📅 Saturday, March 22nd – Sunday, April 6th (in-person screenings)
📍 AMC Pacific Place, SIFF Cinema Uptown, Stroum Jewish Community Center, Majestic Bay Theatres, Gesa Power House Theater (Walla Walla), Hillel @ UW|
💰 Tickets begin at $15; packages at $104; passes at $210
💻 Available online Monday, March 31st – Sunday, April 13th
The Seattle Jewish Film Festival is celebrating 30 years this March with a theme that feels particularly timely: the pearl. Not just a gemstone traditionally used to celebrate a 30th wedding anniversary, the pearl is a symbol of beauty under pressure, resilience and transformation. With geopolitical times feeling particularly dark for many, it’s a great time to immerse yourself in storytelling and community at the Pacific Northwest’s largest and longest-running Jewish event, and one of the biggest Jewish film festivals in the country.
In 2025, the SJCC is showcasing 30 films to celebrate its 30 years. Highlights (the fest calls them “chai lights,” a reference not to tea but the Hebrew word for life, “chai”) include Midas Man, a drama about the Beatles’ visionary manager Brian Epstein; Pink Lady, about a woman in an ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem community who discovers her husband is having an affair with a man; Bad Shabbos, a comedy (starring Kyra Sedgwick) about a Shabbat meal gone very wrong; Running on Sand, about an Eritrean refugee whose mistaken identity saves him from deportation; and Carla the Rescuer, a documentary about the Holocaust hero Carla Peperzak, who is now 101 and living in Spokane.
There’s also a smorgasbord of special events, including an opening night dessert party, Sunday klezmer brunch, champagne toast on closing night, and a Fiddler on the Roof sing-along suitable for the whole mishpokhe (family). A short program devoted to the concept of hashivenu — reaffirming faith in times of crisis — screens at the Gesa Power House Theater in Walla Walla as well as at the University of Washington Hillel.
Here’s a rundown of the full schedule:
🗓️ Saturday, March 22nd @ 8 pm
📍 AMC Pacific Place, 600 Pine St Ste 400 (Downtown)
Midas Man and opening festivities
🗓️ Sunday, March 23rd @ 9:30 am
📍 AMC Pacific Place, 600 Pine St Ste 400 (Downtown)
Sunday brunch and Welcome to Yiddishland (Screening starts at 10:30)
🗓️ Sunday, March 23rd @ 1:10 pm
📍 AMC Pacific Place: 600 Pine St Ste 400 (Downtown)
The Blond Boy From the Casbah
🗓️ Sunday, March 23rd @ 4:15 pm
📍 AMC Pacific Place: 600 Pine St Ste 400 (Downtown)
Art Spiegelman
🗓️ Sunday, March 23rd @ 6:45 pm
📍 AMC Pacific Place: 600 Pine St Ste 400 (Downtown)
Pink Lady
🗓️ Tuesday, March 25th @ 6:20 pm
📍 SIFF Cinema Uptown: 511 Queen Anne Ave N (Queen Anne)
The Most Precious of Cargoes
🗓️ Tuesday, March 25th @ 8:30 pm
📍 SIFF Cinema Uptown: 511 Queen Anne Ave N (Queen Anne)
The City
🗓️ Wednesday, March 26th @ 6:20 pm
📍 Stroum Jewish Community Center: 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Janis Ian
🗓️ Wednesday, March 26th @ 8:45 pm
📍 Stroum Jewish Community Center: 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
The Stronghold
🗓️ Thursday, March 27th @ 6 pm
📍 Stroum Jewish Community Center: 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Torn
🗓️ Thursday, March 27th @ 8:30 pm
📍 Stroum Jewish Community Center: 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
A Nice Jewish Boy
🗓️ Friday, March 28th @ 1 pm
📍 Stroum Jewish Community Center: 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Shari & Lamb Chop
🗓️ Saturday, March 29th @ 6 pm
📍 Stroum Jewish Community Center: 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
The Glory of Life
🗓️ Saturday, March 29th @ 8:35 pm
📍 Stroum Jewish Community Center: 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Running On Sand
🗓️ Sunday, March 30th @ 12:10 pm
📍 Stroum Jewish Community Center: 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Carla The Rescuer
🗓️ Sunday, March 30th @ 3:15 pm
📍 Stroum Jewish Community Center: 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Beethoven’s Nine
🗓️ Sunday, March 30th @ 6:30 pm
📍 Stroum Jewish Community Center: 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Sabbath Queen
🗓️ Wednesday, April 2nd @ 7 pm
📍 Majestic Bay Theatres: 2044 NW Market St (Ballard)
Blind at Heart
🗓️ Wednesday, April 2nd @ 7 pm
📍 Gesa Power House Theater: 111 N 6th Ave, Walla Walla
Shorts program
🗓️ Thursday, April 3rd @ 7 pm
📍 Hillel at the University of Washington: Center for Jewish Life, 4745 17th Ave NE
Shorts program
🗓️ Saturday, April 5th @ 7:30 pm
📍 Stroum Jewish Community Center, 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Closing Night Film + Champagne Toast: Bad Shabbos
🗓️ Sunday, April 6th @ 3 pm
📍 Stroum Jewish Community Center, 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Closing Day Mishpokhe Matinee + Sing-Along: Fiddler On The Roof
💻 Can’t make it to a screening?
Films become available to stream March 31st, with a 2-week, 48-hour access window. All films expire April 13th at 11:59 pm.
Films include: Sabbath Queen, Beethoven’s Nine, Blind At Heart, The Blond Boy From The Casbah, The City, Death Of Zygielboym (virtual only), Carla The Rescuer, The Glory Of Life, Janis Ian, Never Alone (virtual only), Pink Lady, The Stronghold, Torn, Welcome To Yiddishland, and the shorts program.
The Stroum Jewish Community Center offers events, programs, and experiences that amplify profound Jewish connections for every generation.
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