FESTIVAL SEFARAD NY

Opening Night World Premiere
2026-05-31 19:30 (Asia/Karachi) | Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY, 10280, United States
Join ASF Pomegranate Award Winning Director Alexandre Arcady in the Edmond J. Safra Hall at the Museum of Jewish Heritage for the WORLD PREMIERE of his new film The Last Concert (Fausse Note) on Opening night of the American Sephardi Federation’s 28th NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival – Festival Sefarad. Memory, guilt, and justice clash in muted tones in this riveting Holocaust thriller. After the film, we will have an exclusive Q&A with Arcady. The NYSJFF is presented in partnership with MJH, dedicated to Ike, Molly, and Steven Elias, and made possible by the support of the UJA-Federation of New York.

28th NYSJFF Pomegranate Awards Ceremony
2026-06-01 19:00 - 22:00 | Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY, 10280, United States
Join us for 28th New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival’s Pomegranate Awards Ceremony on 1 June at the Museum of Jewish Heritage for an unforgettable evening celebrating Sephardic creativity in the spirit of America’s 250th.
We will present the 2026 ASF Pomegranate Awards to honor vibrant Sephardi voices for extraordinary achievements in philosophy, music, film, and journalism:
Avi Issacharoff (journalist and co-creator of Fauda), Bernard-Henri Levy (author and philosopher), Murray Perahia (Avery Fisher Prize and Grammy Award-winning pianist), and Jeannette Sorrell (Grammy Award-winning harpsichordist and leader of Apollo’s Fire).
The Pomegranates are sculpted with love by world-renowned, Baghdad-born artist Oded Halhamy.
Following the award ceremony, enjoy a musical showcase by Jeanette Sorrelle and members of Apollo’s Fire.
“Sephardic Jews and the Making of American Independence” will be viewable for VIP guests.
Space is limited; early reservations are highly recommended. “When Lives Make History: Sephardic Jews and the American Story” will be viewable for VIP Guests.
The 28th NYSJFF is presented in partnership with MJH, Dedicated to Ike, Molly, and Steven Elias, and made possible with additional support from the UJA-Federation of New York.

Special Festival Sefarad Screening of “Our War”
2026-06-02 - 2026-06-03 | NY
Join us for a special screening of OUR WAR
A FILM BY BERNARD-HENRI LÉVY
DIRECTED BY BERNARD-HENRI LÉVY AND MARC ROUSSEL
PRODUCED BY EMILY HAMILTON
Q&A to follow with Bernard-Henri Lévy
& Tablet’s Editor-at- large Liel Leibovitz
Between February and April 2025, Bernard-Henri Lévy and Marc Roussel traveled across the frontlines of Pokrovsk and Sumy in eastern Ukraine. They documented the daily lives of civilians under bombardment on the eve of potential negotiations, as well as Ukrainian soldiers resisting Russian aggression.
Structured as a filmmaker’s logbook, Our War draws on footage captured since spring 2022, and earlier still, as the war began with the invasion of Crimea in 2014. Combining personal archives with unprecedented access to the front, the film retraces the major milestones of the largest war on European soil since 1945.
Premiered at the opening of the Cannes Film Festival 2025, on French public television, in cinemas around the United States and at the Congress, Our War brings rare and exclusive images showing that Ukraine must, and can, win this war.
Space is limited.

Enrico Macias Live – A Night of Memory & Music
2026-06-02 20:00 - 23:00 | Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY, 10280, United States
By popular demand, Enrico Macias returns to the New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival for a remarkable third consecutive year! A beloved performer whose voice has become synonymous with Sephardic heritage, Macias will treat the audience to a special concert celebrating not only his timeless repertoire—blending Andalusian, North African, and French influences—but also the enduring bond between the artist the ASF audience.
With limited seating available this year, early booking is strongly encouraged.

The Adeni of Stamford Hill
2026-06-03 17:00 - 17:10 | Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY, 10280, United States
A rare snapshot of the little-known community of Jews from Aden, Yemen, who live in the midst of the ultra-Orthodox Ashkenazi community of Stamford Hill.
Year: 2024
Runtime: 5 minutes
Premiere: North American
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English
Subtitle Language: English
Director: Hannah Rosen, Aviel Lewis

My Ioannina Odyssey
2026-06-03 17:00 - 17:50 | Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY, 10280, United States
When a mysterious box arrives on my doorstep, its century-old ship manifests, family photos and crumbling documents launch an odyssey to Ioannina – a medieval walled city in the mountains of northern Greece. Home to the Romaniotes, an ancient Greek Jewish people, Ioannina is where history and myth merge in my family lore. There, with my wife and daughter, we uncover a story of miracles and murder, love and loss, and prophecies that come true.
Year: 2025
Runtime: 33 minutes
Genre: Documentary, Short
Country: Greece, United state
Language: English, Modern Greek (1453-)
Director: Gary Glassman, Manya Branham Glassman

Elena’s War
2026-06-03 18:00 - 20:00 | Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY, 10280, United States
Set in Rome between 1938 and 1943, the movie traces the extraordinary story of Elena Di Porto, a strong, independent, and courageous Roman Jewish woman who challenged the fascist regime to save many lives and marked the history of the Jewish ghetto of Rome during fascism and the Nazi occupation.
Year: 2026
Premiere: NY Premiere
Runtime: 98 minutes
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy
Language: Italian
Director: Stefano Casertano

Frontier
2026-06-03 20:00 - 22:00 | Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY, 10280, United States
In 1943, a Spanish customs officer quietly helps refugees flee Nazi-occupied France. As his defiance grows into a resistance movement, he and his wife are forced to confront the scars left by the Spanish Civil War.
Year: 2025
Premiere: NY Premiere
Runtime: 101 minutes
Genre: Drama
Country: Spain
Language: Spanish
Subtitle Language: English
Director: Judith Colell

Half a Date
2026-06-04 17:00 - 17:30 | Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY, 10280, United States
Tzvi is an ultra-Orthodox yeshiva student who arrives at the recruitment office to receive a deferral from military service. Tangled in a bureaucratic mess that threatens his status as a yeshiva student, he encounters Carmel, a soldier his age, who is supposed to handle his paperwork. Alone together in the office, their unofficial connection is a daily crossword puzzle in the newspaper, which they solve together. For a brief moment, they unknowingly realize that in a parallel reality, they could have been the best of friends. Maybe even a couple.
Year: 2025
Runtime: 23 minutes
Genre: Drama Short
Country: Israel
Language: Hebrew
Subtitle Language: English
Director: Eden Abitbol

Mashhad
2026-06-04 17:30 - 18:00 | Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY, 10280, United States
Set in the holy Islamic city of Mashhad in 1930’s Iran, Mashhad follows Miriam, a young Jewish ghetto girl struggling to understand why her family conceal who they are. An innocent day playing with a neighborhood friend soon threatens the fragile safety of two households. Inspired by writer-director Sarah Solemani’s family history in the Mashhadi Jewish community, the short film is an intimate portrait of religion as oppression and faith as survival; how ritual travels underground, how adults protect children from truths too heavy to name, and how small joys persist under watchful eyes. Produced by Reboot Studios, Mashhad offers a rare cinematic window onto a long-suppressed chapter of Iranian Jewish life.
Year: 2025
Runtime: 19 minutes
Genre: Short
Country: United state
Language: Persian
Subtitle Language: English
Director: Sarah Solemani

Hola!… Chau
2026-06-04 18:00 - 20:00 | Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY, 10280, United States
A funny, dramatic, and emotional story about a family reunion in Israel, of a dysfunctional Argentinian Jewish family whose members hasn’t seen each other for ten years. The movie deals with humor, sensitivity, and humanity with regards to two universal subjects: the price of emigration and “A person with a disability is more than just his disability.”
Year: 2025
Premiere: NY Premiere
Runtime: 85 minutes
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Israel, Argentina
Language: Spanish
Subtitle Language: Hebrew
Director: Yohanan Weller

Sacred Scripts: Interwoven Letters, Interwoven Lives
2026-06-04 18:00 - 20:00 | Center for Jewish History, 15 W 16th St, New York, NY, 10011, United States
Sacred Scripts is a six-month fellowship of the American Sephardi Federation and the Muslim American Leadership Alliance that brings together emerging Jewish and Muslim leaders to explore the shared cultural, spiritual, linguistic, and artistic heritage of Hebrew and Arabic. Through 12 sessions from February–August 2026, participants will build relationships, foster creativity, and develop the skills and cultural fluency needed for thoughtful interfaith leadership and community building.

Please note: this event is invite-only, and is part of a multi-session fellowship. For Festival Sefarad, we are inviting a select group of young leaders to join the regular cohort.

Book of Ruth
2026-06-04 20:00 - 22:00 | Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY, 10280, United States
Ruth and Shmuel, a young couple from the ultra-Orthodox world, thought they knew everything about love. She, a sensitive young mother, constantly tests boundaries—but with grace. He, a brilliant yeshiva student, has a promising future in the yeshiva world. But when tragedy hits them, everything they believed about family, community, parenting—and even God—is put to the test. RUTH is a moving, intimate drama with surreal moments. A story about two people trying not to lose each other, yet speaking different languages that widen the emotional and religious gap between them, in a world where asking questions—especially the hard ones—is forbidden.
Year: 2025
Premiere: NY Premiere
Runtime: 88 minutes
Genre: Drama
Country: Israel
Language: Hebrew, French
Subtitle Language: English
Director: Esti Biton Shushan

Baghdadi-Indian Shabbat
2026-06-05 - 2026-06-06 | TriBeCa Synagogue, 49 White St, New York, NY, 10013, United States
Traveling along maritime trade routes, Jewish merchants from Aleppo and Baghdad made their way east to the shores of India. Beginning in the late 18th century, they settled in Kolkata, where a vibrant Jewish community emerged, shaped by the rhythms, flavors, and cultural textures of the subcontinent. Drawn by economic opportunity, and at times fleeing plague and persecution, they established new roots while preserving the liturgy, customs, and family traditions of their heritage, even as these evolved into something distinctly their own.
Join us for a special Baghdadi–Indian Shabbat as we explore this rich and layered tradition. Friday night services will be led by Rahel Musleah, a seventh-generation member of Kolkata’s Jewish community, whose family traces its lineage to Baghdad. Through prayer, melody, and storytelling, we will experience this unique synthesis of Baghdadi and Indian Jewish traditions as they have been passed down across generations.
Following services, guests will enjoy a Baghdadi–Indian Shabbat dinner alongside a single-evening exhibition, “From Baghdad to Kolkata: Ritual Objects, Vessels of Memory,” featuring family heirlooms from the Kolkata Jewish community and offering a rare glimpse into a diasporic world where Middle Eastern and Indian identities intertwine.

Moroccan Shabbat dinner
2026-06-05 - 2026-06-06 | NY
Join us for a special Moroccan Shabbat dinner with our friends at Kehillat Harlem, catered by Mama Kitchen NY. Enjoy great company, cuisine and conversations!

LVL UP ACADEMY ANNUAL RECITAL
2026-06-07 - 2026-06-08 | Kupferberg Center: Queens College, 153-49 Reeves Ave Flushing, New York, 11367, United States
Join us as our LVL Up students take the stage for their Annual Recital, a celebration of their hard work, growth, and passion throughout the year. Dancers and athletes of all ages will showcase a dynamic range of styles including hip hop, ballet, contemporary, jazz, gymnastics, and traditional Bukharian dance. Each performance highlights the dedication, creativity, and confidence our students have developed, both individually and as a team. From high-energy routines to expressive storytelling, this recital is a reflection of their journey and the vibrant community we’ve built together. We are proud to present an unforgettable evening of movement, culture, and talent.

The Splendours and Miseries of the Camondo Family
2026-06-07 16:00 - 18:00 | Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY, 10280, United States
An investigation into the footsteps of the Camondos, nicknamed the ”Rothschilds of the East of” whom only the exceptional collections that these great art lovers gave to France survive. The film traces the saga of this family, which began at the beginning of the 19th century on the banks of the Bosphorus and ended brutally at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Year: 2025
Runtime: 87 minutes
Country: France
Language: French
Subtitle: English
Director: Ruth Zylberman

MOROCCAN NIGHT
2026-06-07 18:00 - 21:00 | Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY, 10280, United States
A Special Event of the 28th New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival at the Edmond J. Safra Hall
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Moroccan Cultural Gathering’s
Live Moroccan Music • Mint Tea & Pastries • Culture & Community
7:00 PM
Special Screening of Burial on Hold
Celebrate the rich traditions, vibrant culture, and timeless spirit of Morocco at a special evening presented as part of the 28th New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival.
The evening begins with a Moroccan Reception featuring live music, mint tea, pastries, and an opportunity to gather with members of the Sephardic community and festival guests. Following the reception, audiences will enjoy a special screening of Burial on Hold, an acclaimed dramatic comedy that explores family, identity, tradition, and second chances.
SYNOPSIS
In the old quarter of Larache, Morocco, Shlomo’s death sparks a troubling question about his religious identity: should he be buried in the Jewish or Muslim cemetery?
Returning from Canada, his son David is determined to give him a proper burial, while Imad, a childhood friend haunted by guilt, seeks redemption. Through their journey, Burial on Hold explores memory, loyalty, and reconciliation between people, faiths, and the past.
DIRECTOR’S BIO
Mohammed Marouazi is a Canadian-Moroccan director and actor trained at the Institute of Dramatic Arts in Rabat. After directing several acclaimed short films, he made his feature debut with Burial on Hold. His work explores memory, loyalty, and reconciliation through contemporary Moroccan stories. He was also nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for his performance in Respire (2023).
Followed by an in-person Q&A with director Mohammed Marouazi.

The Stories Our Mothers Carried: Memory, Women, and Bukharian Jewish History
2026-06-08 18:30 | Commonpoint Central Queens, 67-09 108th St, Forest Hills, New York, NY, 11375, United States
Join us for a fascinating evening exploring the rich history, culture, and resilience of the Bukharian Jewish community through the stories, memories, and voices of the women who helped preserve it. Through archives, oral histories, cultural treasures, and personal narratives, author Dahlia Abraham-Klein and educator Ruben Shimonov will take us on a journey across generations, empires, and continents, uncovering the stories that shaped our community and continue to resonate today.
A Q&A moderated by author and educator Yaffa Borukhova will follow.
Each ticket includes a copy of The Stateless Central Asian Merchant, a compelling historical memoir tracing one family’s journey across borders, empires, and generations.
Whether you’re Bukharian, Jewish, interested in women’s history, family stories, migration, or simply love learning about cultures and communities that have helped shape our world, this promises to be a meaningful and inspiring evening.
Come for the history. Stay for the stories and authentic Kosher Bukharian appetizers.

Carvajal Day
2026-06-09 - 2026-06-10 | TriBeCa Synagogue, 49 White St, New York, NY, 10013, United States
In 2016, collector Leonard Milberg recognized priceless 400-year-old manuscripts by Luis de Carvajal — the earliest known Jewish writings from the Americas — being auctioned as mere “replicas,” and personally ensured their return to Mexico.
Join us to celebrate this remarkable story of faith, history, and recovery.

Since then, Gabriela Riveros wrote an incredible, detailed, and historically backed novel on Carvajal’s life — and will be presenting it that night.

The Mizrahi Story with Ciara Shalome
2026-06-11 19:00 - 21:00 | Magen David, 177 Sullivan St, New York, NY, 10012, United States
Join us for an exclusive evening with Ciara Shalome, the creator of @themizrahistory—an Instagram page with 123,000 followers that documents the rich oral histories of Middle Eastern, North African, and Central Asian Jews. Hosted by the American Sephardi Federation in partnership with Congregation Magen David of Manhattan, this program is part of ASF’s Festival Sefarad NYC—a monthlong celebration throughout New York City of the Greater Sephardi world. Sephardic appetizers will be served.

Salon Session • Celebrating Arénas
2026-06-14 19:30 | NY
Join Neta Elkayam Amit Hai Cohen for an intimate salon evening celebrating the release of their new album, Arénas.
A live session, good food, good people, and music traveling between Morocco, Jerusalem, and New Orleans.
Food by the chef of Bar Zakh.
Come gather, listen, and celebrate with us.

Spicy Jews
2026-06-15 19:30 | NY
Spicy Jews: A Mizrahi/Sephardic Comedy Showcase spotlights Jewish comics from around the world — from Bukharian to Syrian to Israeli — live at City Winery. Featuring performers seen on the New York Comedy Festival, Adult Swim, and HBO, plus viral favorites across Instagram and TikTok, the lineup includes Natan Badalov, Isaac Gartenberg, Olga Namer, Two Jews, and Ami Kozak. Expect global Jewish humor with heat, heritage, and nonstop laughs.

Sina Kahen book talk with Habura
2026-06-18 19:00 - 21:00 | NY
Sina Kahen in Conversation – The Battle for the Jewish Mind: The Maimonidean Controversies and Why They Matter Today
Sina Kahen, author most recently of The Battle for the Jewish Mind: The Maimonidean Controversies and Why They Matter Today, joins us live in conversation to explore the necessity of classic Sephardic (Gaonic-Andalusian) tradition in both facing contemporary challenges and realizing Jewish purpose.

Appetizers will be served.

SINGLES FIFA SOIRÉE
2026-06-18 19:00 - 23:00 | NY
One night. One game. One connection that could change everything.
Join us on June 18th for NYC’s most anticipated Jewish Singles Event of the summer—an exclusive All White FIFA Watch Party bringing together ambitious, successful Jewish professionals for an unforgettable evening.
✨ Special Guest Appearance: Ari Ackerman as Matchmaker
🎧 DJ CP Live
🥂 Cocktail Hour
🍣 Sushi Station
🥟 Sambusa Station
⚽ FIFA World Cup Watch Party
🤍 Dress Code: All White
🏙️ Exclusive Rooftop Venue in NYC
We will have 4 matchmakers for the night including special guest appearance @ariacker will help with matchmaking.
Whether you’re coming for the game, the atmosphere, or the possibility of meeting your Besheret, this is where meaningful connections begin.
Limited Group & VIP Tickets Remaining.
Come for the game.
Stay for your future.

Festival Sefarad Colonial Jewish New Amsterdam Walking Tour
2026-06-19 10:00 - 12:30 | NY
New York City has long been home to the largest Jewish community in the United States, but did you know it was the first? This tour traces the remarkable journey of the very first American Jewish community: a small group of Jewish refugees from Brazil who arrived in New Amsterdam in 1654, established the first synagogue, and fought for the rights and freedoms of future generations.
We’ll begin at the mouth of New York Harbor, where we’ll explore the broader story of Jewish life in the Caribbean before following the refugees’ path to New Amsterdam. At the monument honoring these first arrivals, we’ll uncover the struggles they endured to remain in the Dutch colony. From there, we’ll walk the old streets of New Amsterdam, tracing the lives of these early pioneers and their impact on the city’s and country’s development. Along the way, we’ll stop at the site of New York’s first synagogue, Shearith Israel, and learn about its enduring legacy. Our journey concludes at the oldest Jewish cemetery in the United States—now tucked within the bustling heart of Chinatown.
Your guide for this tour is Svetlana Kershtein, a professional tour guide who has worked on three continents and holds a Masters Degree in History, specializing in the history of the ancient world. Born in the Soviet Union, she emigrated to Israel where she worked as a licensed tour guide for 11 years. Svetlana’s passion for Jewish history, art, music, and cuisine is reflected in her popular tours for the Conservancy. She is fluent in three languages (English, Hebrew, and Russian).

SMQN Shabbat dinner
2026-06-19 19:00 | NY
SMQN’s Shabbat dinners are a special time for us to gather as an LGBTQ+ community and celebrate our Sephardic & Mizrahi heritage with our friends and loved ones. Join us this month as we celebrate Festival Sefarad NYC with the American Sephardi Federation and UJA-Federation of New York.
Thanks to the support of UJA-Federation of New York, OneTable, and Jewish LGBTQ Donor Network, the highly subsidized cost of the entire dinner is only $10. No need to bring anything to add to the nourishment!
The Sephardic Mizrahi Q Network (SMQN) is an innovative grassroots movement that is committed to building a vibrant, supportive and much-needed community for an often-overlooked segment of the Jewish world: LGBTQ+ Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews. We invite our friends from other backgrounds to join us in elevating these multilayered Jewish identities.

Ethiopian Shabbat Dinner by Kehilat Harlem
2026-06-19 19:30 - 23:00 | NY
Join us for Shabbat Around the World: Ethiopia! Experience the rich heritage of Ethiopian Jewry as we welcome Shabbat with traditional Ethiopian-inspired dishes, and learn about the Beta Israel community from Haftam Yizhak Heathwood. Our menu will be prepared with love – and plenty of berbere.

Synagogues of Greece exhibit opening
2026-06-21 13:00 | NY
MAKING THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE THROUGH ARCHITECTURE, TECHNOLOGY, AND STORYTELLING
Join us for the opening of an exciting new museum exhibit featuring decades of dedicated research by Elias Messinas on past and present synagogues from across Greece.
View digital reconstructions of lost synagogues and discover the evolution of Greek synagogue architectural styles from ancient times through today.
Elias Messinas is an architect and urban planner. He was the first architect to complete a comprehensive in-situ survey and documentation on Greek synagogues, backed by extensive archival research and interviews by survivors. His work has been published widely, including 10 books on his 30-year journey throughout Greece. Since 2016, he was the leading architect for the preservation of synagogues in Thessaloniki, Trikala, and Kos, and he was commissioned by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture to enrich the Archaeological Registry with more than 270 Jewish sites throughout Greece.

Calligraphy workshop
2026-06-22 18:00 - 19:30 | NY
Join educator, artist, and community builder Ruben Shimonov for a voyage into the rich visual worlds of Arabic, Hebrew and Persian calligraphy—as well as the connections between the languages. Ruben will also present his own multilingual calligraphy, sharing the ways he has used his art to build interfaith bridges and celebrate the cultural diversity of the Greater Sephardi world. Participants will then have the opportunity to engage with these languages through a hands-on calligraphy workshop.
This event is part of the American Sephardi Federation’s Festival Sefarad NYC, a monthlong celebration of the Greater Sephardi world.
