By Reporter staff

The Binghamton Jewish Film Fest will feature five events during its 2025-26 season: 

• “Running on Sand”: The virtual discussion will take place on Sunday, November 23, at 7 pm. Dora E. Polachek, visiting associate professor of Romance Languages and Literatures at Binghamton University, will lead the discussion. The film tells the story of Aumari, a young Eritrean refugee being deported from Israel who is mistaken for the new foreign player of a struggling football team.
• Four short films: “No Harm Done,” “The Sacred Society,” “Women of Virtue” and “The Father, The Son and The Rav”: The virtual discussion will take place on Sunday, December 7, at 7 pm. Rivky Slonim, co-director of The Rohr Chabad Center for Jewish Life, will lead the discussion. Each of the four short films illustrates a different part of the Jewish life cycle. 
• “The Matchmaker”: The virtual discussion will take place on Sunday, December 28, at 7 pm. Matthew Johnson, professor of psychology and director of Clinical Training at Binghamton University, will lead the discussion. The film tells the story of a young teenage boy after he begins working for a Holocaust survivor, who is a professional matchmaker. The relationship changes both of their lives. 
• “The Tasters”: The virtual discussion will take place on Sunday, February 8, at 7 pm. Nancy Bassman, a historian who trained at the School of Oriental and African Studies in the University of London and earned a doctorate in urban studies from the University of Kent in Canterbury, will lead the discussion. In 1943, 26-year-old Rosa, escaping from bombed Berlin, arrives at a village that hides a secret: Hitler’s headquarters are located there. Rosa is one of the women chosen to taste Hitler’s food before it is served to make certain it has not been poisoned. 
• “Soul of a Nation”: The in-person discussion will take place on Sunday, March 15, at 7 pm, place TBA. Irle Goldman, who has been a clinical psychologist for more than 50 years, will be the moderator. The film is a documentary that “delves into Israel’s most perilous chapter in recent history, a time of profound internal conflict and external danger.”

“The Film Fest Committee is excited to present the coming year’s line-up,” said Shelley Hubal, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Binghamton, which sponsored the Film Fest. “The films range from comedy to drama to documentary, and even several short films. We hope the community will once again come together and enjoy their local Jewish Film Fest.”