The Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival opened Tuesday night with The Hollywood Rabbi and continues tonight with We Met at Grossinger’s, a documentary about the Catskills resort that helped shape Jewish-American comedy, culture and community life.
The 2026 festival opened May 12 at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills with the world premiere of The Hollywood Rabbi, a documentary about Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Museum of Tolerance. The festival runs through May 19.
Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival Opens With Rabbi Marvin Hier Documentary
The opening night gala honored Rabbi Hier, a two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker whose work helped bring Holocaust history to wider audiences.
Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a longtime friend of Rabbi Hier, introduced the opening night program, according to the festival. The film features Arnold Schwarzenegger, former President Bill Clinton, Billy Crystal, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Montana Tucker and others.
The documentary was written and directed by Jon Kean and produced by Brad Krevoy and Susie Krevoy. It follows Rabbi Hier’s path from New York’s Lower East Side to Los Angeles, where he became one of America’s best-known rabbis and a major voice in Holocaust education and human rights.
Republic Pictures acquired The Hollywood Rabbi before its festival premiere, adding a timely industry angle to the LAJFF opening.
Wednesday: We Met at Grossinger’s
Wednesday’s Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival screening features the LA premiere of We Met at Grossinger’s, a documentary about the famed Catskills resort that became a gathering place for Jewish families, entertainers and American cultural life.
The screening takes place Wednesday, May 13, at 7 p.m. at Laemmle Monica Film Center in Santa Monica. A Q&A follows with comedian Elon Gold, Melissa Rivers, producer Robert Friedman and executive producer Mike Powers.
The film looks back at Grossinger’s Resort and Hotel, the Borscht Belt landmark tied to the early careers of Mel Brooks, Buddy Hackett, Carl Reiner, Joan Rivers and Jerry Lewis. The Jewish Journal reported that LAJFF executive director Hilary Helstein called it “a nostalgic, feel-good documentary about an important slice of Jewish American history.”
Festival Screenings Across Los Angeles
The 2026 Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival includes feature films, documentaries, shorts and student films. Screenings take place at the Saban Theatre, Museum of Tolerance, Laemmle’s Monica Film Center, Laemmle Royal, Laemmle Town Center and Temple Beth Am.
The festival schedule includes We Met at Grossinger’s, with a Q&A featuring comedian Elon Gold, Melissa Rivers and producers; Monument, with actor Jon Voight appearing in person; and Influenced, Jill Kargman’s new comedy, followed by an in-person Q&A.
Other screenings include An Auschwitz Album Story, The Floaters, For the Love of a Woman, Sapiro v. Ford: The Jew Who Sued Henry Ford, Laemmle’s List, Once Upon My Mother and They Called Us Trujillo’s Jews.
Closing Night Features Hold on to Your Music
Closing night, May 19, features the Los Angeles premiere of Hold On To Your Music: A Mother’s Legacy at the Museum of Tolerance.
The documentary tells the story of Lisa Jura, a young pianist who escaped Nazi-occupied Vienna on the Kindertransport. The program includes a Steinway piano performance, a Q&A with Mona Golabek and the filmmakers, and a discussion moderated by Holocaust historian Dr. Michael Berenbaum.
The film won Best Holocaust Documentary at the 2026 Boca International Jewish Film Festival and the Torchbearer Jury Award at the 2026 Miami Jewish Film Festival, according to LAJFF.
Jewish Stories, Film and Community Discussion
The Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival began in 2006 and expanded after its first year into a citywide cultural program. Its mission centers on Jewish heritage, community awareness and films that encourage discussion across Los Angeles.
The 20th anniversary program continues that mission through films about Holocaust memory, Jewish identity, comedy, Hollywood history, antisemitism, refugee survival and cultural resilience.
The full Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival 2026 schedule and ticket information are available through the official festival site.
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