As the festive season progresses, families and communities around the world traditionally come together to exchange gifts and celebrate love, light, reflection, and hope. In Sydney, however, this season has been marked by deep sorrow following the recent Bondi Beach attack, in which a group was targeted while celebrating Chanukah, the Festival of Lights.
Our thoughts are with those directly affected and with broader communities as they process the shock and grief of these events.
Stories matter - especially now
This moment serves as a sobering reminder of the essential role that shared stories play in our communities. Films can open windows to understanding, compassion, and shared humanity, and libraries are not only places of learning but spaces where people discover great stories and encounter perspectives beyond their own.
At Beamafilm, we believe that film is one of the most powerful tools for exploring our differences, confronting injustice, and celebrating cultural richness. As we move through the holiday season, we invite you to engage with stories that promote peace, tolerance, and inclusion, whether together with family and friends or quietly alone.
Watchlist recommendations for this holiday season ahead
Our watchlist for this season spotlights stories that offer context, humanity, and an invitation to listen and understand different perspectives. These are stories that champion diverse voices and lived experiences across cultures, identities, beliefs, and communities.
This holiday season, whether you're gathering with family or friends for Christmas, Chanukah, New Year, or observing quieter, more personal traditions, we hope our diverse selections below will open a window to understanding, helping to make this season one of inclusion and peace.
Watch for FREE with a participating library card or on a 30-day trial. Also, you can rent a film for 72 hours.
Poland, 1960's. 10-year-old Tadek and his brother are part of an anti-Semitic gang. But soon, their mother informs them they are, in fact, Jews - and moving to Israel.
Beautiful from the outside in, ‘Smile’ explores the nature of individuality, cultural diversity and the positive joy for the photographer of seeing his subjects smile.
This series takes an inviting and insightful look at the spiritual teachings, customs and daily lives of families of different faiths. Join the series host, Tevya Heller, on this cultural journey in his search for God.
An imagined chapter from Jesus' forty days of fasting and praying in the desert. On his way out of the wilderness, Jesus struggles with the Devil over the fate of a family in crisis.
MA is a striking modern-day vision of Mother Mary's pilgrimage through the eyes of Ma, a woman who must venture across the scorched landscape of the American Southwest to fulfill her destiny.
For the love of her new husband, Jeannie abandons a high society city life to trek into the vast, wild heart of Australia & face the enduring hardships of outback life & the battles against sexist & racial prejudices.
Continuing his quest for belief, Tevya Heller gets a fresh look at the history and traditions of the Hasidic Jews. He learns about the Bar Mitzvah, Purim, and shares dinner with Rabbi Kaplan.
A daughter's search for her lost family stretches from Australia to Trinidad and WWII Germany. Rich with archival images, Su Goldfish's autobiographical documentary echoes through all those touched by forced migration.
A land of ancient lore, known as part of the ‘Cradle of Civilization’, where the technologies and belief systems were first kindled that would shape and direct world history, Israel might just hold the keys to its flourishing in the millennia...
Family on the Edge provides a glance into the life of a unique Jewish family that makes you think of your own family, about dreams, and priorities in life.
Mouth-watering cuisine and a side of politics are on the menu as Arab and Jewish chefs collaborate in the kitchen to celebrate their cultures and the food of their region, free from political and religious boundaries.
Islam has 1.6 billion followers around the world and Tevya Heller learns about Islam by visiting the Taric Islamic Centre, learning about the importance of cleansing oneself before prayer, Halal, the history of Muhammad, and the...
The story of Mohammed, a blind Iranian boy and his father, Hashem, who is always oscillating between accepting his son as he is and abandoning him, as he represents a burden for him, after the loss of his wife.
Flora, Rose and Jasmin were born in Cairo 65 years ago. Today they share a run down apartment in Tel Aviv and start to reflect on their past, revealing dark family secrets.
In a small estate on the West Bank border between Israeli and Palestinian territories, widow Hiam Abbass enjoys a modest, self-sufficient life tending a lemon grove.
Catholics are by far the largest sect of Christianity in the world, so from the Pope to the Confessional booth, Tevya Heller learns what makes Catholicism such an enduring 2000-year-old faith.
After the arrival of Tasmania’s first detention centre, local knitting club member Mary and Afghan asylum seeker Mohammad connect through the gift of a donated knitted beanie.
While many mainline Christian churches are in decline, Evangelical Christianity remains a powerful force in the 21st century. Our host, Tevya Heller, enters the world of the Evangelicals with a local pastor who broadcasts to five different...
Miss Loiseau's adult students are recent immigrants. Some are refugees, enthusiastically learning to read and write for the first time. All eager to study, find work, and raise their families in harmony with the wider community, they...
Four children, from four corners of the globe, all share the same desire to learn. Each day, they set out on highly risky journeys, through extraordinary landscapes, on their quest for knowledge.
In this fascinating series, the host Tevya Heller meets a young Islamic Palestinian, a Jewish high-school film student, and an Arab Christian high-school student from the West Bank, to learn about the importance of sacred...
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