Asheville Jewish Film Festival 2026

Join us in Asheville for the 2026 Jewish Film Festival – great films, stories, and community vibes! Choosing festival tickets: After reviewing the films below, click on the red button, "Check availability," in the upper right of this page. A calendar will appear. Click on the date on the calendar. Then click on Time. Ticket options will then appear. Special packages as well as the opening night reception are listed under October 10. • three-film package ($50), • four-film package ($60), • full festival package ($75; $58 student) For opening night, a $36 ticket ($28 student) includes the October 10 reception and the 7:00 p.m. screening of Once Upon My Mother. To secure a ticket for the opening-night reception, purchase by Monday, October 5. Tickets will continue to be sold after this date until we reach capacity. See the Frequently Asked Questions section below the film descriptions for more guidance. The Asheville Jewish Film Festival 2026, presented by the Center for Jewish Studies at UNC Asheville, invites audiences into a month of film, conversation, memory, humor, and community. This year’s festival features four acclaimed films shown on the UNC Asheville campus, beginning with an opening night reception and continuing across four weekends with screenings, special guests, and facilitated conversations that bring Jewish stories into dialogue with Asheville and Western North Carolina. Festivalgoers may choose individual screenings, student tickets, multi-film packages, or a full festival pass. All screenings include free campus parking, with shuttle service planned for accessibility and ease of arrival. Whether you are joining for one film, bringing friends for opening night, or spending the month with us, AJFF offers a welcoming space to encounter powerful cinema, gather across generations, and support a growing Jewish cultural event in Asheville. Tickets may still be available at the door on the dates of individual screenings. AJFF Schedule Opening reception for the Asheville Jewish Film Festival, October 10, 5:30 pm (Highsmith Student Union) Once Upon My Mother (Trailer) Set in France and spanning decades, Once Upon My Mother follows Esther, a Sephardic Jewish mother whose fierce devotion helps her son Roland, born with a clubfoot in 1963, push past medical forecasts and social barriers. Warm, funny, and deeply moving, it’s a crowd-pleasing story about resilience, family, and the stubborn power of love. • Showing on Saturday, October 10 at 7:00 pm (Highsmith Student Union) • Showing Sunday, October 11 at 2:00 pm (Highsmith Student Union) Sabbath Queen (Trailer) Filmed over 21 years, Sabbath Queen traces Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie’s extraordinary journey as an heir to generations of Orthodox rabbis who becomes a queer religious innovator and founder of Lab/Shul, an “everybody-friendly” experimental Jewish community. This expansive documentary explores ancestry, identity, reinvention, and the many ways Jewish life can be built with courage and imagination. Join our guests Sandi DuBowski and Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavi for a lively conversation after each screening. • Showing on Saturday, October 17 at 7:00 pm (Mullen James Humanities Hall) • Showing Sunday, October 18 at 2:00 pm (Mullen James Humanities Hall) The Sea (Trailer) In this powerful Israeli drama, 12-year-old Khaled, a Palestinian boy on a school trip to the Mediterranean, is turned back at a checkpoint and sets out on his own to reach the sea for the first time. A tense, intimate coming-of-age story, The Sea invites viewers into a child’s determination and the human stakes of borders, language, and freedom of movement. A discussion with local expert Daniel Casse will follow each screening. • Showing on Saturday, October 24 at 7:00 pm (Mullen James Humanities Hall) • Showing Sunday, October 25 at 2:00 pm (Mullen James Humanities Hall) The Ring (Trailer) Based on a true story, The Ring follows Arnon Noble, a devout Israeli whose world is shaken as his Holocaust-survivor mother’s health declines. He travels to Budapest to uncover the truth behind the ring that once saved her life. A gripping blend of family mystery and historical reckoning, the film explores survival, memory, and what we inherit across generations. Stay after the film; a panel with family members of Holocaust survivors will be present after each screening. • Showing on Saturday, November 7 at 7:00 pm(Mullen James Humanities Hall) • Showing Sunday, November 8 at 2:00 pm (Mullen James Humanities Hall)