As we start a new year we’re reflecting on the work we are so proud of at Reboot, blending ancient wisdom and traditions with contemporary culture, sparking curiosity, and creating spaces where people from every background can explore Jewish life in meaningful, imaginative ways.

From unforgettable rituals to powerful films, from feminist Talmud takes to the world’s most inquisitive kosher dill pickle, we are shaping the cultural conversation about Jewish life and identity. Our work travels through media, art and ideas that invite people in and expand what Jewish culture can look and feel like today.

We’ve also strengthened partnerships, created innovative educational materials, launched creative social campaigns and built new pathways for audiences to engage with Reboot content wherever they are. Nearly 8 million people participated and viewed our projects in the past year and we watched our community grow to more than 50,000 Instagram followers. Across all social platforms, we have 100,000 followers now engaging with Reboot’s creative, courageous Jewish exploration.

A 2025 survey of individual participants underscores the impact of our work: 79% reported increased knowledge of Jewish ideas and practices, 89% deepened their appreciation for them and 72% felt motivated to further engage with Jewish life and learning.  We have included some quotes from survey respondents interspersed below.

And we’re kvelling with Rabbi Kendell Pinkney, Reboot’s Rabbinical educator and artist-in-residence, and director of The Workshop, who received a Covenant Foundation Pomegranate Prize, the “Emmys of Jewish education.”

Read on for other highlights from Reboot!

Storytelling That Matters: Reboot Studios

“It has updated and reminded me that being Jewish isn’t something in the past or that people from bygone generations did. Being Jewish is very much part of present times as well, just in new and different forms that are appropriate and relevant for today’s world.”

Reboot Studios had a remarkable year in 2025, expanding the reach of Jewish storytelling across screens, festivals, museums, classrooms and community spaces worldwide. Through bold, imaginative work, that embraces the full diversity and complexity of Jewish life, we continue to shape cultural conversations and spark meaningful engagement wherever our stories travel.

Mashhad
Inspired by Sarah Solemani’s family history, Mashhad follows a spirited young girl whose carefree afternoon exposes the hidden dangers her Iranian Jewish family faces while living in secrecy.

The film premiered at HollyShorts and has since screened at festivals and venues worldwide, including the Museum of Tolerance, with Q&As featuring Tiffany Haddish, Isla Fisher, Mamie Gummer and others. The growing buzz is drawing renewed attention to this long-overlooked chapter of Iranian Jewish history

The Anne Frank Gift Shop
Mickey Rapkin’s Oscar-shortlisted dark comedy The Anne Frank Gift Shop began streaming this year on ChaiFlicks. Reboot developed an in-depth companion guide, now used by educators nationwide, to deepen conversations around memory, ethics and contemporary Holocaust education. It also anchored our inaugural Spark Series, providing communities and educators with a strong framework for local screenings, discussions and public programs.

We Should Eat
Shaina Feinberg’s comedic short We Should Eat about mothers, daughters, dinner and existential dread screened at more than 30 festivals and earned multiple awards, including the Caz Matthews Fund Jury Prize and Best Performance at SeriesFest, as well as honors from Centre Film Festival and Ridgefield Film Festival. The project is now being developed as a television series.

Sons of Detroit
Jeremy Xido’s deeply personal documentary Sons of Detroit, exploring race, memory and chosen family through a Detroit lens, premiered at DOC NYC and has a number of additional festival screenings forthcoming.  The film reflects the kind of bold, nuanced storytelling Reboot is proud to champion.

The Garlic Eaters
Madison Safer’s The Garlic Eaters (Spring 2026), our first children’s book project created in partnership with Ayin Press, is a whimsical, Yiddish-infused tale of a tiny garlic-loving family forced from their underground home who must navigate displacement, unfamiliar neighbors and the search for belonging. Through humor and heart, the story offers a gentle exploration of exile, identity and finding home.

We’re Going Global

This year, Reboot films and programs reached audiences around the world, with screenings in India, Turkey, Ukraine, Athens and throughout the UK.

We’re especially proud to see Rachel Fleit’s Gefilte, co-produced with Reboot, showcased in the inaugural Bonds Gallery exhibition at the POLIN Museum in Warsaw, connecting contemporary Jewish ritual to global Jewish memory. The short documentary offers a tender portrait of the Hermelin family’s beloved Passover tradition, using their annual gefilte fish preparation as an unexpected lens into identity, belonging and the enduring joy of Jewish continuity.

We’re Just Getting Started

More creative work is already underway, including a new collaboration with the team behind Bad Shabbos and an animated short with one of the lead animators at DreamWorks, an exciting expansion of our storytelling into animation. In 2026, we’ll unveil our next slate of studio projects, a vibrant mix of boundary-pushing narrative films and documentaries, experiential theater, podcasts and digital media that explore identity, diaspora, beauty and the stories we inherit and reinvent.

Education, Learning and Cultural Leadership

“Reboot  has challenged me to integrate being Jewish into my identity, so I don’t live as if I had two different and separate identities.  I’ve started practicing more too, to live a Jewish life adapted to my current circumstances.”

A Model For Meaningful Learning
Reboot built a scalable education program with accessible, high-quality resources that help educators and communities engage deeply with Reboot films and themes. We partnered with institutions, including the Museum of Jewish Heritage, to use arts and culture to rethink Holocaust education, reaching NYC educators and beyond. And we launched a free virtual learning Spark Series, connecting artists shaping Jewish culture today with cultural enthusiasts, Jewish educators, program directors, communal professionals and anyone passionate about Jewish arts and culture who wants to learn how to create or enhance programming that resonates with diverse audiences.

Shaping the Industry
Through consulting and partnerships, Reboot advances more authentic, nuanced Jewish representation across the entertainment industry. Beyond our work with leading studios and media companies, this year, Reboot Studios Managing Director Noam Dromi was appointed as Co-Lead of the Television Academy’s Jewish Affinity Group and appeared at Televerse alongside leaders from GLAAD, Gold House, MPAC, NALIP and the NAACP.

Centering JOCSM Voices
Reboot’s Rabbi Kendell Pinkney, director of The Workshop, Reboot’s signature fellowship uplifting Jews of Color, Sephardi and Mizrahi artists, announced the 2025 cohort, including Mor Mendel, Noah Keyishian, Adam Shaukat and Lily Henley.

Reimagining Ritual and Gathering Community

“It makes being Jewish relevant in new ways. Takes the old, keeps the old, but helps to make it fresh.”

We’ve expanded our reach across culture and community, positioning Reboot as both an entry point for newcomers and a laboratory for those already engaged.

Havdalah Reimagined – New York City
In partnership with UJA Federation NY, we hosted an immersive multisensory Havdalah during the Tribeca Festival at DCTV,  a transformed Lower Manhattan firehouse—our first time opening this powerful, creative ritual to the broader public. Led by Rav Jericho Vincent and sound artist Avi Amon, the evening brought Jewish and non-Jewish participants together for song, scent, light and renewal. Watch a glimpse here.

Tashlique – San Francisco
More than 700 people joined us at Crissy Field in San Francisco for our annual Ctrl-Alt-Delete reimagining of Tashlich. With shofars, Jazz Mafia horns, and the Ministers of Sound of St. John Will-I-Am Coltrane Church, a diverse cross section of Bay Area Jews tossed regrets of the year into the water and welcomed the new year with joy, justice and a fresh start.

Jewish Life, Culture & History Illuminated

“It makes Jewish practice and identity more understandable and accessible for the larger culture and the zeitgeist.”

Centering Memory Through Bold Public Art
We support nuanced Jewish storytelling beyond our Studio by fiscally sponsoring innovative, artist-led projects. A flagship example is Reboot Network member Gillian Laub’s Live2Tell, featured on CBS Sunday Morning. As Holocaust awareness declines among younger generations, Live2Tell meets the moment with a public art installation that projects portraits and testimonies of Survivors onto iconic buildings.

Reimagining Jewish Texts for Today
We partnered with Reboot Network member Miriam Anzovin to expand the Reboot Glossary, bringing her sharp, feminist Daf Yomi lens to bold new entries like Lilith and the Angel of Death. The Reboot Glossary is a growing exploration of the Jewish world, rituals, traditions and food, as well as historical and cultural figures of the Jewish people. We continue to add to and update this glossary to capture the rich tapestry of experiences and practices across the diverse Jewish cultural landscape.

Where Jewish Life Lives Online

“Reboot has helped me to see that Judaism can be shared and practiced online which is important for my generation.”

This year also saw significant growth across our digital audiences, with our Instagram followers topping 50,000 and our following across our platforms nearing 100,000, underscoring Reboot’s expanding reach and impact. This is where Reboot meets the next generation, inviting them into Jewish life through creativity, connection and culture.

In a time of anxiety and overload, our new “Shabbat Stories” Instagram series spotlights personal rituals and reflections, kicked off by actress Alysia Reiner, whose Shabbat practice includes pausing, breathing… and sushi. We also launched a food series, “Dish’d With Reboot,” that takes viewers on a delicious tour of Jewish-inspired food stories across the country. We launched it by featuring a pickle tour with “Pickle Influencer” Linus Mercer in NYC!

Looking Ahead

Reboot exists to radically reimagine Jewish culture and traditions, sparking the imagination and inviting people into ritual that is ancient and new and sacred and playful, creating moments of meaning, connection and belonging.

Thank you for reading, sharing, supporting, laughing, learning, questioning and creating with us this year. We can’t wait to show you what’s coming in 2026 and continue to grow and explore with you.

Until then, explore more at Rebooting.com, join us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube and sign up for our newsletter, to continue the journey with us as we continue uplifting Jewish voices and fostering exploration and growth.