The seventh edition of the Jerusalem International Women’s Film Festival is set to take place from October 12 to 16 at the Jerusalem Cinematheque and various venues across the city. The festival will present a diverse lineup of Israeli and international films that focus on cinema from a female perspective.
Established by the Jerusalem Filmmakers Guild and operating under the Women in Picture association, the festival is directed by Lihi Sabag and Shira Meishar. It receives support and cooperation from the Jerusalem Municipality, the Jerusalem Foundation, the Ministry of Culture and Sport, and the Jerusalem Cinematheque.
The opening film, Wild Things, marks the feature debut of director Kalil Kovesh. The film stars Odelia Rand as a young woman returning to her kibbutz following a detention period during which her driver’s license was revoked. After losing her job in the cowshed, Rand’s character reluctantly takes on the role of a classroom aide for a withdrawn foster child, forming a friendship that offers mutual growth amid familial and social challenges.
A major highlight of the festival is a tribute to Hanna Azoulay-Hasfari, an accomplished actress, writer, and director known for her exploration of Mizrahi women's issues. Azoulay-Hasfari will receive the festival’s achievement award in recognition of her work across multiple artistic disciplines and activism. The tribute features screenings of Sh’Chur, an autobiographical film she wrote and starred in, as well as Orange People, which she wrote, directed, produced, and performed in, depicting three generations of Moroccan women. In addition, episodes from her documentary series about working women and her new short film, Brit Olam, will be showcased. Brit Olam, which stars Yael Abecasis, Irit Sheleg, Shai Lee Atary, and Yuval Segal, examines the lasting effects of a decades-old secret.
The festival distinguishes itself by maintaining year-round activities, including film screenings, director talks, and workshops focused on writing, acting, and video therapy aimed at shelters for women affected by violence. This year’s program also emphasizes representation of individuals with disabilities and mental health challenges, with screenings at both the Jerusalem Cinematheque and the Kfar Shaul Mental Health Center.
Four Israeli competition categories cover feature-length and documentary films, independent shorts, student films, and films by high school students. Among feature contest entries supported by the Beracha Foundation are Dina Zvi-Riklis’s Blue Marks, based on Emilie Moatti’s novel about a young woman from Netanya whose life changes in Paris, and Shiran Shaharabani’s Spikes, about three friends on a hitchhiking journey. Other titles include Reut Akerman’s Home!, about an adopted girl reconnecting with her dying birth mother; Nurit Jacobs-Yinon’s Alice; Last Conversations, chronicling feminist pioneer Alice Shalvi’s final year; Emmanuelle Mayer’s The Woman in White, which explores a woman’s overlooked role in Egypt-Israel peace efforts; and Shir Huri Abu’s Sarah’s Life, following a young woman’s departure from the ultra-Orthodox community.
The independent short films tackle subjects such as fertility treatments, audition-room dynamics, sexuality, family secrets, and urban Israeli life.
International selections include American Sweatshop, directed by Utu Briesewitz and starring Lili Reinhart as a social media content moderator drawn into an obsessive investigation; Petra Volpe’s Frank & Louis, featuring Kingsley Ben-Adir and Laurence Fishburne in a narrative about prisoners and redemption; Mélisa Godet’s A Place for Her, a drama about women supporting survivors of violence; and the animated short Tangles, with voices by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, and Seth Rogen.
The festival will also host the Ktzarot pitching event in collaboration with the Gesher Multicultural Film Fund, awarding a NIS 250,000 grant for production.
Additional free events, supported by the municipality’s Youth Authority, include a screening of Ella Armony’s documentary Girl, Woman, about her mother, singer Dafna Armony, at Mazkeka, and The Secrets of La’Isha at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. A stand-up comedy evening will feature comedians Mai Sayag, Hagit Weiner, and Rotem Weissberg.
Selected films will be available to stream for free at jwff.co.il, which also provides the full program and ticket information.