Tel Aviv Cinematheque Invites You to the Solidarity Film Festival for Cinema and Human Rights 2025

The Solidarity Film Festival for Cinema and Human Rights will be held for the 13th time at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. The festival, managed by the festival's founder and director, Danny Vilensky, and the artistic director, Gidi Aviv, is a unique annual film event that raises central socio-political issues from Israel and the world to the public discourse in Israel. The festival takes place out of a belief in the power of cinema to stimulate thought and bring about change towards a more just reality and a better future in Israel, the region, and the world.

This year's festival program includes approximately 25 Israeli premiere screenings of new and award-winning international films, both narrative and documentary, from the world's major film festivals, alongside premiere screenings of Israeli films and tributes to prominent Israeli filmmakers and films on human rights issues.

Also this year, as part of the festival, produced by the Solidarity for Art, Activism and Human Rights Association, there will be three competition frameworks for feature films - an international narrative film competition, an international documentary film competition, and a panorama competition for human rights films from Israel and the world. In addition, there will be competitions for short films, student films, and young creation films by high school students, aiming to encourage quality Israeli film creation on human rights.

As part of the festival, special events will be held in collaboration with human rights organizations and professional associations in the field of cinema, as well as discussions on human rights issues and meetings with filmmakers after special screenings of their films.

On 12/11, the first Solidarity Conference for Cinema and Human Rights will take place, focusing on the role and mission of cinema, media, and culture in wartime. The conference will be attended by filmmakers, representatives of human rights organizations, politicians, academics, media figures, and cultural figures, including the president of the Press Council, Hanan Melcer, Adv. Dina Zilber, MK Ayman Odeh, Zehava Galon, Yaron London, Akiva Eldar, Gili Izikovich, Nir Hasson, Muhammad Majadleh, Rina Matzliach, Orly Noy, Lior Elephant, Uri Barabash, Netalie Braun, Zohar Wagner, Shay Carmeli Pollak, Ibtisam Mara'ana, Tom Shoval, Noam Shizef, Osnat Trabelsi, Prof. Daniel Bar-Tal, Dr. Tali Zilbershtein and Adv. Oded Feller.

Danny Vilensky - Founder and Director of the Festival, and Gidi Aviv - Artistic Director: "The existence of the Solidarity Film Festival for Cinema and Human Rights, especially now - in light of the importance of struggles for the existence of independent Israeli cinema, free media and human rights at the end of two years of war and the beginning of dealing with the events of October 7 and their consequences - is done out of commitment to the topics and values that shape the festival. The Solidarity Festival is held out of a desire to promote Israeli cinema and raise central socio-political issues to public discourse in Israel by screening groundbreaking films on human rights issues from Israel and the world, films that strive to promote peace, democracy and human rights alongside equality and social justice. This is the thirteenth edition of the festival, and in light of the situation in Israel and the world, it seems to us that the need for its existence is more vital than ever."

The International Narrative Film Competition: presents an exceptional selection of award-winning films from around the world, including the festival's opening film - “Continental '25" (Kontinental ‘25) by Romanian director Radu Jude, winner of the Best Screenplay Award at the 2025 Berlin Film Festival, which examines moral and human responsibility in today's Europe.

The International Documentary Film Competition: In which six films will compete, presenting human and sensitive views on personal and social struggles around the world.

Panorama Competition for Films from Israel and the World: Presents six narrative and documentary films in premiere screenings - three international and three Israeli - offering unique views on struggles for human rights in a contemporary reality of immigration, identity and memory, through the lenses of creators from around the world.

International Screenings Outside the Competition: A rich collection of documentary and narrative films from around the world.

The Israeli Program: The program will present this year some of the most prominent and moving documentary films made in Israel in recent years. Among them are films dealing with human rights.

For the full festival program and reservations: www.solidaritytlv.org

And on the Tel Aviv Cinematheque website: https://www.cinema.co.il/

(Photo: Courtesy of the Solidarity Film Festival for Cinema and Human Rights 2025)