- September 27, 2026
- 12:02 pm
- World News
The 42nd International Film Festival opened in Haifa on September 26, 2026. Until October 3, audiences can expect Israeli premieres, international competition films, and documentary stories. The program also includes Ukraine: a journey of a mother and daughter to the shelled Kharkiv and the story of Ukrainian emigrants whose lives are divided between Kyiv and Israel.
Author: Victoria Katsman
Haifa has once again become the capital of cinema
On Saturday, September 26, the official opening ceremony of the 42nd International Film Festival took place at the Haifa Auditorium. It traditionally takes place during Sukkot — one of the main Jewish holidays, when Israelis have the opportunity to spend a few days with family, travel, or go to the movies.
The main events take place in the cultural complex on HaNassi Blvd, 142, in the Merkaz HaCarmel area. Films are also shown at the Haifa Cinematheque, Rappaport Halls, Tikotin, and other festival venues.
At the opening, an event occurred that deserves special attention. Two singers took the stage — Israeli Yuval Raphael and Iranian exiled performer Golazin Ardestani, known by the stage name Gola.
The musical program featured New Day Will Rise — the song with which Raphael represented Israel at Eurovision 2025 and took second place, scoring 357 points. The performance took place with the participation of the Haifa Symphony Orchestra conducted by Eran Rimi.
Two women from countries whose relations are defined by years of confrontation met on the Israeli stage. The words about the coming of a new day in such a performance took on a completely different context. The organizers officially confirmed the participation of both singers, although the published program does not specify the distribution of vocal parts in the composition itself.
The evening was hosted by Lior Ashkenazi. The opening film was chosen as “Our Loves” by Avi Nesher — a drama in which the personal stories of several characters intertwine with the tragic events of October 7, 2023. The director himself was awarded for his outstanding contribution to Israeli cinema.
But for those from Ukraine living in Israel today, there are two more particularly close stories in the current program.
“Journey Dreams”: the road to Kharkiv during the war
One of the films in the Israeli cinema competition program is the documentary film Journey Dreams directed by Mani Lozovsky. Its duration is 60 minutes, production — Israel, 2026.
It is the story of a mother and daughter who embark on a journey through Ukraine during the full-scale Russian war.
Their road leads to Kharkiv — the second-largest city in Ukraine, located near the Russian border. Since February 2022, it has been regularly shelled by Russia and has become one of the symbols of Ukrainian resistance.
But the film is not only about the destroyed city.
The daughter tries to understand her own roots, her attitude towards Ukraine and Russia, and what it means to belong to a certain place. The mother has a more defined position: her home is Israel. She goes to visit a childhood friend in Kharkiv, and along with that, returns to memories of life in the Soviet Union.
Their views do not always coincide. Through ordinary conversations on the road, the story of the family, emigration, and the difficult search for identity gradually unfolds.
For the Israeli audience, there is a quite recognizable conflict here. Many families of repatriates from the former USSR live in several cultural spaces at once: parents remember the Soviet past, children grew up in Israel, and relatives and friends remained in Ukraine.
The full-scale Russian invasion has given these family ties a completely different meaning. Returning to the city of childhood can now mean a trip to a place where sirens and explosions continue to sound.
When and where to watch:
September 27, Sunday, 16:00 — Haifa Cinematheque.
The film is in Russian and Hebrew, with English and Hebrew subtitles provided.
Journey Dreams — film description and tickets.
“Stars”: he returned to Kyiv, she stayed in Israel
The second story related to Ukraine is the short film Stars directed by Hila Elena Roizenman.
It is a 17-minute Israeli film from 2026, shot in Russian. It is included in the short film competition program Women: Fragments and Dreams.
The main characters are Ukrainian emigrants Yana and Sasha, who were once united by dance and romantic relationships.
Then their paths diverged. Sasha returned to Kyiv and managed to build his life, Yana stayed in Israel, giving up her former hopes.
Ten years later, they meet again. They have only one day and one night ahead to try to overcome the distance accumulated over the years of separation and figure out if there is anything left of their former love.
Everything happens in a world already changed by war.
This is not a documentary chronicle of hostilities and not a story about the front. Here, Ukraine is present through the fates of people who found themselves in different countries, through an unfulfilled joint future, and questions that remained unanswered for years.
NANews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency has repeatedly addressed how the Russian war affects families with Israeli citizenship. Recently, we reported on the death of a 14-year-old Israeli during a Russian strike on Kyiv on September 25. The festival addresses another side of these relationships — human stories, memory, love, and lost closeness.
The film “Stars” stars Lenna Freifeld, Anatoly Weissman, and Svetlana Demidova.
The screening will take place on September 29 at 18:30 in the Tikotin Hall. Russian audio track, subtitles in Hebrew and English.
Official program page and tickets.
It is important to clarify: both films are Israeli productions. They are connected to Ukraine primarily by their plots and characters, not by the country of production.
What else will be shown at the 42nd Haifa Film Festival
This year’s program combines major Israeli cinema, European premieres, documentaries, short films, and retrospectives.
Among the notable participants in the international program is French director François Ozon with an adaptation of Albert Camus’ famous novel “The Stranger.” The action takes place in French Algeria in the 1930s, and the central figure remains Meursault — a man whose behavior raises uncomfortable questions about morality and social expectations.
Andrey Zvyagintsev presents “Minotaur” — a drama about a Russian businessman whose usual life begins to crumble in 2022. The film is a co-production of France, Latvia, and Germany. It is shown in Russian with Hebrew and English subtitles.
British director Danny Boyle brought the film INK, dedicated to the rise of the tabloid The Sun and Rupert Murdoch’s media business. It is a story about journalism, power, commercial interests, and the transformation of the press into a tool of mass influence.
The program also includes “The Wizard of the Kremlin” by Olivier Assayas — a political drama related to the formation of the modern Russian political system.
Israeli competition films occupy a special place. This year, seven feature films and five documentary feature films are competing for festival awards.
Special screenings, meetings with filmmakers, family programs, and outdoor events are provided for viewers. Many foreign films are accompanied by Hebrew and English subtitles, although the language conditions of each session need to be checked separately.
From a small beginning to one of Israel’s main film festivals
The Haifa International Film Festival appeared in 1983. It became Israel’s first international film festival and gradually turned into an annual event that attracts audiences from all over the country.
Its holding during Sukkot has long become a city tradition. For a few days, Carmel turns into a large cinematic quarter, where ordinary walks in Haifa are combined with premieres, film discussions, and meetings with directors.
According to the municipality, the festival annually gathers about 80,000 viewers in cinemas, and thousands more attend street events and open screenings.
Since 2022, the festival has also gained special significance for Israeli short filmmakers: the winner of the corresponding competition category can qualify for participation in the Oscar selection.
Haifa is generally different from other major Israeli cities with its cultural environment. Here, Jewish and Arab communities coexist, numerous repatriates live, and the Russian language has long become a familiar part of the city’s space.
Therefore, two stories about Ukraine in the festival program look quite organic. This is cinema not only about war but also about people for whom the question “where is my home?” does not always have a simple answer.
Where to watch films and how to purchase tickets
The 42nd International Haifa Film Festival will last until October 3, 2026.
The main venue is located at: HaNassi Blvd 142, Haifa — Haifa Auditorium on Carmel.
The official website offers schedules, film descriptions, language and subtitle information, and ticket purchases.
Full program of the 42nd Haifa Film Festival.
For those living in Haifa and northern Israel, this is an opportunity to see international premieres almost next to home. And two films related to Ukraine allow us to look at the war through the fates of people who left, returned, or continue to live between two countries, preserving the memory of both.