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Tribeca Film Festival Begins in NY, Featuring Israeli and Jewish-Themed Documentaries, Feature Films
A promotional photo for “Dead Language.” Photo: Tribeca Film Festival
The 2025 Tribeca Film Festival begins this week in New York City’s lower Manhattan and features a lineup of Jewish and Israel-related films, including the world premiere of several films and the North American premiere of a documentary about a former Hamas hostage.
“Holding Liat” follows the parents of Israeli-American dual citizen Liat Beinin Atzili, who was kidnapped by Hamas-led terrorists from Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, especially her father, as he advocates in the US for her release and safe return home. Atzili was released in the first Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal in late 2023. Her husband, Aviv Atzili, was killed on Oct. 7 and his body is still being held in Gaza. The film, which won the top documentary prize at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year, was directed by Brandon Kramer and co-produced by Darren Aronofsky. “Holding Liat” will have its North American premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 9, with additional screenings on June 10-12.
The only Israeli feature film being screened at Tribeca is “Dead Language” by Michal Brezis and Oded Binnun, which is an expanded version of their Oscar-nominated short film “Aya.” The film is about a woman who is waiting at the airport for her husband but impulsively decides to pick up a stranger instead and pretends to be his chauffeur. It will be screened as part of Tribeca’s Viewpoints section, which last year awarded Tom Nesher’s “Come Closer,” an Israeli film that later won the Ophir Award for best feature film. “Dead Language” is making its world premiere at Tribeca on June 9, with additional screenings on June 10 and June 12.
Also making its world premiere at Tribeca is the documentary “Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything,” about the life and career of the Jewish television personality, iconic interviewer, and news host who died in 2022 at the age 92. The former co-host of “The Today Show” was the first woman to host an American network evening news program and went on to co-create “The View.” The documentary, directed by Jackie Jesko, features commentary about Walters from her colleagues, friends, and some of the subjects she interviewed. “Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything” will make its world premiere at Tribeca on June 12, with further screenings on June 13 and June 15.
Comedian, actor, and podcast host Marc Maron will participate in a discussion on stage following Tribeca’s New York premiere of “Are We Good?” a documentary about his everyday life, career, and the sudden loss of his partner, filmmaker Lynn Shelton. The film is directed by Steven Feinartz and premieres June 14, with an additional screening on June 15.
The late, legendary Jewish performance artist Andy Kaufman is the subject of another documentary being screened at Tribeca, titled “Andy Kaufman Is Me.” Directed by Clay Tweel, the film features marionette puppetry, Kaufman’s never-before-heard audio diaries, and his semi-autobiographical, unfinished novel. The film festival described the documentary as a “wildly entertaining” film and “a trippy, funny, and deeply personal ride through the mind of a man who never played by the rules — and never wanted to.” The film also features interviews with his siblings, Michael and Carol Kaufman, as well as David Letterman, Carol Kane, Tim Heidecker, and others. Kaufman died of lung cancer in 1984 at the age of 35. “Andy Kaufman Is Me” will have its world premiere at Tribeca on June 6 and there will be additional screenings on June 7 and June 12.
Making its New York premiere at Tribeca is “Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore.” Filmmaker, actress, and writer Shoshannah Stern’s debut documentary spotlights the life of influential Jewish deaf actor Marlee Matlin, who became an Oscar winner in 1987 at the age of 19 for her performance in “Children of a Lesser God.” Her other film credits include “CODA,” which won an Oscar in 2021 for best picture and garnered Matlin a Screen Actors Guild award. “Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore” will premiere as part of the Tribeca Film Festival on June 9 with additional screenings on June 11 and 12.
The Tribeca Film Festival runs from June 4-15. It was created by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro, and Craig Hatkoff to help revive lower Manhattan following the 9/11 terrorist attack.
The post Tribeca Film Festival Begins in NY, Featuring Israeli and Jewish-Themed Documentaries, Feature Films first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.