EXCLUSIVE: Rachel Bloom will be honored at the 2026 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.
The Jewish Film Institute is bestowing the actress and comedian with the Freedom of Expression award during the 46th iteration of the annual festival, during the July 18 west coast premiere of Hollywood Does Abortion. Bloom executive produced the film, which is directed by Janet Goldwater, Barbara Attie, and Mike Attie.
“I’m thrilled and deeply grateful to the Jewish Film Institute for being honored with this year’s Freedom of Expression Award,” Bloom said in a statement Tuesday. “Protecting the freedom to speak truth to power through art and cinema is more critical than ever. I’m so proud to bring Hollywood Does Abortion to SFJFF46, and I thank JFI for creating a platform that celebrates the full, diverse spectrum of Jewish creativity.”
Hollywood Does Abortion delves into the depiction of abortion in film and television, revealing how flawed portrayals have too often contributed to misperceptions that impact attitude and society through extensive archival footage from the 1970s to the present. The doc explores scenes from popular titles like Maude, Dirty Dancing, Jane the Virgin and Juno.
The film is one of several to make its west coast debut at SFJFF46 after opening at Tribeca Film Festival this month.
The Freedom of Expression Award was conceived in 2005 and is given annually “to an artist or filmmaker for their unfettered imagination, which is the cornerstone of a free, just, and open society,” per the Jewish Film Institute. Previous recipients have included Daveed Diggs, Kirk Douglas, Norman Lear, Sergei Loznitsa, Theodore Bikel, Jay Rosenblatt, Lee Grant, Julie Cohen, and Joe Berlinger.
“As a writer, performer, producer, and songwriter, Rachel Bloom has consistently pushed the boundaries of comedy while tackling subjects often left unspoken,” Lexi Leban, Executive Director, Jewish Film Institute said in a statement. “With intelligence, vulnerability, and irreverent humor, Bloom embodies the spirit of artistic freedom and the courage to tell stories exactly as she sees them. Her work on Hollywood Does Abortion reflects the exact kind of bold, boundary-pushing storytelling JFI champions.”
SFJFF46 runs from July 16 to August 2 in San Francisco and the East Bay. The festival will present 65 films from 16 countries, with 21 narratives and 24 documentary features as well as 4 shorts programs comprising 6 narratives and 14 documentaries. That includes eight World Premieres, two International Premieres, two North American Premieres, five United States Premieres, and numerous West Coast, California, and Bay Area Premieres.
In addition to Hollywood Does Abortion, some of the films at the fest include Act One by Sophia Takal and Tell Me Everything, the critically-acclaimed second feature film from Israeli director Moshe Rosenthal. Also, We Met at Grossinger’s, Paula Eiselt’s documentary about the making of one of the most central places to the development of American Jewish identity in the Catskills of New York.
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