2025 Portland Jewish Film Festival

Photo courtesy of OJMCHE

The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education is hosting the annual Portland Jewish Film Festival, an event that promises to captivate audiences with its diverse lineup of thought-provoking films.

For over two decades, the Portland Jewish Film Festival has been a significant cultural event. This year’s event promises to build on the festival’s rich legacy, providing a platform for shared experiences and a deeper understanding of the Jewish narrative.

Scheduled for February, this festival is a celebration of Jewish life, history, and complexity, featuring full-length films.

Here are the details about this year’s event. 

2025 Portland Jewish Film Festival

 The Portland Jewish Film Festival is on select days February 12-23, 2025. The screenings feature six full-length films that explore the complexity, history and joy of Jewish life.

Following some screenings, the festival provides a unique opportunity for audiences to engage with authors, filmmakers, scholars and artists in enlightening talk-back sessions. These discussions delve into the themes and contexts of the films, enhancing the overall cinematic experience.

Here’s the schedule:

Film Fest Schedule

Wednesday, February 12

Shari & Lamb Chop and Community Kickoff

Patricia Reser Center for the Arts | Doors open at 6pm, screening at 7pm

This documentary charts the life, loves and career hits and misses of Shari Lewis, the spunky perfectionist who forever changed the face of children’s television. Shari & Lamb Chop help us reconnect with our inner child, and celebrate pure imagination.

Thursday, February 13

 The Return from the Other Planet with in person talkback with filmmaker

Tomorrow Theater | Doors open at 6:30pm, screening at 7pm

Ka.tzetnik became a myth due to a life of secrecy. Rumors suggest he writes all night, dons his Auschwitz uniform and never leaves his house despite his books selling millions. The film explores the writer’s personal journey coping with trauma through the unconventional path of LSD.

Sunday, February 16

Ain’t No Back to a Merry Go Round

Tomorrow Theater | Doors open at 6pm, screening at 6:30pm

Arrests made headlines when five Howard University students sat on a segregated Maryland carousel in 1960. The first organized interracial civil rights protest in U.S. history was born when the largely Jewish community near Glen Echo Amusement Park joined Black students in picketing.

Wednesday, February 19

ADA – My Mother, the Architect with in person talkback with filmmaker

Patricia Reser Center for the Arts | Doors open at 6:30pm, screening at 7pm

Israel Prize for architecture recipient Ada Karmi-Melamede, like her father and brother before her, is an unusual role model and mother. As she approaches the final chapter of a prolific career, her former architect daughter sets out to tell her unique story against the backdrop of the turbulent country Ada loves.

 Thursday, February 20

The Ride Ahead with pre-recorded virtual talkback with filmmakers

Virtual | Streaming at 7pm

The film showcases Samuel Habib, whose goals are pretty typical for a 21-year-old. Moving out of his family’s New Hampshire home. College. Establishing his career. Dating. Sex. Yet every rite of passage is fraught with challenges. Unexpected seizures and uncontrollable movements caused by his rare genetic disorder.

Sunday, February 23

The Other
Tomorrow Theater | Doors open at 6pm, screening at 6:30pm

Filmed from 2017-2024, The Other focuses on Israeli and Palestinian peace-builders, anti-occupation activists, artists, academics, ex-fighters, bereaved parents and many more living the reality on the ground. Whether in non-violent co-resistance, peace-building, or shared community, witness those who have only known each other through hate, bloodshed, inequality, and war, transcend beyond narratives and belief systems.

Tickets and Locations

General admission is $15 per screening and $12 for OJMCHE members. You can buy these tickets online for each movie. Film festival passes to all screenings are $75 each.  

The festival is at the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, 12625 SW Crescent St. in Beaverton, and Tomorrow Theater,  3530 SE Division St. in Portland.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit OJMCHE’s website. 

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