A community campaign hosted by The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles

Launching a Jewish Film Series on Social Justice

Across Australian suburbs from Caulfield to North Bondi, communities gather regularly to share a meal, mark a yom tov, or raise funds for a cause close to the heart. A Jewish film program focused on social justice can become a third kind of gathering, one where neighbours watch, listen, and debate what tzedek really means in practice. The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles opened a platform for exactly this kind of imagination through The Next Big Jewish Idea, where ideas gain traction and visibility well beyond one neighbourhood.

A thoughtful film program carries more weight than a one-off screening. It creates a recurring rhythm where audiences know what to expect, filmmakers feel seen, and difficult conversations about racism, refugee policy, climate, and economic inequality get the time they deserve. The Australian Jewish community, around 90,000 people, has historically punched above its weight in arts and advocacy. With existing festivals, archives, and educators already doing similar work, there is plenty of infrastructure to build on rather than starting from nothing.

Clarifying the Vision Behind Your Series

Before booking a venue, the steering committee needs a written purpose statement. A film series can serve education, community building, fundraising, and political advocacy in different proportions, and mixing those goals without clarity confuses both audiences and partners. Sit down with five to eight committed people and ask: are we primarily creating a Jewish learning experience, a coalition project with other communities, or a public-facing campaign on housing or refugee rights? Australian Jewish history includes a strong tradition of progressive activism, from early community press to campaigns on Aboriginal rights, and that lineage shapes how a contemporary programme can speak.

Audience definition matters just as much. Are you targeting existing members of your shule, secular Jews who don't currently attend services, university students, or interfaith allies? That choice shapes film selection (a programme for secular Jews might lean toward Israeli cinema, while an interfaith group responds to documentary work on shared struggles) and the tone of marketing language. A clear audience keeps your budget realistic and your programming honest, and it lets you turn casual attendees into regulars season after season.

Mapping Australian Partners and Resources

Australia already has a robust Jewish film ecosystem, and your job is easier when you tap into it rather than reinvent any wheels. The Jewish Film Festival Melbourne and the Sydney Jewish Film Festival run annual programmes and have relationships with international distributors you can leverage for guest speakers and licensing advice. The Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne's Federation Square is a generous partner for ambitious films, while smaller venues like the Lamm Jewish Library of Australia or a local shule hall host intimate discussions well. ARIA-affiliated organisations, including the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and state bodies like the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, often have speakers, briefing materials, and contacts willing to join panel discussions at no charge.

Filmmakers matter too, and Australian directors telling Jewish stories deserve prominence in the line-up. Documentary makers like Danny Ben-Moshe, whose films explore Australian Jewish identity, or newer voices emerging from the Australian Film Television and Radio School should feature. Reach out early and treat filmmakers as collaborators rather than content providers. Many will attend in person if you cover travel, and Melbourne and Sydney audiences respond strongly to Q&A sessions with the people named in the credits. Pairing this with travelling films drawn from the Jewish wisdom traditions archive lets your programme connect ancient teaching to present advocacy in a single season.

Curating Films With Intention

A six-film season often strikes the right balance between ambition and sustainability, spread across autumn and spring to avoid Jewish high holidays and the Australian summer break. Choose films spanning documentary, narrative fiction, and short-form work, because variety keeps returning audiences engaged and gives you permission to take a risk on one experimental piece. Look beyond Hollywood and consider Israeli features from the Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film School, French and German Jewish cinema, and Australian work rarely seen on American festival circuits.

Selection criteria should include representation of diverse Jewish experiences, including Mizrahi, Sephardi, Soviet, and LGBT+ voices often missing from mainstream programming. Mix at least one film examining injustice inside Jewish communities alongside works about Jewish participation in broader struggles. Avoid programming only Holocaust memory pieces unless paired with newer material that pushes audiences toward action rather than pity. Documentaries on asylum seekers, climate disruption, and Indigenous solidarity in Australia can spark the conversations your event exists to host.

Themes worth prioritising for early seasons include:

Choosing Venues, Dates, and Practical Logistics

For your main venue, weigh accessibility against atmosphere rather than chasing prestige. A suburban shule car park with tram access in Caulfield might serve half your audience better than a flagship CBD cinema, particularly for older members or families with young children. Where possible, choose a venue already comfortable with kosher refreshments, Friday night end times that respect candle lighting, and a reliable projector setup with reasonable acoustics. Confirm whether the venue charges hire fees, requires public liability insurance, or expects a percentage of ticket revenue, since these costs add up across a full season.

Aim for one Sunday afternoon or Wednesday evening screening per month, with doors opening thirty minutes early so people can schmooze over tea and cake. That buffer turns an event into a community ritual, especially if regulars bring their own circle of friends each time and newcomers sense the welcome immediately. Build a contact list broken into suburbs, which makes check-in faster on the night and follow-up calls easier the next day. Keep a shared spreadsheet for RSVPs, dietary requirements, and accessibility needs; this is where your committee's organisational culture really shows, both to volunteers and to funders watching from a distance.

Designing Conversation Around Each Film

A film night without structured conversation is just a cinema trip. Build every screening around a thirty-minute post-film discussion, ideally moderated by someone trained in dialogue rather than debate. Jewish community organisations frequently partner with academic institutions like Monash University's Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, the University of Sydney's Centre for Jewish Studies, or Australian Catholic University interfaith teams, all of which can suggest panel guests willing to contribute for a modest fee or in exchange for visibility.

Prepare two layers of discussion support. Distribute a one-page film and conversation guide covering key scenes, Jewish textual sources relevant to the topic, and three or four open-ended questions. For deeper engagement, host a parallel monthly reading group meeting the week before each screening to contextualise the themes with traditional texts. Drawing on the model shared in how to host a Jewish film night with local directors, communities that treat conversation as the main event return season after season rather than drifting off after a single feel-good screening.

Post-screening formats that tend to work well include:

Promotion, Funding, and Long-Term Care

Marketing starts about two months before each screening and uses three channels working together. A short weekly email to your own list, especially those who attended in previous seasons, performs reliably well. Social posts on Instagram and Facebook work best with a striking still paired with a one-line hook in plain Australian English ("This one's a stonker", "Worth the trip to Caulfield", "Bring the kids"). Don't underestimate flyers in your local greengrocer, library, and bulletin boards of every shule within an easy drive; offline reach still matters for audiences who don't follow accounts online.

Funding your programme requires thinking beyond ticket sales. Apply for small grants through the Australian Jewish Cultural Fund, the Myer Foundation's Jewish Communal Grant Program, or your state government's multicultural affairs budget. Partner with local businesses for sponsored concessions, and ask filmmakers to donate a small percentage of any post-screening streaming revenue back to the series. Document attendance, audience feedback, and measurable outcomes (donations made, advocacy letters sent, interfaith partnerships begun) so the second year gets easier to fund and the fourth year becomes part of your community's calendar rather than a heroic one-off effort.

Building something this rich from scratch feels daunting, but Jewish communities in Australia have done it many times over and have left clear footprints for new projects to follow. Bring your own idea, your local context, and your particular answer to the question of how a film series can strengthen Jewish life and serve people in need. Submit your proposal to The Next Big Jewish Idea campaign today and help shape the next chapter of Jewish social justice storytelling in this country.