Last year, the Hey Alma Hanukkah Movie Pitch Challenge almost didn’t happen. Still so close to the horrors of Oct. 7 and grappling with its aftermath, the team here at Hey Alma was unsure whether or not our upbeat Hanukkah movie celebration would feel inappropriate. We ultimately decided that we needed the movie pitch challenge more than ever, and hoped it would bring some necessary joy and light to our audience.
Thanks to every reader who dreamed up a Hanukkah movie or voted for their favorite entry, it absolutely did. Which is why we are so excited to announce Hey Alma’s Sixth Annual Hanukkah Movie Pitch Challenge!
Last year, we received so many imaginative and unique entires from a Jane Austen-inspired coming-of-age tale to an ’80s crime noir to a Krampus vs. The Golem action thriller to a rom-com featuring nice Jewish octuplets all played by Paul Rudd. But only one could be the winner. That honor went to Melissa Shaw with her original Hanukkah mockumentary, “Guess Who’s Eating Together at the Carnegie Deli?” Fun fact: it was the first-ever mockumentary pitch to win Hey Alma’s Hanukkah Movie Pitch Challenge.
Here’s the poster we made for Melissa’s masterpiece — it is quite good if we do say so ourselves:
As in previous years, the contest parameters are wide open: You can pitch us any genre of film. It can be about a Jew celebrating Hanukkah. Or a Jew on Christmas. Or a Jew just generally living through the December holidays. We’ll take gritty action films. Epic historical romances. An animated family romp. Or, obviously, you can stick with the classic and give us the cheeseball Hanukkah Hallmark film of your dreams.
Will the winning movie idea get made? Sorry, the answer to that is still no. (Or at least, we won’t be making it. But previous movie challenge winner Beth Kander did turn her movie pitch into a novel which comes out next week!) However, the winner will get fame, glory and a custom-designed digital movie poster for their idea that they are free to brag about until the next Festival of Lights.
The details:
- Enter by using this form. Submissions will be open until Friday, Dec. 12 at 9 a.m. ET. We are looking for the name of your Hanukkah movie and a one-paragraph description of the plot. Feel free to namedrop the cast, though that is not required. Take inspiration from last year’s finalists.
- On Dec. 16, check back here for how to vote on the finalists.
- We’ll announce the winner on Dec. 23 — in time for you to brag about it all Hanukkah long!
We can’t wait to read all your entries!
