Festival Blog 2026: Saturday

Award Ceremony – 32nd JFBB
At the festive awards ceremony at the Representation of the State of Brandenburg to the Federal Government, the prizes of the 32nd edition of the Jewish Film Festival Berlin Brandenburg were presented yesterday. The Gershon Klein Documentary Film Award went to REWARD FOR THE RAINhttps://jfbb.info/en/programm/filme/reward-for-the-rain by Barbara Bernáth, while the Gershon Klein Feature Film Award was awarded toBOOK OF RUTH by Esty Shushan. A Special Mention from the feature film jury was given to WHERE TO? by Assaf Machnes.
We warmly congratulate all award winners and sincerely thank our prize patrons Madeleine Budde and Jacqueline Hopp as well as Stephan Goericke, along with our sponsors and partners whose support makes the festival possible. Impressions from the awards ceremony are collected in the slideshow.

Program Highlights – May 8
Today, the festival continues with further cinematic highlights, engaging panels, and special events. We look forward to a varied festival day and warmly invite you to explore our program.

At 5:00 pm, SWEDISHKAYT: YIDLIFE CRISIS IN STOCKHOLM by Eli Batalion and Jamie Elman (CA/SE 2025, 76 min) will be shown at the Filmmuseum Potsdam, where the comedy duo “YidLife Crisis” discovers a surprisingly vibrant Jewish scene in Stockholm – including playful Yiddish pop culture.

Later in the evening, at 8:15 pm, THE STAMP THIEF by Dan Sturman (US 2025, 103 min) will be screened at Thalia Programmkino Potsdam, a documentary treasure hunt for a lost stamp collection that turns into an eccentric and compelling journey.

At 1:00 pm, THE SMUGGLERS by Tony Copti and Yaniv Berman (IL 2025, 86 min, with the short BUTCHER’S STAIN) will be shown at Filmkunst 66 Berlin, where the smuggling of Arabic-language books becomes an ironic journey through language and systems.

At 4:00 pm, SALOMEA by Miriam Pfeiffer (DE 2025, 60 min) will screen at Kino Krokodil Berlin, portraying the return of a Jewish communist exile to East Germany and her difficult new beginning.

At 5:15 pm, A GOODNIGHT KISS by Giedrė Žickytė (LT/EE/BG 2025, 87 min) will be shown at Moviemento Berlin, a portrait of Holocaust survivor Irena Veisaitė told through memories, companions, and archival material.

The evening concludes at 7:00 pm at Filmkunst 66 Berlin with VOR DER MORGENRÖTE by Maria Schrader (DE/AT/FR 2016, 106 min), an episodic reflection on Stefan Zweig’s exile and the loss of home and Europe. Afterwards, at 9:15 pm, Maria Schrader will be in conversation with Lea Wohl von Haselberg, discussing her work as a filmmaker and actress and her engagement with Jewish themes.

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

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