Jewish Film Institute Reveals 2026 Grant Recipients & San Francisco Jewish Film Festival Award Winners

The Jewish Film Institute unveiled on Tuesday both the recipients of its coveted 2026 grants as well as the winners of the 46th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival’s juried and audience awards. The grantees are: The Animated Mind of OIiver Sachs (Director: Dempsey Rice) The Day After (Directors: Yuval Orr, Aziz Abu Sarah) Recently presented at the 46th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival in July 2026 as a work-in-progress screening. The Monument (Director: Naama Shohet) The Opera (Director: Ran Tal) Tal’s documentary 1341 Frames of Love and War received the 2021 Albert & Judith Goldberg Award and was the Centerpiece Documentary at the 42nd San Francisco Jewish Film Festival in 2022. Our Home is Not of This World (Director: Russ Finkelstein) Russ Finkelstein is developing the film as a 2026 JFI Filmmaker in Residence. Postmortem (Director: Marilyn Ness) The Woman Who Didn’t Know How To Love (Director: Rotem Dimand) The 46th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival Award winners are: Audience Award: Narrative: The Wedding Entertainer (or the Tale of Moishe Badhan (Director: Gidi Dar) Audience Award: Documentary: Dust Bowls and Jewish Souls: Another Side of Woody Guthrie (Director: Steven Pressman) Steven Pressman is a 2019 JFI Filmmaker in Residence. Best First Feature: The Darkest Light (Director: Simon Mendes) Simon Mendes developed the film as a 2022 JFI Filmmaker in Residence. San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Award: Oxygen (Director: Netalie Braun) Oxygen received a 2024 JFI Completion Grant. Best Narrative Short: Elijah (Director: Sam Roebling) Best Documentary Short: Scenes from the Divide (Director: Alison Klayman) Read more about each of the grant recipients, as well as the award winners, below. The grants total $95,000 across seven independent film projects from the United States, Israel, France, Canada, Palestine, and the United Kingdom. The projects range from feature documentaries to animated shorts and hybrid works which the jury selected “for their diverse perspectives and approaches to storytelling that reframe the public’s understanding of Jewish life, culture, and identity,” per the JFI. Since 2020, JFI has awarded $575,000 to 44 projects from around the world. The 2026 judges panel featured SFJFF alumni filmmakers Rachel Israel (The Floaters), Daniel Robbins (Bad Shabbos), Dan Sturman (The Stamp Thief), Sam Feder (Heightened Scrutiny) and film composer Miriam Cutler (Love, Gilda). Watch on Deadline In a joint statement, the judges wrote: “What a privilege it is to support this group of extraordinary, humane, creative, and courageous filmmakers. The six films we have chosen brought us to tears and to laughter. They cover a wide range of subject matter, burrowing deep into the human psyche, and zooming out to explore global issues of war and peace. As diverse as these films are, they share a common humanity—a belief that, through storytelling, we can promote empathy and values intrinsic to our Jewish heritage.” Added JFI Executive Director Lexi Leban: “Great films aren’t discovered; they’re developed. The strongest film cultures—JFI’s Artist Development and Exhibition programs among them—invest in artists at every stage of the journey, through the process of iterating the idea to the moment a film reaches its audience.” “This year’s award winners embody the curiosity, complexity, and artistic ambition that are at the heart of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival,” Director of Programming Dominique Oneil and Festival Director Ash Cook said in a statement of her own. “As we present our inaugural First Feature Award, we are thrilled to celebrate a new generation of filmmakers whose debut works display outstanding vision and emotional depth. We’re especially thrilled that the juries have recognized two films that have been supported through JFI’s Artist Development programs, and we applaud all of this year’s award winners, which reflect the vitality of contemporary Jewish cinema.” 2026 GRANT RECIPIENTS The Animated Mind of OIiver SachsUnited Kingdom, United StatesDirector: Dempsey Rice; Producers: Lori Cheatle, Dempsey RiceA newly uncovered archive along with immersive animation traces Oliver Sacks’ early career — revealing how an isolated young Jewish neurologist, shadowed by loneliness, learned to truly see his patients, and in doing so, began to see himself. Winner of the Harvey Goldberg Memorial Award, which is provided to a project that meaningfully expands the public’s understanding of Jewish life. The Day AfterFrance, Israel, PalestineDirectors: Yuval Orr, Aziz Abu Sarah; Producers: Yuval Orr, Liel Maghen, Margaux MissikaA group of Palestinians and Israelis travel to Northern Ireland to learn how bitter enemies made peace. But as their homeland descends into deeper violence, they struggle to make peace amongst themselves. Winner of the Envision Award, which is provided to a project that explores the complexities of shared society by combating prejudice and hate. The MonumentIsrael, PalestineDirector: Naama Shohet; Producer: Lev OrlovIsrael and Palestine are in a constant state of war. Naama’s ex cheated on her at a monument for fallen IDF soldiers. Her parents are feuding. Every month, her body prepares for pregnancy. Gripped by a paralyzing fear for the fate of her future children, Naama returns to the same monument where the infidelity took place; there, her parents appear before her. When their conversation hits a dead end, she dares to imagine a new reality of communication and peace. The OperaIsrael, CanadaDirector & Producer: Ran TalThrough two years of devastating war and intense protest, the diverse cast and crew of Tel Aviv’s Opera persists, their art and individual stories reflecting a society torn between hope and despair, creation and destruction. Winner of the Albert & Judith Goldberg Award for Jewish Arts & Culture, which is provided to a project that explores the role of artistic expression in Jewish life. Our Home is Not of This WorldUnited StatesDirector: Russ Finkelstein; Producer: Manuel ContrerasOur Home Is Not Of This World follows the invisible work of a medical examiner’s office in Texas that identifies people who die crossing the border, revealing its profound personal, legal and spiritual significance. Dr. Corinne Stern has been doing this vital work for more than 20 years and is now looking to retire, but the county government can’t seem to find anyone willing to replace her. Winner of The Jonathan Logan Family Foundation Tikkun Olam Award recognizing films which emphasize the responsibility and capacity of individuals and collectives to embody change and justice in striving towards a better future. PostmortemUnited StatesDirector: Marilyn Ness; Producer: Beth LevisonPostmortem, a hybrid documentary film and theater project, is a boundary-pushing crime drama about an abused girl who didn’t tell her childhood secret—and the woman she becomes, who does. Recipient of a JFI Discretionary Grant The Woman Who Didn’t Know How To LoveIsraelDirector: Rotem Dimand; Producer: Mor Tregger DelaryaVarda never forgave her mother, Yehudit, for failing to love her. When her daughter Rotem discovers Yehudit’s hidden archive, she drags Varda into an unexpectedly funny, painfully honest three-generation conversation—insisting on a reconciliation only cinema can make possible. SFJFF46 AWARDS Audience Award: NarrativeThe Wedding Entertainer (or the Tale of Moishe Badhan)Gidi Dar, Israel / USA, West Coast PremiereTo get the funds to marry off his own child, a disgraced Hasidic wedding-comedian must fight to reclaim his former glory in Gidi Dar’s hilarious caper. Audience Award: DocumentaryDust Bowls and Jewish Souls: Another Side of Woody GuthrieSteven Pressman, USA, US PremiereFrom the dust storms of Oklahoma to the lox and bagels of Coney Island, discover a whole new side of Woody Guthrie that will forever change your view of one of America’s most celebrated songwriters and cultural icons. Best First Feature AwardThe Darkest LightSimon Mendes, USA, World PremiereRabbi Shlomo Carlebach was a spiritual and musical icon for 20th-century Jews. What will happen to his cherished legacy after posthumous sexual abuse allegations? San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle AwardOxygenNetalie Braun, IsraelWith the outbreak of a new war in Israel, a soldier is about to enter Lebanon. His mother refuses to wait for bad news and decides to take matters into her own hands. Best Narrative ShortElijahSam Roebling, USA, West Coast PremiereA group of young, sophisticated Jewish New Yorkers will have their ideals tested when an unexpected guest crashes their Passover Seder. Best Documentary ShortScenes from the DivideAlison Klayman, USAExploring the perspectives of New Yorkers on both sides of Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for mayor of New York, this film reveals a fierce battle among American Jews over identity, history, and responsibility.