsettling portrait of life in Israel after October 7 – balancing satire, social observation, and surreal moments. Eran Kolirin will also join the audience for a discussion after the screening.

At 7:30 PM, we present the documentary KNOW HOPE by Omer Shamir (US/IL 2025) at Thalia Programmkino Potsdam. The film centers on the street artist Know Hope, whose poetic interventions in public space explore questions of trauma, memory, and resistance. The documentary follows an artistic perspective on an increasingly fragmented reality in Israel and Palestine.

At the same time, the short film program NORDIC JEWISH SHORTS will screen at Moviemento in Berlin. Four short films from Sweden and Denmark explore Jewish life and family relationships from very different perspectives. Directors Uta Arning (MISCHMASCH, DOCKAN GLICK) and Mathilde Kirstein (PARENTS) will join the audience for a Q&A afterward.

At 8:00 PM, Moviemento will also present THE SEA by Shai Carmeli-Pollak (IL 2025). The film follows a twelve-year-old Palestinian boy who, after an incident at a checkpoint, travels alone through Israel in search of the sea. With great sensitivity, the award-winning film intertwines personal experience and political reality. Director Shai Carmeli-Pollak will be present for a discussion following the screening.

JFBB Across the Region
In addition to its venues in Berlin and Potsdam, the JFBB is also taking place today in Eberswalde, Frankfurt (Oder), Oranienburg, and Senftenberg – including at the Amadeu Antonio Civic Education Center, Kulturmanufaktur Gerstenberg, the Documentation Center Flight, Expulsion, Reconciliation, the Jewish Community Center Oberhavel, and Neue Bühne Senftenberg. Feel free to visit the websites of the respective venues to find more information about the local events.
We wish you an inspiring third festival day and look forward to many more exciting encounters, conversations, and shared cinema experiences!

Tickets for all screenings are €10 (€8 reduced) and are available online at jfbb.info as well as directly at the cinemas.

You can find an overview of the full festival program here.