"50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee" in 2020, 2021, 2022
- MovieMaker Magazine
"One of the Best Jewish Film Festival's in the US"
- The Forward
"One of South Florida's Best Film Festivals"
- Miami New Times
"Best of Miami, Readers Choice" in 2022, 2023, 2024
- Miami's Community Newspapers
"An important stop for any filmmaker"
- Sun-Sentinel
"A monumental festival"
- The Miami Herald
The Miami Jewish Film Festival (MJFF) is the world's preeminent Jewish film festival and the largest festival of its kind dedicated to celebrating new film and media exploring universal themes of identity, history, and culture. Presenting its 28th edition from January 9-23, 2025, the Festival showcases the work of the world's best emerging and established filmmakers and offers awards in juried competition categories. Among the 121 films that premiered at the 2024 Festival which featured the largest Jewish film program in the world, more than 50 were selected from FilmFreeway submissions. Miami Jewish Film Festival has also made the prestigious "One of the 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee" list by MovieMaker Magazine in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
In 2024, the Miami Jewish Film Festival drew more than 47,500 filmgoers and attracted more than 100 filmmakers, producers, talent, and industry professionals to its two-week event of inspiring films, events, panels, and parties that are hosted at 8 major venues throughout Miami. In all, the Festival presents more than 120 feature narratives, documentaries, and short films of all genres, from more than 25 different countries.
MJFF presents dramatic and documentary features, experimental, and animated features and shorts about Jewish history, culture, and identity as well as films that reflect life through a Jewish lens. The programming staff takes a broad view of what makes a film Jewish and have been known to curate films that are Jew(ish) as well as films about issues that are relevant to Jewish communities and resonate with other cultural communities across the globe. Works in all forms and genres are considered.
The Festival receives significant industry recognition; each year several films premiering at the Festival are acquired for US distribution. Recent distributors who have acquired films directly from the Festival include Kino Lorber, Samuel Goldwyn Films, Netflix, Strand Releasing, Menemsha Films, Film Movement, Breaking Glass Pictures, and Go2Films, among many others.
GRAND JURY PRIZE
Miami Jewish Film Festival's top award, presenting a prize to the jury-selected feature film (60 minutes or longer) that is open to any filmmaker whose work – feature narrative or documentary – presents either a substantial portion of its content as Jewish interest or is produced in Israel.
DOCUMENTARY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
The award offers a prize to the jury-selected documentary feature film (60 minutes or longer) that is open to any filmmaker whose work presents either a substantial portion of its content as Jewish interest or is produced in Israel.
CRITICS JURY PRIZE
Presented to a film of any genre voted on by all accredited film critics covering the annual Festival, for the film they consider the best of that year’s selection.
KADIMA JURY PRIZE
A jury prize recognizing a film whose work positively enhances public awareness of Jewish culture, history, and learning.
TORCHBEARER JURY PRIZE
A jury prize bestowed upon a film that most powerfully depicts a story centered on the Holocaust, its context and implications. This includes exploration of its origins and repercussions, consideration of the many forces driving human behavior, as well as highlighting the resilience and fortitude of survivors and victims.
NEXT WAVE JURY PRIZE
A juried prize selected by 21-35-year-olds to a film of any genre that is a directorial debut.
SHORT FILM COMPETITION JURY PRIZE
Winner receives a non-exclusive US distribution release of their film through Film Movement.
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR NARRATIVE
Presented to the filmmakers of the Festival audience’s choice of best narrative feature (60 min or more).
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR DOCUMENTARY
Presented to the filmmakers of the Festival audience’s choice of best documentary feature (60 min or more).
