The Israel Film Festival in Hollywood: Cinema, Culture, and Circling Our Wagons During Crisis

(Photo credit: Times of Israel)

As Israel faces intensified scrutiny not only in diplomatic arenas but across cultural institutions, the question of hasbara—public representation and legitimacy—has taken on renewed urgency. For the Israel Film Festival, however, that question is answered less through messaging than through cultural presence. 

That posture comes at a moment of heightened international tension. As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in Washington to coordinate with the White House on the escalating threat posed by Iran, the broader context is impossible to ignore. 

Protest sign in D.C. reads "Save Israel From Netanyahu"

Iran’s long-term preparation and arming of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis set the stage for the current conflict; Hamas’ October 7 '23 attack—widely understood as having jumped the gun on Tehran’s regional strategy—triggered Israel’s incursion into Gaza. The military damage inflicted on Hamas’ infrastructure and guerrilla forces has since been reframed in much of the global discourse as a moral indictment of Israel itself, intensifying the parallel information war that now surrounds the conflict. 

It is against this backdrop that cultural platforms, including film festivals, are increasingly scrutinized for how Israel is portrayed—or whether it is portrayed at all.  

The Festival’s Answer: Culture, Not Curation by Ideology

Festival Director Meir Fenigstein does not approach hasbara as something to be engineered film by film. In his view, the act of holding the festival—year after year, in Los Angeles—is itself a meaningful form of representation.

“We have different kinds of films,” Mr. Fenigstein explains. “We have films about October 7. We have action movies. We have comedies. We have dramas.” Some of this year’s selections are already enjoying strong theatrical runs in Israel, while others are being introduced to American audiences for the first time.

The festival, which opened on Wednesday, February 4, runs through February 21, with tickets available at https://israelfilmfestival.com. Beyond screenings, it brings Israeli directors, producers, and actors to Los Angeles, creating direct encounters between artists and audiences. Over the years, Mr. Fenigstein has brought hundreds of Israeli film professionals to the United States, a practice he sees as central to the festival’s mission.

Eti Tsicko, director, interviewed by Israeli-American
actor / director, Mike Burstyn

While the term hasbara often invites expectations of political filtering, Mr. Fenigstein rejects that premise. “The festival itself, by having the festival, is good hasbara for Israel,” he says. “But to go into each film and decide if it’s good or not good for us—we’re not there. We are doing a film festival.”

This year’s lineup includes films such as Nandauri, directed by Eti Tsicko, which has been running successfully in Israel for several months, as well as A Burning Man, featuring Shai Avivi. For Mr. Fenigstein, the relevance of these films lies not in whether they deliver an explicit message, but in the fact that they emerge from Israeli society and are presented without ideological pre-screening.

The cumulative effect, he believes, is credibility: Israeli life shown as it is, rather than as it is argued.

Honoring Lawrence Bender: Memory and Meaning

The festival’s cultural emphasis is further reflected in its decision to honor Lawrence Bender with the 2026 Visionary Award.

Israel Film Fest director Meir Fenigstein and
Lawrence Bender, recipient Visionary Award 2026

While Mr. Bender’s long collaboration with director Quentin Tarantino includes films such as Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, it is Inglourious Basterds that stands apart in its resonance for Jewish audiences. The film’s imagined rewriting of history—granting Jews a decisive victory over the Nazi leadership—has come to be viewed by many as a form of symbolic justice.

Reflecting on the script, Mr. Bender recalled telling Tarantino, “Thank you so much on behalf of all the Jewish people in the world. Thank you.” That reaction, he has said, came from recognizing what the film offered emotionally, even as it departed from historical fact.

What's Inglorious Basterds producer Lawrence Bender working on next? 

 

Bearing Witness in Israel 

Mr. Bender’s connection to Israel deepened further through his recent work on Red Alert, filmed in Israel after October 7 and during active hostilities. It was his first time filming in the country, and the experience proved transformative. 

 “From my first day, being in the middle of a missile alert,” he recalled, “it’s a very strange experience being someplace where someone’s trying to kill you.” The production placed him in direct contact with families of hostages and victims, including time spent at Hostage Square while the war was still ongoing. “It was extremely life-changing,” he said. “I felt I needed to make a great show—to show the world these families and what they had to go through.” 

Asked at the festival about a past political position related to Iran and the JCPOA, Mr. Bender declined to address the question publicly. “I’m not here to talk politics,” he said. “I’m happy to be here, to be with my people, and not to really talk politics.” 

That decision mirrored the festival’s own stance. 

Culture as Counterweight 

At a time when Israel’s military actions are often divorced from their initiating causes in public discourse, the Israel Film Festival does not attempt to rebut accusations point by point. Instead, it insists on something more durable: sustained cultural presence. By presenting Israeli cinema without reducing it to advocacy, and by honoring artists whose work engages history and lived experience, the festival advances a quieter but resilient form of hasbara—one rooted in humanity, ethics, and creative truth.

Red Alert helped earn Inglorious Basterds producer, Lawrence Bender a Visionary Award" from "Israel Film Festival.

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