The San Diego International Jewish Film Festival

Overview

The 37th San Diego International Jewish Film Festival opens January 26, 2027 at the David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre in La Jolla — more than 30 feature films plus a juried selection of shorts, around 35 screenings in all.

But here's the thing almost nobody outside the regulars knows, and it changes how you should think about this event.

It isn't a January festival. It's a season, and it's already running.

The Joyce Short Film Series began in August. There are screenings on the calendar right now, in October and November, at three different venues across the county — including one tonight. By the time the festival proper opens in January, it will have been going for five months.

That matters because the January run is the part that sells out. The autumn screenings are the uncrowded way in, and they're how you find out whether this is for you before committing to a pass.

The second thing to know is about money, and the festival states it plainly: ticket prices rise as the date gets closer. The box office has posted a tiered pricing notice for the Garfield — prices go up in stages, rewarding early buyers. Whatever you intend to see, buying late is the expensive choice by design.

It's Running Right Now

Before January, these are on the calendar:

• Tonight — Thursday, October 22: The Fork in the Road shorts programme at 4 p.m., and ROSENTHAL: The Great Showman at 7 p.m., both at the Garfield Theatre
• Sunday, November 1 — An Evening with Marc Shaiman, 7:30 p.m. Premium seats $72 member / $88 non-member; bundles at $45/$56 and $56/$67; general admission $20/$26
• Thursday, November 5 — ROSENTHAL: The Great Showman, 5 p.m., at the Carlsbad City Library, 1775 Dove Lane. $20 member / $25 non-member. (A second chance at tonight's film, up in North County.)
• Thursday, November 19 — Elena del Ghetto (Elena's War), 7 p.m., at the La Paloma Theatre, co-presented with the San Diego Italian Film Festival

The Joyce Short Film Series runs through February, with "guest filmmakers and speakers from around the world" and jury awards announced throughout the season — Best Documentary, Best Narrative, Best Animated Film, Best Comedy, Best Director and a Grand Jury Prize.

The Festival Itself

• Opens January 26, 2027. The published festival window runs through February 13
• More than 30 feature films, plus the juried shorts — roughly 35 screenings
• At the David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre, Lawrence Family JCC, Jacobs Family Campus, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla — a 500-seat house
• There is a virtual component. The festival offers an at-home portion with audio-described films, though the platform, dates and pricing aren't published yet
• Films are selected with help from over 40 community screeners — an unusual, and rather lovely, way to programme a festival

The lineup hasn't been announced. Filmmakers who submitted were told they'd hear by November 11, 2026, so titles should start appearing after that. Check back in late November.

What You Need to Know

• Box office / Guest Services: (858) 457-3030, guestservices@lfjcc.org
• Box office hours: Monday–Thursday 6 a.m.–9 p.m., Friday 6 a.m.–6 p.m., Saturday–Sunday 7 a.m.–6 p.m.
• Parking is free on site at the Jacobs Family Campus. For a film festival, that's not nothing — it's one of the few in the county where the parking doesn't cost more than the popcorn
• Arrive 30 minutes early. Latecomers enter the Garfield through the top entrance or wait for a break in the film
• Sold-out screenings have a standby line
• No refunds once an event goes ahead. Exchanges only in extenuating circumstances, at staff discretion. Tickets are transferable through the Guest Services desk
• Groups of 10 or more get 20% off
• Buy early. Tiered pricing means the same seat costs more in January than it does now

Accessibility — and the JCC publishes more detail than most:

• Removable seating for wheelchairs and mobility devices
• Step-free seats in the first and last rows, with an elevator to the left of the main entrance for the back row
• Assistive listening headsets at guest services, left of the main entrance — best reception in the centre aisles and back centre
• Noise-dampening headphones and fidgets available
• Row AA has extra floor space
• Audio-described films for the at-home portion of the festival
• Accommodation requests go to Sarah Cohn, Audience Experience Manager — sarahc@lfjcc.org

Who Puts It On

The festival is a programme of the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture, housed at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center on the Jacobs Family Campus. The Center describes itself as the largest local institution dedicated solely to exploring the Jewish experience through the arts, and says it provides around 40,000 tickets a year.

The festival dates to 1990, and its founding chair was Joyce Axelrod — who also founded the shorts series that still carries her name. The JCC calls it "the largest, world-class Jewish cultural event in San Diego."

Why It's Worth It

Thirty-plus features from around the world, in a 500-seat theatre, with free parking — that is a straightforwardly good deal before you get to the programming.

But the real argument is the one the festival makes quietly with its own calendar. Most film festivals are four days of frantic over-scheduling. This one spreads itself across six months, with shorts in the autumn, a feature at a library in Carlsbad, a co-presentation at the La Paloma, and then a concentrated run in late January.

You don't have to clear a weekend. You can just start going.

For more of what's on, browse our full event calendar.