Jerusalem Film Festival

What it is

The Jerusalem Film Festival is an international film festival that fills the city for ten days each summer. More than two hundred films, sent from about sixty countries, are shown. Alongside the screenings there are special events, panels, and chances to meet filmmakers from Israel and abroad, plus workshops and gatherings for people who work in the industry. The festival has become the central event of its kind in Israel, the point in the year when local filmmakers and film lovers come together in one place.

Origins and history

The festival was founded by Lia Van Leer, who led the Jerusalem Cinematheque and the Israeli Film Archive and had been given the Israel Prize. After she was invited to judge films at the Cannes Film Festival in 1983, she decided that Israel should have an international film festival of its own. The first edition opened in May 1984, and well known guests from the world of cinema attended. In 2005 the festival added Pitch Point, a forum where Israeli filmmakers show projects still in development or production to visiting members of the international industry. The aim is to open up contacts, funding and partnerships abroad.

Prize competitions

Israeli cinema sits at the heart of the programme, and the competitions attached to it carry the biggest awards. Feature films, documentaries, student work and short films all compete, and over the years close to ten million dollars in prize money has been given to Israeli filmmakers. Other prizes look outward. One honours international films, another first features, and a third experimental work gathered under the name Intersections. There are awards for films that explore Jewish identity and history, for films that take up freedom and justice, and one for high school students. The competitions also bring Israeli work before foreign journalists and industry guests.

The opening event

Each edition begins with an open air ceremony at Sultan's Pool, a site in Jerusalem. Film enthusiasts, public dignitaries and invited guests gather there to mark the start of the ten days. The opening is the festival's traditional set piece, and it sets the tone for what follows: screenings, talks and encounters spread across the city. For many people in Jerusalem it is the night when the festival becomes visible to the wider public, not only to those who hold tickets or work in film.

How Jerusalem Film Festival is kept

Each summer the festival opens with an open air event at Sultan's Pool, attended by film lovers, public figures and invited guests. Over the ten days that follow, screenings run across Jerusalem, mixing Israeli premieres with retrospectives and restored classics. Directors, producers and journalists take part in panels and conversations. Israeli filmmakers present works in progress to visiting industry professionals through Pitch Point. Competitions for feature, documentary, student and short films are judged, and prizes are handed out. Workshops and meetings round off the programme.

When and where

It takes place once a year in summer and lasts ten days. The dates are set for each edition rather than fixed to one date, so the programme shifts from year to year. The first festival opened in May 1984.

It is held in Jerusalem, the city of the Jerusalem Cinematheque and the Israeli Film Archive, and it is the leading film event in Israel. Screenings and industry events take place around the city, with the opening ceremony at Sultan's Pool. Films come from roughly sixty countries, but the festival's own focus is Israeli cinema.

What Jerusalem Film Festival means

For Israeli filmmakers the festival is the moment when their work meets an international audience. Its competitions carry the largest prizes in the country, and the attention of foreign journalists and programmers helps films travel further. For audiences in Jerusalem it is a summer meeting place for people who care about cinema, and the opening at Sultan's Pool gives the event a public, open air character.

Questions people ask about Jerusalem Film Festival

See also

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Good reading and sources

• Jerusalem Film Festival on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.