The third annual Borscht Belt Film Fest, presented by Catskills Borscht Belt Museum, has announced this year’s line up of films. The fest will be held Nov. 6–8 at the Shadowland Stages in Ellenville, NY.
The films at the fest will focus on the Borscht Belt resort era from the 1920s through 1970s in the Catskills, centering Jewish culture, Catskills history, comedy and entertainment. In its third year, the festival brings filmmakers, special guests and audiences together for a weekend of movies and conversation.
“This year’s lineup of films and conversations capture what makes the Borscht Belt so enduring—great stories, big personalities, comedy, nostalgia and a deep sense of community,” Melody Gilbert, the festival director, said. “From “We Met at Grossinger’s” and “The Automat” to Mel Brooks, Stiller and Meara, and a new generation of films, our festival celebrates the past while showing why this culture still resonates today.”
“We Met at Grossinger’s,” (2025) directed by Paula Eiselt, a film reviving the Grossinger’s Resort that inspired the movie “Dirty Dancing,” will headline the festival with 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. screenings on Nov. 6. Both screenings will feature talkbacks with members of the Grossinger family, with producer Robert Friedman joining after the 3 p.m. showing.
The opening night will also feature a 5 p.m. reception at the Borscht Belt Museum where the late Elaine Grossinger Etess will be honored with the festival’s first ever Legacy Award.
Nov. 7 will feature screenings of four films and two short films, starting with “The Automat” (2021) directed by Liza Hurwitz. This documentary covers the 20th century phenomenon of vending machines that offered fresh cooked meals for a nickel. Hurwitz and Steve Stollman, a participant in the film and collector of Automats, will take the stage for a talkback after the 11 a.m. screening. Original Automat fixtures will be featured in the lobby.
Next comes a pair of shorts, “Egg Cream” (2018) and “Pair of Jokers” (1990). “Egg Cream,” directed by Nora Claire Miller and Peter Miller, focuses on the memory, history and meaning of the egg cream chocolate soda originating from Jewish neighborhoods in the Lower East Side. “Pair of Jokers,” directed by Mark Mannucci and starring Jerry Stiller, follows an aging Borscht Belter as he gives the reins to a younger comic. The film was shot at Catskills restaurant and lodge The Pines in 1990. The showings will begin at 1 p.m. followed by talkbacks from directors of both films.
“The Floaters” (2026) directed by Rachel Israel will be screened at 3 p.m. The film follows a struggling musician who starts to supervise children at their childhood Jewish summer camp. “Stiller and Meara: Nothing is Lost” (2025) follows. directed by Ben Stiller, a tribute to Ben’s parents and actors, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, where Ben explores his family’s legacy and personal relationships. “Bad Shabbos” (2024) directed by Daniel Robbins, a comedy about an Upper West Side Shabbat dinner between two families being interrupted by a death, or possible murder, closes out the day at 7 p.m.
Nov. 8 rounds out the fest with a second screening of “We Met at Grossinger’s” at 11 a.m., followed by “Ringside in the Mountains” (2025) directed by Evan Haiman. Following the Catskill Mountain Borscht Belt resorts in the 1930s through 1990s, the film explores how the resorts doubled as training areas for boxing legends like Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
The final film of the fest is “Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!” (2026) directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, a documentary about the 100-year-old Brooks’ life and career. The film will screen at 3 p.m. with a talkback from Bonfiglio follows.
The fest will also offer two conversations at The Common Good Bookstore, “Like Father, Like Son? Josh Mostel on Acting, Comedy & the Mostel Legacy” on Nov. 7 at 10 a.m. and “Rescuing Borscht Belt History: A Conversation with ‘We Met at Grossinger’s’” Director Paula Eiselt on Nov. 8 at 9 a.m.
View the full schedule here.
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