"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"
- 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 one of the largest and longest-running festivals of its kind and the world's premier Jewish film festival. MJFF is a leader in the curation and presentation of new film and media exploring universal themes of identity, history and culture. MJFF attracts more than 30,000 filmgoers and industry professionals to its annual two weeks of inspiring films, events, panels, and parties. Screenings take place at ten major venues throughout Miami during January. Works in all forms and genres are considered.

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.

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 (The Last Resort), Samuel Goldwyn Films (Sobibor), Strand Releasing (The Other Story), Menemsha Films (1945, In Search of Israeli Cuisine, Leona), Passion River Films (The Barn), and Go2Films (Sefarad).

Awards & Prizes

AUDIENCE AWARD FOR NARRATIVE

AUDIENCE AWARD FOR DOCUMENTARY

CRITICS JURY PRIZE

SHORT FILM COMPETITION AWARD

Winner receives a non-exclusive US distribution release of their film through Film Movement, as well as a $500.00 USD prize.

Rules & Terms

The 23nd annual Miami Jewish Film Festival will take place from January 9-23, 2020.

1. Submission Deadlines
Submissions will be accepted from March 18, 2019. The deadline is September 27, 2019. Early entry is encouraged but in no way guarantees acceptance.

2. Submission Format
Films must be submitted either via online screener or by DVDs. Submitted copies will not be returned.

3. Submission Eligibility
- All submissions must have been completed after January 1, 2019.
- MJFF requires at least a Florida Premiere for any feature film.
- There is no premiere policy for short films.
- Works-in-progress are accepted.

4. Premiere Status
- Feature and short Films must be at least Florida Premieres: they must not have been released in Florida in any format, nor screened publicly online.

5. Shipping
If sending DVDs, they should be sent to:

Miami Jewish Film Festival
4200 Biscayne Blvd
Miami, FL 33137
USA

6. Selection of Films
Submissions are reviewed and selected under the following criteria:
- Quality of narrative and production values
- Independent nature of the production

MJFF endeavors to complete all selection procedures by October 14, 2019, and inform all submitting parties if their film has been successful or not after that time. A selected film must be received at MJFF no later than TWENTY days prior to its scheduled screening date.

7. Festival Screenings
MJFF has the capability to screen Digital Cinema Package (DCP). Blu-ray will be used as well. Please clearly label whether your film is PAL or NTSC.

8. Scheduling
No film may be withdrawn from the festival program after its selection, nor will MJFF pay screening fees for any submissions.