Houston JCC

2025 Houston Jewish Film Festival
2025-03-22 - 2025-04-05 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
Tickets now on sale!
New promising, entertaining and exceptional award-winning films are featured this year, bringing Jewish lives and stories to the big screen. With venues across town, the Festival, now in its 21st year, shines the spotlight on Jewish and Israeli culture, art and history and features filmmakers and guest speakers/programming.
We are excited to welcome you to this two-week immersion in Jewish cinema!
Follow #JHouFilmFest on Facebook and Instagram to join the conversation!
For more information about the Houston Jewish Film Festival, please contact Guy Cohen at gcohen@erjcchouston.org.

Houston Jewish Film Festival: Family Film: An American Tail
2025-03-23 14:00, 2025-03-31 10:00 (America/Chicago) | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Animation | Directed by Don Bluth | 1986 | USA | English | 80 minutes | At the J
Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award-nominated 1986 animated feature tells the story of Fievel Mousekewitz, a mischievous Russian Jewish mouse who sails with his family to America in 1885 to escape antisemitism. With a beautiful score and star-studded vocal cast, this family-friendly adventure highlights the challenges of the immigrant experience.
Community Partners: Camp Young Judea

Houston Jewish Film Festival: The Blond Boy From the Casbah
2025-03-23 15:00 | MFAH – Museum of Fine Arts Houston, 1001 Bissonnet St, Houston, Texas, 77005
Comedy, Drama | Directed by Alexandre Arcady | 2023 | France | French with English subtitles | 128 minutes | The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: The Wyatt Theater
Successful filmmaker Antoine Lisner returns to Algiers with his son to screen a feature-length film about his childhood leading up to the Algerian war of independence. As he wanders the city, bittersweet memories of a lost world flood back—the daily life of his Sephardic family, his lively and eclectic neighborhood, his crush on Josette and his early introduction to the magic of cinema. Based on the life of director Alexandre Arcady, we are transported back to an era when multiculturalism flourished in North Africa.
Not included in Film Festival subscriptions or Patron of the Arts offerings.

Houston Jewish Film Festival: Spotlight on October 7
2025-03-23 19:00 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Of Dogs and Men
Drama | Directed by Dani Rosenberg | 2024 | Israel | Hebrew with English subtitles | 82 minutes | Kaplan Theatre
October 7 survivor Hila Berdichevsky in attendance.
Filmed at Kibbutz Nir Oz just a few weeks after the October 7 attack, Dani Rosenberg’s experiential dramatic account follows Israeli teenager Dar as she returns alone to her once-bucolic community to look for her lost dog. We follow Dar through a landscape marked by grief and destruction as she talks to neighbors, visits her abandoned home and searches her Telegram app for signs of her kidnapped mother.
This film contains disturbing content.
Patron Sponsors: Esther and Gary Polland; Shelley and Matt Stein; Ellen and Daniel Trachtenberg
Community Partners: Americans for Ben Gurion University, Israel Bonds Houston, Temple Sinai, Women’s Philanthropy of Jewish Federation.

Partners in Fate
Drama | 2023 | Israel | Hebrew with English subtitles | 7 minutes | Kaplan Theatre (precedes Of Dogs and Men)
This film is made possible by the nonprofit, Have You Seen the Horizon Lately?
A story of hope amid the horrors of October 7: four Bedouin family members of a Kibbutz Be’eri cafeteria worker save a kibbutznik cyclist and dozens of Nova festivalgoers.

Houston Jewish Film Festival: Janis Ian: Breaking Silence
2025-03-24 19:30 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Documentary | Directed by Varda Bar-Kar | 2024 | USA | English |110 minutes | Kaplan Theatre
Janis Ian, a Grammy Award-winning Jewish singer-songwriter inspired by Joan Baez and Nina Simone, started performing in Greenwich Village at age 13. With hits such as the controversial “Society’s Child” (1966) and “At Seventeen” (1975), Janis braved numerous personal struggles to produce a critically acclaimed body of songs dealing with serious societal issues that has earned her a devoted following. This documentary shares her journey.
Sponsored by the Lillian Kaiser Lewis Foundation in honor of Dolores Wilkenfeld
Patron Sponsors: Diane Kaplan; Lynn and Armand Shapiro
Community Partners: Beth Yeshurun Sisterhood, Houston Jewish Community Foundation, Jewish Feminist Reading Group, Texas Medical Center Orchestra

Houston Jewish Film Festival: Colleyville
2025-03-25 19:30 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Documentary | Directed Dani Menkin | 2024 | USA | English | 80 minutes | Kaplan Theatre
Director Dani Menkin and Documentary subject Jeff Cohen in attendance.
Israeli-American filmmaker Dani Menkin’s timely documentary walks us step-by-step through the 2022 Beth Israel synagogue hostage crisis in Colleyville, Texas, using a gold mine of rare, recorded footage and in-depth personal interviews. Colleyville details the day’s bizarre demands from the British-Pakistani gunman and how the 11-hour episode was resolved by the hostages and law enforcement.
This film contains disturbing content.
Community Partners: Congregation Emanu El, IAC- Israel American Council, Rice Jewish Studies

Houston Jewish Film Festival: The Catskils
2025-03-26 13:00 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Documentary | Directed by Lex Gillespie | 2024 | USA | English | 86 minutes | Kaplan Theatre
Director Lex Gillespie in attendance for both screenings
Overflowing with nostalgic archival footage, this delightful documentary chronicles the rise, heyday and eventual decline of the so-called Borscht Belt—the storied mountain region north of New York City that served for decades as a getaway for Jewish families and inspired films such as Dirty Dancing. From troves of mid-century home movies to interviews with famous comedians sharing their memories, Lex Gillespie’s documentary pays homage to these many resorts and bungalow colonies and their contributions to the cultural fabric of Jewish-American life.
Matinee screening sponsored by Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital
Community Partners: Houston Yiddish Vinkel, United Orthodox Synagogues

Houston Jewish Film Festival: The Catskils
2025-03-26 19:30 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Documentary | Directed by Lex Gillespie | 2024 | USA | English | 86 minutes | Kaplan Theatre
Director Lex Gillespie in attendance for both screenings
Overflowing with nostalgic archival footage, this delightful documentary chronicles the rise, heyday and eventual decline of the so-called Borscht Belt—the storied mountain region north of New York City that served for decades as a getaway for Jewish families and inspired films such as Dirty Dancing. From troves of mid-century home movies to interviews with famous comedians sharing their memories, Lex Gillespie’s documentary pays homage to these many resorts and bungalow colonies and their contributions to the cultural fabric of Jewish-American life.
Community Partners: Houston Yiddish Vinkel, United Orthodox Synagogues
Join us for a Catskill inspired dinner before the film at 6:00 PM. Buy your tickets here!

Houston Jewish Film Festival: Vishniac
2025-03-27 19:00 | MFAH – Museum of Fine Arts Houston, 1001 Bissonnet St, Houston, Texas, 77005
Documentary | Directed by Laura Bialis | 2023 | USA | English | 93 minutes | The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: The Wyatt Theater
Preceded by remarks from Beth B. Schneider, MFAH Consulting Curator, Judaica Collection
Best known for his now-iconic photographs documenting Eastern European Jewish communities before the Holocaust, Russian-born Roman Vishniac was originally a pioneering microbiologist. Director Laura Bialis’ exceptional documentary examines his decades of groundbreaking work, weaving in many of Vishniac’s photographs and writings, archival footage, interviews with his daughter and commentary from historians to present a penetrating, nuanced look at one of the most pivotal photographers of the 20th century.
Not included in Film Festival subscriptions or Patron of the Arts offerings.

Open Gym & Tot Shabbat
2025-03-28 10:30, 2025-04-04 10:30 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
Celebrate Shabbat with your friends and family with open gym in the gymnastics center followed by Shabbat fun.
Open gym will begin at 10:30 AM in the gymnastics center, followed by music and services at 11:30 AM in the atrium of the Samuels Family Community Pavilion. RSVPs are required and spaces are limited.
Cost: $6/child for open gym
Space is limited and reservations are required.

Houston Jewish Film Festival: Friday Night Lights
2025-03-28 19:00 | Maggiano’s Little Italy, 2019 Post Oak Blvd, Houston, TX, 77056, United States
Friday, March 28 | 7:00 PM | Maggiano’s Little Italy | 2019 Post Oak Blvd
Experience Shabbat in a sophisticated setting featuring a three-course dinner, paired with two short films.
Sponsored in memory of Susan Farb Morris
Advanced registration required

In The Garden of Tulips
Drama | Directed by Julia Elihu | 2023 | USA | Persian with English subtitles | 14 minutes
Persian-Jewish teenager Caroline takes a final car ride with her father through the Iranian countryside before she is smuggled out of the country.

The Last Cowboy in Salford
Drama | Directed by Jake Lancaster 2023 | UK | English | 14 minutes
Jewish teenager Jonny Richman is convinced he is a real modern-day cowboy, much to his parent’s frustration. A darkly comic neo-Western set in Manchester, England.
Not included in Film Festival subscriptions or all Patron of the Arts offerings.

Houston Jewish Film Festival: Bliss (Hemda)
2025-03-29 20:30 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Drama | Directed by Shemi Zarhin | 2024 | Israel | Hebrew, Arabic with English subtitles | 125 minutes | Kaplan Theatre
Renowned Israeli actors Sasson Gabai and Asi Levi play Sassi and Efi, an aging married couple burdened with multiple jobs and complications from their past lives. Despite a notable age gap, Sassi and Efi demonstrate an emotional equilibrium in their relationship, using humor and empathy to support each other through life’s unpredictable physical, financial and personal stresses.
Available for virtual viewing with purchase.
Join us for a pre-film reception at 7:45 PM
Pre-film reception sponsored by the Doreen and Basil Joffe Endowment Fund
Patron Sponsors: Doreen and Basil Joffe
Community Partners: Alexander Jewish Family Service, Hebrew Speakers Professional Organization, Houston Hillel

The Great Chametz Hunt
2025-03-30 10:00 | Bertha Alyce Early Childhood School (BAS), 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Grab your feathers, candles and spoons—it is time for a chametz search! It is customary to prepare for Passover by hiding chametz (bread products) around your house and then searching for them using a feather, candle and spoon. Kids will have the opportunity to find the hidden “chametz” around the playground and turn it in for a prize!
Please enter the event through the Bertha Alyce School. When parking, please enter the gate on Atwell St. and drive past to the Samuels Pavilion. You will see the tennis center in front of you and will make a right turn at the tennis center. The Bertha Alyce School will be on your right.
This event is FREE, registration is required.

Yes, Chef: Pickling 101
2025-03-30 11:00 | Cramer-Jacobs Family Culinary Studio @ the J, 5601 S Braeswood Blvd, Houston, TX, 77096
Discover the art of pickling and add a burst of flavor to your favorite dishes with our special “Crossing Delancey”-inspired pickling class!
Led by Chef Emily Hersh, a culinary expert and fan favorite from “Hell’s Kitchen,” this class is designed for food lovers of all skill levels. Whether you’re a pickling novice or a seasoned pro, you’ll learn professional techniques to create your own delicious pickles from scratch.
Advanced purchase required by March 26

Houston Jewish Film Festival: Golda's War Diaries
2025-03-30 14:00 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Documentary | Directed by Yariv Mozer | 2023 | Israel | Hebrew with English subtitles | 73 minutes | Kaplan Theatre
Archives from the Yom Kippur War, recently declassified after 50 years, challenge myths and perceptions about Prime Minister Golda Meir’s leadership during the critical conflict with Egyptian and Syrian forces. Memos and other contemporaneous documents, expert commentary and archival footage offer a compelling reassessment that Golda managed the war effort vigorously and assertively, leading to Israel’s victory and opening a path to peace with Egypt five years later.
Available for virtual viewing with purchase.
Underwritten by The Albert and Rosita Gaon Sephardic Heritage Program Endowment Fund
Community Partners: Congregation Beth Israel, Congregation Brith Shalom, Congregation Shma Koleinu, Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest, Friends of the IDF, South Texas Chapter, JWV Houston -Levy Post 574, Rice Jewish Studies

Houston Jewish Film Festival: An Evening of Shorts
2025-03-30 19:00 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Director Julia Elihu in attendance
Girl No. 60427
Drama | Directed by Shulamit Lifshitz | 2022 | Israel | Hebrew with English subtitles | 22 minutes
Tel Aviv, 1998. Reut finds her grandmother’s hidden Holocaust diary, transforming her carefree summer into a profound connection with her past. A true story from director Shulamit Lifshitz, a third-generation survivor.
Winter of ’79
Drama | Directed by Julia Elihu | 2022 | USA | Persian with English subtitles | 20 minutes
In writer/director Julia Elihu’s acclaimed student film project, a Persian-Jewish mother’s faith in her country is shaken when her husband is arrested. Based on her own family’s experiences escaping Iran during the 1979 Revolution.

SEVAP/MITZVAH
Drama | Directed by Sabina Vajrača | 2023 | Bosnia, Herzegovina | English, Bosnian with English subtitles | 20 minutes
In Nazi-occupied Bosnia, a Muslim woman risks everything to save her Jewish friends. Fifty years later, during the Balkan War, the tables have turned in this uplifting, true story of cross-cultural humanity.
In The Garden of Tulips
Drama | Directed by Julia Elihu | 2023 | USA | Persian with English subtitles | 14 minutes
Julia Elihu’s tender father-daughter portrayal, set at the height of the Iran-Iraq War, follows a final Persian-Jewish teenager’s final car ride with her father through the countryside before she is smuggled out of the country. Aspen Shortsfest “Youth Jury Award” winner.

Underwritten by The Maurice Amado Foundation
Patron Sponsors: Joanne and Bruce Levy
Community Partners: CBS Women the Vibrant Sisterhood of Congregation Brith Shalom, Houston Chapter of Hadassah, Houston Congregation for Reform Judaism

School's Out Camp
2025-03-31 09:00 - 15:30 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
School’s out, so let’s have some fun at the J! Kindergarten through 5th graders will stay active with counselor-led activities, camp crafts and board games plus tons of fun in the art studio, gymnastics center and aquatics complex. Camp hours are 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM and PM Care is available from 3:30 PM – 5:30 PM.

Houston Jewish Film Festival: Classic Film Night: Crossing Delancey
2025-03-31 19:30 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Comedy, Romance | Directed by Joan Micklin Silver | 1988 | USA | English | 97 minutes | Kaplan Theatre
In this delightful, nostalgic romantic comedy, Izzy Grossman (Amy Irving) works at a bookstore on the Upper West Side, where she enjoys an intellectually fulfilling life mingling with renowned authors. Meanwhile, her grandmother Ida plots to set her up with a nice Jewish guy. Courted by two men—Anton, the worldly novelist, and Sam, a mensch of a pickle vendor from the Lower East Side—who will she pick?
Patron Sponsors: Suzan and Jeremy Samuels
Community Partners: Hebrew Order of David

Houston Jewish Film Festival: October H8te
2025-04-01 19:30, 2025-04-02 13:00 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Documentary | Directed by Wendy Sachs | 2024 | USA | English | 100 minutes | Kaplan Theatre
Documentary subject, Tessa Veksler in attendance
Emmy Award winner Wendy Sachs deftly explores the eruption of antisemitism on American college campuses following October 7, taking us through a timeline of anti-Israel protests fueled by propaganda spread on social media. Featuring dozens of interviews with well-known politicians, academics, activists and impressive student leaders, Sachs’ documentary illustrates how Jewish students are dealing with the scourge of antisemitic campus movements.
This film contains disturbing content.
Community Partners: ADL Southwest, American Jewish Committee, Congregation Beth Yeshurun, National Council of Jewish Women, Greater Houston Section (NCJW), Sisterhood Congregation Emanu El, The Emery / Weiner School

Houston Jewish Film Festival: Teen Night: October H8te
2025-04-02 19:00 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Exclusive for teens grades 8-12
Documentary | Directed by Wendy Sachs | 2024 | USA | English | 100 minutes | Kaplan Theatre
Documentary Film Subject Tessa Veksler in attendance
Emmy Award winner Wendy Sachs deftly explores the eruption of antisemitism on American college campuses following October 7, taking us through a timeline of anti-Israel protests fueled by propaganda spread on social media. Featuring dozens of interviews with well-known politicians, academics, activists and impressive student leaders, Sachs’ documentary illustrates how Jewish students are dealing with the scourge of antisemitic campus movements.
This film contains disturbing content. Reserving a ticket means you understand the mature nature of this film.
Community Partners: Kehillah High of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, J Teens, Helfman Religious School of Congregation Emanu El, NCSY/JSU and BBYO.

Houston Jewish Film Festival: Here Lived
2025-04-02 19:00 | Holocaust Museum Houston, 5401 Caroline St, Houston, TX, 77004, United States
Documentary | Directed by Jane Wells | 2024 | USA | English | 79 minutes | Holocaust Museum Houston
In 1992, German conceptual artist Gunter Demnig created the first Stolpersteine—a concrete block topped with a polished brass plate hand-stamped with the names and fates of Holocaust victims. Across Europe, there are now more than 100,000 of these sidewalk installations. Emmy Award-nominated filmmaker Jane Wells traces the impact of these stones through stories of Dutch victims and survivors, reflecting on the collective healing they bring to individuals and communities.
Not included in Film Festival subscriptions or Patron of the Arts offerings.

Houston Jewish Film Festival: Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara
2025-04-03 19:30 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Drama | Directed by Marco Bellocchio | 2024 | Italy, France, Germany | Italian, Hebrew with English subtitles | 134 minutes | Kaplan Theatre
Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio delves into his country’s antisemitic past with the unsettling 1850s story of young Edgardo Mortara, who was controversially taken from his Jewish family in Bologna after a secret baptism by the family’s nanny. Bellochio’s somber but visually elegant style paints a vivid picture of Edgardo’s fractured identity and turn toward Catholicism, his parents’ desperate fight for his return and the corruption of Pope Pius IX’s Church that led to monumental changes in Italian history.
Moderated discussion follows film
Patron Sponsors: Eve and Bobby Lapin; Elise Sheppard
Community Partners: Consulate General of Italy in Houston, The Rene and Jimmy Wisch Charitable Foundation

Houston Jewish Film Festival: Closing Night: All About the Levkoviches
2025-04-05 20:30 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Drama | Directed by Ádám Breier | 2024 | Hungary | Hungarian with English subtitles | 85 minutes | Kaplan Theatre
Set in contemporary Budapest, Ádám Breier’s charming, bittersweet dramedy focuses on the gruff but lovable Hungarian boxing trainer, Tamás, who has been recently reunited with his estranged son, Iván. Under the same roof sitting shiva, the men are drawn together with the help of Tamás’ adorable grandson, Ariel, whose own grief includes encounters with his grandmother’s spirit. With mordant humor, this heartwarming family story delivers laughs and an intimate look into belief and reconciliation.
Join us for a post-film reception.
Reception following film sponsored by Elise Sheppard and Kelly Davis
Patron Sponsor: Bunny Radoff

J-Serve 2025
2025-04-06 13:30 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
Every year, Jewish teens around the world join each other throughout the spring to make their community and the world a better place. On Sunday, April 6, be part of solving the crises in our community! Open to all Jewish Teens in grades 8-12.
The Houston regional J-Serve is a collaborative partnership between teen leaders across greater Houston and supported by professional multi-generational leaders from BBYO, the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, Congregation Emanu El Helfman Upper School, and Kehillah High at the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston.

Matzah & Magic
2025-04-06 15:00 | Godwin Park, 5101 Rutherglenn Dr, Houston, Texas, 77096
Get ready for a fun-filled and creative Passover experience like never before! “Matzah & Magic” brings the mystery of magic, creativity, and hands-on fun to bring the Passover story to life in the most magical way possible!
Join PJ Library and the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC for an afternoon of fun, including:

DIY Charoset Bar: Ever wanted to make your own Charoset just the way you like it? Mix and match your favorite ingredients at the Charoset Bar to create your own sweet, magical blend.
Enchanting Matza Holder Decorating: Channel your inner artist as you decorate your very own magical matzah holder. With a touch of paint, each holder will become a work of art, perfect for holding your matzah with a little extra charm.
Enchanting Storytime: Gather around for a magical story reading.
The event will feature a magical performance by Monty the Magician! Prepare to be spellbound as a Monty performs mind-blowing tricks. Will he make frogs appear on Pharoah’s head?
and more magical Passover fun!

This Passover, prepare for a whirlwind of fun and magic that will leave you and your family enchanted. Come make memories, discover the magic of the Seder, and take home a piece of Passover you’ll treasure forever!

Not Your Bubbe's Table: A Modern Passover Plate
2025-04-10 19:00 - 21:00 | Cramer-Jacobs Family Culinary Studio @ the J, 5601 S Braeswood Blvd, Houston, TX, 77096
Join Chef Emily Hersh for a contemporary take on Passover classics! In this hands-on class, you’ll learn how to elevate traditional flavors with modern techniques, creating a fresh and vibrant holiday spread. Perfect for anyone looking to bring something new to their Seder table!

Menu:
Vegan brisket
Spicy matzo ball soup (vegan)
Vegan Gefilte Fish

Closed for Passover
2025-04-13 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
The J will be closed for Passover. View full Passover holiday hours here.
