This April, the 1st Annual Long Island Jewish Film Festival will make its debut at Huntington’s Cinema Arts Centre. The festival’s inaugural season will span three days, April 14th – April 16th, and will include screenings of films at the forefront of Jewish cultural storytelling.
The festival will feature films that include powerful documentaries, riveting dramas, and rarely seen pieces of film history, all curated by David Schwartz, Manager of Theatrical Programming at Netflix
The Long Island Jewish Film Festival was organized to help celebrate the rich cultural traditions and history of the Jewish community in America, as well as abroad. The featured films embody the vanguard of modern Jewish cinema, and will introduce Long Island audiences to the artists creating work most representative of leading Jewish filmmaking in the 21st century.
The Long Island Jewish Film Festival will begin on Friday, April 14th with a screening of the touching documentary “I Like it Here”, which features a Q&A with filmmaker Ralph Arlyck, and will run throughout the weekend, concluding with on Sunday April 16th with a screening of the rarely seen 1924 silent film “City Without Jews” which features a live score performed by acclaimed musicians Alicia Svigals & Donald Sosin, as well as a screening of the Yiddish language Ukrainian film, “Shttl”, which will include a discussion with the film’s star, Moshe Lobel.
Other films featured in the festival include “My Neighbor Adolf”, starring veteran German actor Udo Kier, “America” from award winning Israeli filmmaker, Ofir Raul Graizer, and the award-winning film, “Farewell, Mr. Haffmann”
Public tickets are $15 per screening with the exception of the film “City Without Jews”, which costs $17 for public tickets. A full festival pass is also available for $60, granting access to every film in the festival
The Films:
I Like It Here
Friday, April 14th at 7 PM
With Director Ralph Arlyck In Person
$15 Public | $10 Members
A meditation on aging, survival, memory, and the connections we build with family, friends, neighbors, and strangers, Ralph Arlyck’s utterly charming personal film asks, “How do we make the most of the precious time we have?” What started as a movie about his neighbor, a reclusive Hungarian immigrant, ended up as something universal, capturing the moments in daily life that reveal the pitfalls and pleasures of getting old. While always aware of mortality, it is a movie whose ultimate message is “L’chaim.” (2022, 88 mins)
My Neighbor Adolf
Saturday, April 15th at 1 PM
$15 Public | $10 Members
In 1960s Colombia, a cantankerous Holocaust survivor passes his time tending to his garden and studying chess. His routine is interrupted by the arrival of a German man who he gradually becomes convinced is none other than Adolf Hitler. A surprisingly touching tale of loneliness and misunderstanding, it is also a master class in acting, with nuanced performances by the Scottish actor David Hayman and veteran German actor Udo Kier, who has worked extensively with top directors including Werner Herzog, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and Gus Van Sant. (2022, 96 mins)
America
Saturday, April 15th at 3:30 PM
$15 Public | $10 Members
When an Israeli man returns home after ten years in America, an emotional encounter with a childhood friend and his future-wife will change everyone’s lives. An engrossing drama that unfolds in lush landscape, America absorbs its characters, and the audience, in matters of life, death, and love. After the success of The Cakemaker, writer/director Ofir Raul Graizer returns with a film full of emotion and moral complexity, and beauty that is held together by three indelible performances by its young stars. (2022, 127 mins)
Farewell, Mr. Haffmann
Saturday, April 15th at 7 PM
$15 Public | $10 Members
Occupied Paris,1941: as members of the Jewish community are instructed to identify themselves to authorities, a jewelry shop owner (Daniel Auteuil) arranges for his family to flee the city and offers his employee (Gilles Lellouche) the chance to take over his store until the conflict subsides. Adapted from an acclaimed play, Farewell, Mr. Hoffmann presents a world where lives are irrevocably shaped by the occupation. Rich in moral complexity and empathy, with several twists too good to spoil, this is grand, big-screen adult entertainment at its finest. (2021,115 mins)
City Without Jews
Sunday, April 16th at 2:00 PM
With live accompaniment by Alicia Svigals & Donald Sosin
$17 Public | $12 Members
Directed by H. K. Breslauer, and based on the novel by Hugo Bettauer. City Without Jews predicted the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe. Set in the fictional Austrian city of Utopia, the story depicts the consequences of an anti-Semitic law forcing all Jews to leave the country. Shortly after the film’s premiere, Bettauer was murdered by the Nazis. Shown in public for the last time in 1933 as a protest against Hitler’s rise to power, the film contains ominous and eerily realistic sequences, such as shots of freight trains transporting Jews out of the city. (1924, 80 mins)
Shttl
Sunday, April 16th at 5 PM
With star Moshe Lobel in-person
$15 Public | $10 Members
A Jewish village in Ukraine is on the verge of being invaded by Nazis. Evocative and visually compelling, Shttl draws from the vibrant canvas of a community with many differing reactions to the impending tragedy. Filmed in Ukraine, and edited to appear as one continuous shot, the camera never stops as it explores the rich world that it creates, and the vitality of lives about to be destroyed. Featuring a remarkable cast including Moshe Lobel (Broadway’s Yiddish Fiddler on the Roof revival) and Yiddish-fluent actor Saul Rubinek. (2022, 114 mins)
Location:
Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Ave, Huntington, NY 11743
You can purchase tickets or find more information about these and other events on the Cinema Arts Centre website: www.cinemaartscentre.org
About Cinema Arts Centre:
The Cinema Arts Centre (CAC) is Long Island’s premiere, year-round, independent and international film showcase and its leading 501(c)3 not-for-profit community cinema. Located on Long Island’s North Shore, just an hour from Manhattan, the CAC is unique in scope and programming, with three state-of-the-art theaters, including a main theater holding nearly 300 seats. Founded by Vic Skolnick, Charlotte Sky and Dylan Skolnick in 1973, the CAC has over 10,000 members and serves approximately 150,000 individuals each year. For more information, please visit https://cinemaartscentre.org.
