As 'anti-Israel fervor over the Gaza war' intensifies, filmmaker Rachel Israel has released two comedies, 'The Floaters' and 'Influenced,' aiming to present an 'alternative image of Jewish joy.' These films arrive at a moment when much of Jewish culture, according to Israel, has been shaped by ongoing conflict, rising antisemitism, and questions of identity under immense pressure. Israel stated that she did not initially intend to produce exclusively Jewish content, yet her two latest movies, alongside her 2017 love story 'Keep the Change,' all feature what she describes as a strong Jewish element. "I didn’t set out and decide I’m only going to make Jewish content, and I don’t think I’m only going to make Jewish content," she remarked. "It’s just kind of rolled into being."
Cultural Production Amidst Conflict
Nell Minow, a reviewer, noted that 'The Floaters' possesses an "appealing Jewish neshama (soul) that peeks out from under the surface." Minow added that the film offers "an exceptionally authentic movie portrayal of the way Jewish traditions and culture reflect and shape the Jewish worldview." Israel expressed her hope to offer a different portrayal of Jewish joy, particularly as antisemitism reportedly rises and 'anti-Israel fervor over the Gaza war' has, in her view, placed Jews on the defensive. 'The Floaters' is a comedy centered on a Jewish summer camp. It stars Jackie Tohn, known from the Netflix series 'Nobody Wants This,' as a hopeful rock star tasked with supervising a group of unconventional campers, the film's titular 'floaters.'
Her second recent film, 'Influenced,' tells the story of a newly divorced Manhattan Jewish mother, played by Jill Kargman. This character attempts to ascend the ranks of the Upper East Side influencer scene while simultaneously preparing her twin children for their bar and bat mitzvah. 'The Floaters' was filmed first, followed by 'Influenced.' Currently, 'The Floaters' is playing in theaters, with a video-on-demand release anticipated later this year. 'Influenced' is available for rental through platforms like Apple and Amazon. The cast of 'The Floaters' includes Seth Green, Steve Guttenberg, and professional wrestler Maxwell Jacob Friedman. 'Influenced' features David Krumholtz, portraying an unhoused former rock star who collects bar mitzvah shirts, alongside Justin Bartha and Dan Hedaya. Judd Goodstein and Ellie Biron play the b’nai mitzvah children, and Gwyneth Paltrow makes a cameo appearance.
The Filmmaker's Approach
Israel reflected on her work, stating, "The way I approach it is, I’m grateful for the bounty when there’s bounty." She was pregnant during the filming of 'The Floaters,' reaching a significant editing milestone before giving birth. Her daughter was four months old when production began on 'Influenced.' Israel is a mother of five children, ranging in age from two to nine. She has found joy in bringing a child with her for "a weekend date with mama" to film festivals where her movies have screened. She and her husband, producer and filmmaker Kurt Enger, have managed to balance their demanding careers with family life. "When you have filmmaking parents, I think it’s really a family effort to support that career," she explained, "because I was away from them for a while in making both films, and so it was great to bring them to see the work."
'The Floaters' was shot on location at Camp Tel Yehudah in Barryville, New York, within the Catskills, a place where the producers’ parents first met. The film showcases a diverse array of Jewish characters, from kitchen staff enforcing kosher rules to a group of outsider-ish children and a female rabbi portrayed by Aya Cash. Israel commented, "It was wonderful to have that, to be shooting in this real location and kind of have all of the texture of the place to feel fully authentic on screen and permeate the experience." She added, "I felt through making it that I absorbed some of what camp is like." Though she never attended Jewish summer camp herself, Israel embraced the chance to immerse herself in the culture. She has resided in New York since starting graduate school at Columbia University, where she earned an MFA 13 years ago, in 2013. A New Jersey native, she spent many formative years in Florida and studied at the Rhode Island School of Design.
Personal and Professional Journey
Filming 'Influenced' on location in New York City also presented a learning curve for Israel. "I’m not even on social media," she admitted, enjoying the opportunity to approach that world with fresh eyes. Her first feature film, 'Keep the Change,' was an expansion of a short film she developed during her graduate studies at Columbia. That film is partly set in a Manhattan Jewish community center. Israel noted that the film was "based on people I knew." While 'Influenced' is not exclusively a Jewish film, its characters are distinctly Jewish, and it carries a strong Jewish theme. During their climactic bar/bat mitzvah party, the children reference the Genesis concept that all humans are created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God, using this lesson to inspire the creation of a charity for the marginalized. 'Influenced' premiered globally at the Miami Jewish Film Festival earlier this year, in January 2026. 'The Floaters' had its Southeast U.S. premiere at the same festival, following its world premiere at the Bentonville, Arkansas, Film Festival about 1 year ago, in June 2025. Both films have been featured on the Jewish film festival circuit, an experience Israel enjoyed. "Being Jewish," she said, "you can find rooms full of family who you might not have met before, but that feeling of Jewish familiarity in all different places is wonderful." The Bentonville festival was not Jewish, but Israel noted, "we brought out the Jewish community in Arkansas." She finds it "fun feeling that expansive, Jewish film family." Israel identifies herself as "more like Reform, Conservative-level of observance" these days. "Having Shabbat and being a parent and wanting to continue that legacy and that connection, that positive emotional connection to being a Jew and pride in that identity, is very important to me and my husband in raising our family," Israel affirmed. Although she did not write the screenplays for either new film, Israel expressed her appreciation for the chance to make a film like 'The Floaters' that she felt conveyed a message about Jewish community. "Being Jewish from my earliest memory of myself, [and] understanding fully what it means to be a Jew intellectually, it was very central to who I was," she stated. Her maternal grandparents were both Holocaust survivors. "How much they cared about family, and their sense of humor, they were very pivotal figures in my life," she recalled. "Those relationships with my grandparents at a young age were to me what it meant to be Jewish. It was talking about stuff, it was talking about feelings, it was talking about messy things."