June Squibb, left, and Fred Hechinger in a scene from the film “Thelma.” Magnolia Pictures via AP

The Maine Jewish Film Festival is one of the big events on the Maine movie calendar. MJFF’s 26th festival is taking place this week, from Saturday through March 9 at venues in Portland, Waterville, Lewiston and Brunswick and featuring 15 fascinating and thrillingly different films from around the world.

As ever, the Maine Jewish Film Festival is a treat for film fans of any (or no) religion, with its 2025 theme of “Destinations Unknown,” promising moviegoers the festival’s traditional wide-ranging and entertaining view of the world as seen through the eyes of Jewish creators.

ON A MISSION

First-year MJFF Executive Director David Andrusia cites famous Jewish author Elie Wiesel in saying, “Peace is our gift to each other” in explaining the festival’s ongoing mission. “It’s our hope that by showing positive images not only of Jews but of our brethren throughout the world, we can take one step farther toward peace.”

That’s a tall order for a film festival, but movies have always had the power to move people, and this year’s festival, according to Andrusia, seeks to bring an increasingly fractured world together. “We certainly recognize world events,” says Andrusia, who recently moved to Maine after organizing Washington, D.C.’s March on Washington Film Festival. “But we strive to present positive images of Jewish life here and around the world that show how kinship and allyship not only can but must be our roadmaps in searching for a more peaceful and inclusive world.”

This year’s films approach that mission in excitingly different ways.

Documentaries like Ilana Trachtman’s “Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round” tackle justice and civil rights directly in its portrait of young Howard University students’ sit-in on a Maryland amusement park’s segregated rides. Daniel Robbins’ “Bad Shabbos” employs dark family comedy involving the tense holiday meeting of a Jewish family and the strictly Catholic parents of a recently converted daughter, made even more high-stakes by the discovery of a mysterious dead body.

“Our theme this year is ‘Destinations Unknown,’ and that encompasses real destinations, places where you would not expect to find Jewish culture, and also destinations of the mind,” says Andrusia of this MJFF’s signature blend of tones, styles and subject matter. “We sought out films that would nudge people into new ways of seeing their place in the world, in Jewish life around the globe.”

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

I asked Andrusia to pick out a few favorite films he’s especially excited about this year.

Lia Elalouf in the film “Come Closer.” Courtesy of 2-Team Productions

“‘Come Closer’ is our opening night film (playing Saturday, March 1 at the Portland Museum of Art). It won the equivalent of the Israeli Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actress, and it turns tragedy into a really searing personal exploration of friendship and love.” The film is the tragic tale of a shocking accident that brings two young women together. “It’s going to attract a younger audience, a new audience,” Andrusia says.

Switching gears completely is “Thelma,” starring then 93-year-old June Squibb (“Nebraska,” “About Schmidt”) in her first starring role as a nursing home resident who takes off on an improbable rampage of revenge (at times on her motorized scooter) against the scammers who stole her money. Featuring the last role of Shaft himself, Richard Roundtree, as the feisty Thelma’s partner in vengeance, the film, according to Andrusia, saw the preview audience not only laughing but cheering. “It’s cathartic in a lot of ways,” Andrusia says, “a lot of fun and very warm and human—people love this film.”

Hitham Omari in a scene from the film “No Name Restaurant.” Courtesy of Menemsha Films

“No Name Restaurant,” which closes out this year’s festival March 9 at the PMA, is another film Andrusia says will leave viewers glowing. “The premise sees an Orthodox Jewish man from Brooklyn on his way to be the tenth man at the Pesach ceremony in Jerusalem get kicked off his bus right in the middle of the Sinai Desert. He meets up with a Bedouin looking for his lost camel and they form this sort of dynamic duo as they try to survive.” Says Andrusia of the film’s unexpected turns involving disguises and the rush to save a dwindling Jewish community. “The film is very emblematic of what we do. Building bridges is so important, especially in the fractured times in which we live, and this film is so moving in so many ways.”

BRINGING MAINERS TOGETHER

Citing the stifling and isolating experience of COVID shutdowns and shuttered movie theaters, Andrusia says this is the time to remember the healing power of seeing movies together.

“In the COVID years, we and a lot of festivals went virtual, but now we’re able to come together in person to watch films again,” says Andrusia. “It’s so important for all people to seek kinship and unity. Seeing the films, hearing the speakers, participating in the Q&As, it all helps us come one small step closer.”

Adrusia praises the various venues (the PMA, Hill Arts, Bates College, Eveningstar Cinema, Waterville’s Film Center, the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine) hosting screenings this year, and says this decentralized festival is meant to bring MJFF’s films — and message — to as many Mainers as possible. “Maine has a long and storied history and a big base of people supporting films in their communities. I was working in film marketing in L.A. and I left because I wanted to work with important films that spoke to people, that could be a part of societal change. Maine is a great place to do that.”

This year’s Maine Jewish Film Festival takes place from Saturday to March 9. For a full rundown of this year’s roster of films, showtimes and locations, and to purchase tickets, head to mjff.org.