History
The Miami Jewish Film Festival (MJFF) was established in 1996 and has grown into a core cultural program for South Florida’s vibrant arts landscape. In 2013, with the hiring of new Executive Director Igor Shteyrenberg, Miami Jewish Film Festival entered an era of expansion and commitment to artistic quality, growing into one of the largest festivals of its kind and being named for three consecutive years as one of the 50 best film festivals in the world by MovieMaker Magazine.
MJFF's programming voice, unique among Jewish film festivals, has gained recognition for its numerous discoveries and prize winners. Annual attendance and media impressions have grown exponentially with the Festival's original audience increasing from 4,000 in 2013 to more than 47,500 in 2024. Official Festival venues also expanded to the historic Miami Beach Bandshell, Regal South Beach Cinemas, Coral Gables Art Cinema, O Cinema, Miami Beach SoundScape, Bill Cosford Cinema, and Miami Theater Center, among others.
The Festival has hosted and introduced a diverse group of filmmakers including renowned stars and directors such as Natalie Portman, Itzhak Perlman, Logan Lerman, Nancy Spielberg, Judd Hirsch, Sean Astin, Stephen Lang, Elsie Fisher, Sasson Gabay, Emily Ratajkowski, Whit Stillman, Sarah Gadon, Zubin Mehta, Montel Williams, Richard Trank, Michael Solomonov, Bill Morrison, Michael Gordon, Ronit Elkabetz, Alon Ben-Gurion, Tal Brody, and Leon Vitali. Domestic US theatrical distributors and broadcasters participating in the Festival have included 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Sony Pictures Classics, A24, Focus Features, Fox Searchlight, Music Box Films, Menemsha Films, Greenwich Films, Cohen Media, Film Movement, Gaumont, IFC, Sundance Selects, Kino Lorber, Gunpowder & Sky, Strand Releasing, Oscilloscope, and HBO Documentary Films, among many others.
The Miami Jewish Film Festival has been named "One of the Best Jewish Film Festival's in the US" by The Forward, "Best of Miami" by Miami's Community Newspapers, "The City's Cultural Gem" by Culture Crusaders, and "One of South Florida's Best Film Festivals" by The Miami New Times and Sun-Sentinel. MJFF is the largest and most respected Jewish film festival in the world, the fastest-growing film festival in the state of Florida, and one of the largest Jewish cultural events in the Southeast United States. In the last ten years, the Festival has screened films from more than 35 countries, including 1,500 World, International, North American, US, and East Coast Premieres. Miami Jewish Film Festival’s special focus on discovering new talent and recognizing established filmmakers has made it a natural gateway and launching pad for the best in Jewish and Israeli cinema from around the world.
The Festival prides its success on its solid foundation of cultural commitment to the community. MJFF aims to create greater cultural understanding, promote tolerance, and encourage artistic development and excellence by strengthening communities through the arts, and by provoking thought through film.
Mark your calendars for the 28th Miami Jewish Film Festival taking place January 9-23, 2025!
