A quick guide to the 43rd Jerusalem Film Festival: buzzy films, festival guests, and the practical details, from Palme d’Or winners to where to park.

A festival film isn’t the Marvel movie playing at the mall. It’s the kind you’re still thinking about days later, sometimes months, in my case almost a year since I saw Sentimental Value at JFF2025. I still think about Gustav casting his own daughter Agnes as a child in a film about wartime trauma, and about Agnes, years later, refusing to let him do the same to her son. For the next ten days, Jerusalem has 200 more films lined up, and one of them might do the same thing to you.

During the day, the Cinematheque’s outdoor area turns into a scene of its own, filmmakers, theatergoers, guests, all of them eating, drinking, and (loudly, in at least one case I overheard) disagreeing about whatever they just watched. I like it when they’re loud, honestly, it’s the best free industry gossip you’ll get all festival. I’ll be out there too, coffee in hand, still arguing with myself about the last film while I wait for the next one.

Dates: July 9–19, 2026

Opens: Thursday, July 9, 8pm, Sultan’s Pool

Venues: Jerusalem Cinematheque and Lev Smadar Cinema, about a 15-minute walk apart

Tickets: Single tickets 49 NIS. Festival passes are also available. See jff.org.il for options.

Parking: Limited near the Cinematheque due to nearby construction. Mamilla, Mt. Zion Hotel, and Liberty Bell Park lots are your best bets, though last year I still ended up circling for twenty minutes, so budget the time. 

International Films With Buzz

Start here if you only have time for a few titles.

Fjord (dir. Cristian Mungiu). This year’s Palme d’Or winner at Cannes. A devout Romanian-Norwegian couple, played by Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan, resettle in a remote Norwegian village, until a teacher notices bruises on their daughter, and their traditional parenting collides with the community’s own values........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)