PORTLAND — The 26th annual Maine Jewish Film Festival is set to screen 15 evocative, engaging and inspiring dramatic feature and documentary films from Saturday to Sunday, March 1-9.

Exploring the theme of “Destinations Unknown,” the festival aims to offer fresh perspectives on familiar icons, illuminate the lives of hidden figures, and provide a revealing look at lesser-seen territories.

“The 2025 Maine Jewish Film Festival seeks to engage and entertain audiences with films and programs that will uncover hidden stories, reveal important historical figures, and widen perspectives about important issues. This year’s film slate is incredibly diverse, featuring enlightening documentaries, intense dramas, and uplifting comedies — there is something for everybody,” says David Andrusia, executive director, according to a news release from him.

This year’s calendar of films is the festival’s most far-reaching ever, and includes films that have won national and global acclaim, including Israel’s official entry for the Best Foreign Film Academy Award and the Best Actor winner of the César Award, France’s version of the Oscars.

Documentaries will explore civil rights with “Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round;” self-discovery with “Call Me Dancer;” influential artists with “Janis Ian: Breaking the Silence, The True Story of Tamara De Lempicka & The Art of Survival” and “Vishniac;” Israeli-Palestinian relations with “The Other;” disability with “The Ride Ahead;” history with “Spinoza: 6 Reasons for the Excommunication of the Philosopher;” and the search for belonging with “Torah Tropical.”

This year’s fictional films include a dark comedy set in New York, “Bad Shabbos;” explorations of grief with “Come Closer;” courtroom drama with “The Goldman Case;” Klezmer music with “The Klezmer Project;” unlikely encounters with “No Name Restaurant;” and surprisingly funny stories of resilience with “Thelma.”

Many films will include Q&As or panel discussions. Details on these events, as well as a full film schedule, will be available in early February.

Screenings for the festival will be held at the Portland Museum of Art, The Hill Arts, and Jewish Community Alliance in Portland ; the Eveningstar Cinema in Brunswick; the Maine Film Center in Waterville; and for students, at the Bates College Olin Arts Center in Lewiston.

The festival will also include a screening of “The Ride Ahead,” a film about 21-year-old New Hampshirite Samuel Habib, a neurologically challenged young man who is surmounting obstacles to a fulfilling, productive life — and who served as co-director on this film. This event will reach many disabled Mainers through the organizations that serve them, and will take place at 2 p.m. Monday, April 3, at the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine.

For more information visit mjff.org.

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