(TEANECK, NJ) -- The Teaneck International Film Festival, a project of The Puffin Foundation, Ltd., will celebrate its 21st anniversary November 5–12, 2026 with a lineup of documentaries, narrative features and shorts focused on the festival's enduring theme, "Activism: Making Change." The eight-day festival will bring filmmakers, actors, activists, producers and community leaders to venues throughout Teaneck and Fort Lee for screenings, filmmaker conversations and special events.
Among this year's highlights are the New Jersey premieres of The Dads, directed by Luchina Fisher, and The Choice, directed by John David Coles (House of Cards), along with the East Coast premiere of Sophie Sartain's documentary short Buried Under Years of Dust. The festival will also present films examining immigration, civil rights, race, gender identity, reproductive rights, environmental activism and the power structures behind artificial intelligence.
"TIFF has always believed that film can do more than entertain—it can start conversations, bring communities together and inspire people to make change," said Jeremy Lentz, executive director of the Teaneck International Film Festival. "For our 21st anniversary, we're bringing together an extraordinary group of filmmakers and films that reflect the issues, histories and personal stories shaping our world."
The festival opens Thursday, November 5, with Annie Turnbo Malone: The Untold Story, directed by Dr. Kim Love and sponsored by co-founding partner The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Bergen/Passaic Chapter. The documentary tells the largely forgotten story of Malone, the pioneering African American entrepreneur who built an international hair-care and beauty enterprise in the early 20th century. At the height of her success, Malone employed an estimated 75,000 agents, mostly women, including Madam C.J. Walker.
Friday's program includes Set Her Free, directed by JLove Calderon, which examines women incarcerated at New Jersey's Edna Mahan Correctional Facility whose lengthy sentences are connected to histories of domestic violence and an unforgiving criminal justice system. The screening is sponsored by co-founding partner The Links, Bergen County Chapter. The evening also features the narrative short When They're Gone, directed by Ragan Henderson and Lauryn Darden.
Saturday Highlights
Saturday, November 7, brings a wide-ranging lineup, including American Doctor, from Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Poh Si Teng. The film follows three American doctors—Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian—as they enter Gaza to save lives while confronting the intersection of medicine and politics. A talkback will follow featuring Dr. Halla Shami and Dr. Andrew Sher (Teaneck native), who will be returning from Gaza on a humanitarian medical mission to discuss their experiences. Joining the discussion will also be Zahed Rahman, RN, a local nurse who traveled to Gaza in March 2024 and 2025.
Also screening Saturday is The Lorraine, from acclaimed documentarian Sam Pollard, which explores the history of the Lorraine Motel, a Black cultural institution and safe haven for African Americans traveling during segregation and Jim Crow. The screening will be sponsored by civil rights activist Theodora Lacey and The Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Committee.
Alien: American Dream Denied, directed by Vidyut Latay, follows highly skilled documented immigrants seeking permanence in a country that benefits from their talents but denies them a home. Latay will attend the festival for a talkback following the screening, sponsored by and featuring representatives from NPZ Immigration Law Group.
Bea Arthur Centerpiece Gala - The festival's centerpiece will feature the New Jersey premiere of Bea Arthur: The Documentary — I've Done Everything Except Porn, directed by Dan Watt. The Saturday, November 7, gala at Temple Emeth will begin with a light buffet and wine reception at 7:00pm, followed by the 8:00pm screening. A talkback will follow with filmmaker Dan Watt and the film's producer and editor, Lon Garelick. The screening will be sponsored by Broadway producer Marc David Levine of Gemini Theatricals.
The film features a never-before-seen interview with the Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress, offering an intimate look at Arthur's life, career and commitment to causes she believed in.
Tickets for the Bea Arthur centerpiece gala are $40 and include the pre-screening light buffet and wine reception.
Sunday Highlights
Sunday, November 8, features the New Jersey premiere of The Dads, directed by Luchina Fisher. The documentary follows a group of fathers building a movement to support their transgender and gender-expansive children as they confront an increasingly uncertain political landscape. Fisher will receive the inaugural Sandi Klein Creative Woman in Film Award at the TIFF screening and appear on the panel discussion.
The festival will also screen the New Jersey premiere of The Choice, directed by John David Coles, who will attend the screening and participate in a talkback sponsored by The Jewish Link. The film follows grieving mother Iris Haim after the loss of her son following October 7 and her relationship with psychologist, author and Auschwitz survivor Dr. Edith Eger.
Other Sunday highlights include Dust Bowls and Jewish Souls, directed by Steven Pressman, which explores Woody Guthrie's relationship with Jewish culture and his mother-in-law, Yiddish poet Aliza Greenblatt, sponsored by The National Council of Jewish Women, Bergen County Section; We Met at Grossinger's, directed by Teaneck native Paula Eiselt and sponsored by The Jewish Standard, an exploration of the Jewish Catskills and the Borscht Belt; and Women on Trial, directed by Lauriane Escaffre and Yvo Muller, about a landmark 1972 French abortion trial.
Documentaries of Activism and Resistance - TIFF's lineup continues with Free Joan Little, directed by Yoruba Richen, revisiting the groundbreaking 1975 case of Joan Little, a Black incarcerated woman whose trial became a national cause involving Black Power activists, white feminists and anti-death-penalty activists. Richen and other guests will attend the panel discussion sponsored by the League of Women Voters, Teaneck section.
Gaslit, directed by Katie Camosy, will receive its New Jersey premiere and serve as the festival's closing film at the Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee on November 12. Camosy will attend the screening along with Paula Rogovin and additional guests. The screening will be sponsored by The Teaneck Creek Conservancy. The film follows actor and activist Jane Fonda as she travels into oil and gas country, meeting people challenging the fossil fuel industry.
Other featured documentaries include Jane Elliott Against the World, directed by Judd Ehrlich; Far Out: Life On & After the Commune, directed by Charles Light; and American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez, directed by David Alvarado.
Filmmakers and Special Guests - The festival will welcome an array of filmmakers and special guests to Teaneck for screenings and post-film conversations.
Confirmed attendees include Katie Camosy, director of Gaslit; John David Coles, director of The Choice; Sophie Sartain, director of Buried Under Years of Dust; Vidyut Latay, director of Alien: American Dream Denied; Dan Watt, director of Bea Arthur: The Documentary; and Lon Garelick, filmmaker, producer and editor of Bea Arthur: The Documentary.
Also scheduled to attend are Paula Eiselt, the Teaneck native who directed We Met at Grossinger's; Dr. Kim Love, director of Annie Turnbo Malone: The Untold Story; Jamila Davis; and JLove Calderon, producer and director of Set Her Free.
TIFF will also welcome Dominique Jackson, known for her role as Elektra Evangelista on Pose (FX), who serves as executive producer of the short film Call Me Micky. Jackson will appear with Micky Petrillo, the film's central subject, and filmmaker Andrew Rasmussen. The film follows Petrillo as he navigates reinvention, unexpected friendships and a new chapter in his life after transitioning at age 59.
More Films and Special Programs - The festival's CUNY Newmark School of Journalism student short-film programming at the Puffin Cultural Forum will include Beloved, Between Here and War, Death by 1,089 Cuts (and Counting), Don't Look Away, Noel (I Carry You With Me), Plus Minus One, Root for Me and The Scars We Choose. The films address subjects ranging from sex work and the war in Ukraine to suicide prevention, disability, political history, friendship, urban green space and healing through art.
The festival will also screen Buried Under Years of Dust, directed by Sophie Sartain, which will have its East Coast premiere at the Puffin Cultural Forum. The documentary follows Emily Grodin, who, after years without conventional communication because of autism, finds a way to express her thoughts and experiences through assisted typing. Sartain and Grodin will appear on a panel moderated by Maria Trice Jenkins, who works at Hackensack's Marble Jam, which serves adults and children with autism. Marble Jam will sponsor the screening.
TIFF will continue its educational mission with a free Filmmaker Boot Camp led by television executive and producer Ashley McFarlin on Wednesday, November 11 from 6:30pm–9:30pm at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Presented in partnership with Bird's Eye Entertainment, Inc. and Fairleigh Dickinson University, the workshop will focus on content creation, development and distribution and guide participants from concept through pitch.
The festival will also present Teaching America, directed by Anurima Bhargava, in a closed screening for Teaneck High School students on November 10. The documentary examines the debate surrounding the teaching of African American studies through the experiences of Arkansas students, teachers and families participating in the first nationwide AP African American Studies classes.
TIFF will offer a virtual program available November 5–12, featuring three films followed by prerecorded filmmaker talkbacks. The virtual package is $15.
Founded in 2006, the Teaneck International Film Festival has built its identity around films and conversations that connect cinema with social justice, activism and community engagement. The festival is a project of The Puffin Foundation and was co-founded with The Links, Inc., Bergen County Chapter, and the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Bergen/Passaic Chapter.
The 21st Teaneck International Film Festival runs November 5–12, 2026, in Teaneck, New Jersey. Tickets go on sale Oct. 2, 2026. For the complete schedule, tickets, full list of sponsors and additional information, visit TeaneckFilmFestival.org.
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