Oscars

‘Hamnet’ is Oscar-bait about Shakespeare's free-spirited wife - review

Hamnet, which just opened in theaters around Israel, is a movie about William Shakespeare’s family that really wants to be about something else.

|ByHANNAH BROWN
BRITAIN'S QUEEN Camilla (R) attends a special screening of 'Hamnet', the film adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's award-winning novel, in central London on January 27, 2026.
Omar Sameer Mahamid stars in Meyer Levinson-Blount's Butcher's Stain, a short film that has received an Oscar nomination.

Israeli film Butcher's Stain receives an Oscar nomination in Best Live Action Short category

Butcher’s Stain has already won a Silver Medal in the Narrative category at the 2025 Student Academy Awards, an important achievement for a filmmaker at the beginning of his career.

|ByHANNAH BROWN
Likud parliament member Miki Zohar reacts during an arrangements committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, January 13, 2020.

Israeli film industry in turmoil as Culture Ministry awards ignite backlash 

Israeli cinema is heading for a showdown as the culture minister threatens funding and sparks boycotts.

|ByHANNAH BROWN
An Oscar statue is seen on stage after the 82nd annual Academy Awards nomination announcements in Beverly Hills February 2, 2010.

'Butcher’s Stain' lands Oscars shortlist as Israel shut out of international feature race

Butcher’s Stain is about Samir (Omar Sameer Mahamid), an Arab Israeli working in a supermarket in Tel Aviv, who is accused of tearing down hostage posters in the break room.

|ByHANNAH BROWN

Jewish war epic ‘The Brutalist’ picks up 10 Oscar nominations, ‘A Complete Unknown’ close behind

Nominated films about Israel and the Palestinian territories, meanwhile, took on new dimensions in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. 

JANUARY 23, 2025ByANDREW LAPIN/JTA
Jewish actor Timothée Chalamet portrays Bob Dylan in the new biopic "A Complete Unknown."

Netflix musical 'Emilia Perez' leads Oscar nominations

Walt Disney's ABC will broadcast the event, and comedian Conan O'Brien will host.

JANUARY 23, 2025ByREUTERS
Finished mounted Oscar Statuettes are seen at the Polich Tallix foundry in Walden, New York, US, January 25, 2018

'Souleymane’s Story': A glance into the life of an African worker in Paris - film review

The new film paints a haunting portrait of one face behind all the headlines about immigration.

JANUARY 19, 2025ByHANNAH BROWN
ABOU SANGARE in ‘Souleymane’s Story.’

Jesse Eisenberg explores humor, trauma, and history in 'A Real Pain' - interview

Jesse Eisenberg’s "A Real Pain" follows two cousins on a journey through Holocaust sites in Poland in a poignant and funny road-trip story.

JANUARY 3, 2025ByHANNAH BROWN
JESSE EISENBERG (right) with costar Kieran Culkin in ‘A Real Pain.’

How media bias fuels the facade of Palestinian nationhood and ignores accountability - opinion

Media bias amplifies Palestinian narratives while ignoring accountability, fostering impunity, and sidestepping obligations expected of nations.

JANUARY 2, 2025ByDAVID CHRISTOPHER KAUFMAN
BILLIE EILISH, Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youssef, and others wore a pin of a red hand at the Oscars (left), failing to understand that the red hand is a symbol of the red hands of Aziz Salha after he killed two Jews in a lynching in Ramallah in 2000 (right.)

Celebrating cinema with joy at the Haifa International Film Festival

Some of these films will open eventually at theaters, but many can only be seen at the festival, and there really is something special about watching movies in this joyous atmosphere.

DECEMBER 30, 2024ByHANNAH BROWN
AT THE Haifa International Film Festival, ‘Longing,’ starring Richard Gere (top) and ‘I’m Still Here.’

Palestinian films make the Oscar shortlists, as Israeli hopefuls are passed over

Yariv Mozer’s We Will Dance Again, a hard-hitting film about the massacre at the Supernova music festival, was one of the eligible films that was passed over this year.

DECEMBER 17, 2024ByHANNAH BROWN
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen in an interrogation room (illustrative)

Cannes surprise winner 'Anora' to screen at Haifa Film Festival

Films starring Selena Gomez, Demi Moore, and Jesse Eisenberg will also be screened.

SEPTEMBER 26, 2024ByHANNAH BROWN
Selena Gomez in 'Emilia Perez'

Israeli filmmaker Tom Nesher channels her grief into her new movie ‘Come Closer’

The movie tells the story of Eden (Lia Elalouf), a reckless, troubled young Tel Aviv woman still very attached to her younger brother, Nati (Ido Tako), and her struggle to cope after his death.

SEPTEMBER 23, 2024ByHANNAH BROWN
TOM NESHER: For my generation, 18-30, everyone knows someone who died this year. Everyone.

151 Jewish creatives sign letter supporting Jonathan Glazer's Oscar speech

The report comes only a few weeks after 1,200 Jewish creatives pinned a letter denouncing Glazer's speech.

APRIL 6, 2024ByGADI ZAIG
Jonathan Glazer poses on the red carpet during the Oscars arrivals at the 96th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 10, 2024.