After the turmoil of the past two years, the 2025 edition of the Spiritual Film Festival, running from November 12-15 at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque, couldn’t come at a better time. This year, it will present an unusually rich lineup of international and Israeli films that explore the intersection of consciousness, healing, nature, and compassion. In addition to the screenings, there will be several special events.
Festival founder Anamika Eshel noted that the festival is providing healing in turbulent times. “The festival seeks to be an island of encounter, unity, and hope; a place where we can disconnect for a moment from the tense reality around us, and be inspired by content that expands the heart and mind,” she said.
“Our hearts are always with the bereaved families, to the families whose loved ones were kidnapped, and to the soldiers,” she added. “We will not forget and will not rest until all our children and brothers return home.”
The lineup
The festival will open with Valley of Shadows, by Salvador Calvo, a fictional but reflective story of loss, redemption, and recovery in a small mountain village in the Himalayas.
Among the highlights of the festival will be Into the Heart of the Mountain, also set in the Himalayas, directed by Annegré Bosman, which follows Buddhist priest Joan Halifax on a medical mission. The film captures both the beauty of the landscape and Halifax’s lifelong effort to unite spiritual practice with humanitarian work. It will be accompanied by lectures from Steven Fulder and Asaf Siti, who will speak about mindfulness and medicine.
Environmental awareness and the human connection with the natural world are central to many of the festival’s selections. Bees for Peace, by Yossi Or, documents an initiative in which women from different faiths and communities – Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Druze, and Bedouin – learn beekeeping together, building trust.
Themes of healing and transformation are also featured in the festival. Rescued Hearts, directed by Krisanna Sexton, examines the therapeutic connection between humans and horses, beginning with the story of a nonverbal child who speaks his first words during an equine therapy session.
A Field of Forgiveness, by Israeli filmmaker Tzipi Raz, follows patients in an integrative hospital in Israel who combine medical treatment with emotional and spiritual healing. The Heart Revolution, by Benedict Just, challenges the scientific notion of the heart as a mere organ, proposing instead that it is a center of intelligence and empathy.
Consciousness and spirituality
Consciousness and spirituality are recurring motifs. The Dalai Lama’s Gift, by Ed Winslow Bastian, revisits a 1981 initiation in Wisconsin led by the Dalai Lama that introduced thousands of Americans to Tibetan Buddhism.
Planetary Pilgrim, directed by Dawa Tarchin Phillips, documents a global spiritual journey to 17 sacred sites, showing how shared experience can foster a sense of unity and reverence for the planet.
The festival also includes several quirky, introspective narratives. The Zen Diary, by Yuji Nakae, follows a writer living alone in the mountains of Nagano who finds meaning in cooking, gardening, and mourning.
Ride Away, a French road movie by Matthias Malcros, who also stars in the film, portrays two friends cycling across Europe while confronting grief and friendship. Looking Up, directed by Elena Neuman, tells the story of Eitan Armon, a visually impaired Israeli climber who sets out to scale El Capitan in California.
Women’s voices play a central role in the festival. Song of the Sirens, by Shirly Naveh, explores the historical silencing of women’s voices through myth, religion, and politics. #Female Pleasure, Barbara Miller’s acclaimed documentary, portrays five women around the world fighting for sexual autonomy and respect.
The festival will close with My Father: The Healer, a documentary about a Chinese qigong master who becomes a global figure of devotion and controversy. Through stories of illness, exile, and redemption, it asks what it means to heal oneself while healing others.
The films of the 2025 Spiritual Film Festival reflect a growing movement in cinema that looks inward as much as outward. They challenge audiences to think about the relationship between mind and body, human and nature, science and spirit. In a time of division and uncertainty, the festival offers something rare in contemporary film culture: a space for reflection, empathy, and connection.
For more information, visit www.spiritfestival.co.il/english