JIFF Short Film Fund’s $30,000 to filmmakers
'Now is the time to amplify new Jewish Australian voices who are using the medium of cinema to capture both an individual and collective response to the events we are living through'
The Jewish International Film Festival (JIFF) has announced the recipients of its 2025 Short Film Fund, marking the largest grant pool in the program’s history since its establishment in 2017.
In partnership with the recently formed Jewish Australian Screen Fund (JASF), a total of $30,000 will be distributed to support new short narrative works centred around the theme “post-October 7 life in Australia”.
“We have been inspired by the diversity of applications and the bold ways in which filmmakers have chosen to interpret the theme,” JASF director Jamie Bialkower said. “Now is the time to amplify new Jewish Australian voices who are using the medium of cinema to capture both an individual and collective response to the events we are living through.”
The 2025 funding recipients include several promising productions.
The Promised Land – directed by Adam Dostalek, written by Ron Elisha, and produced by Dostalek, Elisha and Alexis Fishman – follows a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor who is visited by a carer from Jewish welfare. Having fought for the State of Israel, he attempts to convince her that it is her duty to make aliyah.
Mezuzah Man – written and directed by Jacob Melamed – follows a passionate young Jewish man who, after witnessing rising antisemitism, takes it upon himself to reclaim his community’s pride by forcing them not to hide. His actions, however, lead to catastrophic consequences for everything and everyone he loves.
Finally, Shpatzir – written, directed and produced by Benjamin Levitt, and co-directed by David McKinnar – explores the journey of a Jewish man who considers visiting his local synagogue during his evening walks. Following October 7, his need only increases, but he struggles to follow through. A year later, he is finally ready to enter, but questions whether he is too far gone.
The fund also welcomes back inaugural winner Anita Lester, who received funding in 2017 for her acclaimed animation Noch Am Leben.
Lester will make her narrative debut with Crumbs, inspired by Sholem Aleichem’s Railroad Stories and the concept of Jewish lives in transit. Set in contemporary Melbourne, Crumbs depicts diverse customers waiting in line at a Friday morning bakery. The film examines human nature through these characters, all under the watchful eye of Liev, the baker boy, ultimately revealing a snapshot of the collective Jewish experience.
All funded films are scheduled to screen at JIFF this October.
Building on a 30-year history of Jewish film festivals in Australia, JIFF has established itself as one of the world’s largest and most successful Jewish film festivals. The festival is committed to showcasing diverse, world-class cinema and supporting local filmmakers who tell stories reflecting the global Jewish experience.
“We are thrilled that Jamie’s producing experience and passion for Jewish storytelling is now driving the Short Film Fund. JIFF is proud to be at the coalface of Jewish-themed filmmaking,” JIFF artistic director Eddie Tamir said.
JASF was established by Bialkower in 2024 as part of his Jump Street Films label. The fund was created to address the lack of Jewish narratives being financed in Australia, insufficient support for Jewish artists at structural and institutional levels, and to counter antisemitism through representation of Jewish stories on screen.
Funding will exclusively support works that advance the depiction of Jewish Australians on screen, created by Jewish Australian artists, with emphasis on authenticity and visibility.
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