With a distinguished history as the premier curator, exhibitor, and incubator of independent Jewish-content film, JFI serves a diverse and loyal audience throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, the United States, and internationally. JFI exists at the intersection of community and storytelling to envision a more informed and empathetic world where vital, Jewish-content films are made, watched, shared, and treasured.

JFI’s annual public programs serve tens of thousands of individuals in the Bay Area and United States, including its signature San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (SFJFF), the first and largest Jewish film festival in the world. JFI’s annual WinterFest features 7-8 films over the course of a lively and stimulating weekend in San Francisco. Member screenings in the Fall present Oscar contenders during awards-season at venues throughout the Bay Area. Next Wave programs for young adults, ages 18 to 35-years-old, serve more than 600 Bay Area-based young people through its intersectional and provocative programming. The Mitzvah Series presents online screenings via closed circuit television for residents of regional senior facilities and inmates at San Quentin State Prison, CA.

JFI Completion Grants bolster the future of Jewish-content storytelling by providing finishing funds to emerging and established filmmakers for original stories that promote thoughtful consideration of Jewish history, life, culture, and identity. The JFI Filmmakers in Residence program is the only U.S.-based residency dedicated to the incubation of Jewish-content documentaries. The Residency’s mission is to create a long-lasting community of filmmakers who are equipped with the practical and conceptual frameworks needed to surface essential stories of Jewish history, culture, and identity in a media environment that too often is lacking subtlety and depth.