The Season

HOW TO COME ALIVE with Norman Mailer explores the rollercoaster life of America’s most controversial and bestselling author of the 20th Century, Norman Mailer. Propelled by his tremendous ego and contrarian spirit, Mailer’s ceaseless visibility in the public eye lasted 6 decades, during which he had 6 tumultuous marriages, 9 beloved children, 11 bestsellers, 3 arrests, and 2 Pulitzer Prizes. Prophet, hedonist, violent criminal, literary outlaw, and social provocateur, Mailer’s ideas about love, anger, fear, and courage cut to the core of human nature, are more relevant than ever today, and point to a prescription for shaking free of society’s expectations, and coming alive as a people.

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Winner of ten Israeli Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, Seven Blessings is a bitter-sweet story set within a boisterous Moroccan Jewish wedding celebration in Israel. It’s a film of quiet fury that looks at the choice of assigning blame and reliving the past or finding forgiveness and living in the present. The film, which screens at CCA at 5:30 PM on Tuesday, April 30, will be followed by an optional Moroccan Mimouna reception at Temple Beth Shalom.

The film’s title comes from the seven blessings recited at the seven days of festivities that follow a traditional Moroccan Jewish wedding. These days, which should be ones of joy, become a time for revealing family secret traditions practiced within older Arab Jewish families when a couple is childless. The story is based on the experiences of the filmmakers’ own extended families and sparked considerable discussion in Israel where over half of the Jewish population is from Arab countries.

A Moroccan Mimouna celebration follows the film at Temple Beth Shalom. Mimouna is traditional festival celebrated by Moroccan Jews the day after Passover ends and marks the return to eating leavened food. Attendees at the optional reception are encouraged to wear Moroccan dress for both the film and reception!

The late Ruth Bader Ginsberg once said: “If I have a sister, her name is Rosie Abella.” Without Precedent: The Supreme Life of Rosalie Abella. is the story of an exceptional woman who spent her entire life reminding us that we must never forget how the world looks to those who are vulnerable.

Born to Holocaust survivors, Abella studied law. At 29 years old, was appointed a judge, becoming both the youngest and the first pregnant judge in Canadian history. In 2004 she was appointed a Supreme Court Justice becoming the first Jewish woman and the first refugee to sit on the bench — and she’s probably the first Canadian justice that became a human rights phenomenon. Abella was at the forefront of major decisions on employment equity, gay marriage, constitutional law, and many more landmark cases.

Meet a fireball of a person who is curious, accessible and still ambitious at the age of 75 as she begins the next act of her life.

Mention the name Leonard Bernstein and what likely comes to mind is West Side Story, the New York Philharmonic, and the biopic Maestro, but there is more to the life and times of this American great. Leonard Bernstein – The Other Side uncovers some of the lesser-known facets, revealing his many other sides.

In this two-part program, the documentary Leonard Bernstein and the Israel Philharmonic narrated by actor Hershey Felder, recounts Bernstein’s career trajectory and his lifelong relationship with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO). After the film, Ivy Weingram, curator of Leonard Bernstein – The Power of Music exhibit, joins us via Zoom to examine Bernstein’s early years, the influence of Judaism on his music, his social and political activism, and other parts of his life.

Judaism was one of the influences in his work. Born into an Orthodox Jewish family to parents who immigrated from Ukraine, the liturgical melodies of his childhood resonated deeply within him. His Jewish roots are reflected in many of his works, ranging from his Symphony No. 1 (Jeremiah) to West Side Story.

They also help explain his relationship with the IPO. That connection began in 1947 in pre-State Palestine where Bernstein first conducted what was then known as the Palestine Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. Other than the New York Philharmonic, Bernstein “arguably devoted more of his time (to the IPO) than any other (orchestra).”

In addition to conducting some of the world’s greatest orchestras, Bernstein wrote music for ballet and Broadway and brought classical music to children with televised Young People’s concerts . He embraced jazz, blues, popular music, and Jewish music. Bernstein was also active in social and political causes, drawing the attention of J.Edgar Hoover and Joseph McCarthy.

Leonard Bernstein – The Other Side brings many of the other parts of Bernstein’s life to light. Throughout, his Jewish heritage, commitment to Israel and its national orchestra, and his refusal to conceal his religion were instrumental in defining the man and his music.

MEET IVY WEINGRAMIvy Weingram is an independent curator based in Philadelphia, PA. She founded IMW Independent Museum Works in the summer of 2019. In the years since, she has worked with a diverse client base that includes museums, higher education institutions, a documentary film producer, and a pharmaceutical company.

For over 10 years Weingram served in the curatorial department of the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia (NMAJH), most recently as Curator. Leonard Bernstein: The Power of Music is one of the many exhibits that she has curated.

 

 

Beginning in 1948, hundreds of thousands of Jews from Arab/Muslim lands came to Israel along with Holocaust survivors and other refugees, resulting in a doubling of Israel’s population during its first four years. But how could such a young country absorb this enormous influx?

MA’ABAROT is the story of the controversial “transit” camps where many of these early refugees and immigrants, particularly those from Arab lands, were taken. This award-winning documentary unravels the many stories of the camp residents, discovering surprising new details, exposing prejudices, and revealing rifts among Israelis that exist until today. It is the first documentary to tell this little-known story.

MEET SPECIAL GUEST DR. RON DUNCAN HART

Ron Duncan Hart, Ph.D. is a cultural anthropologist from Indiana University, an author and filmmaker. He did postdoctoral work on Jewish history at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, University of Oxford. He is Director of the Institute for Tolerance Studies, and former President of the Jewish Federation of New Mexico.

His research includes the American South, South America, Spain, and North Africa with a focus on religion and race between Jews, Christians, and Muslims   He is an award-winning author, His most recent book, Jews and the Arab World: Intertwined Legacies was a Best Book Award Winner.

MEET AMIT SADAN, Ph.D.

Amit Sadan is a postdoctoral fellow in the International Studies Institute at the University of New Mexico. His fields of expertise are the modern and early modern Middle East, environmental history, and Israel Studies. As part of the Israel Institute’s postdoctoral teaching fellowship program, Amit teaches at UNM a variety of courses about Israeli society and culture, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and others.

International Studies Institute at UNM

What happens when faith, religion and sexuality collide in an ultra-Orthodox community? BARREN, a film nominated for Best Israeli Film at the Jerusalem Film Festival, tackles that question. Director/screenwriter Mordechai Vardi, who is a rabbi, Tel Aviv University film school graduate, and former head of the screenwriting department at one of Israel’s most prestigious film schools, provides a multi-layered perspective.

Praised by critics for its acting and photography, Barren is a unique look inside this insular community. Infertility is a taboo subject in many societies, but it is especially distressing among the ultra-Orthodox with its encouragement of large families and wariness of medical intervention. The biblical meaning of “barren” is “to uproot”, the opposite of “to plant” and conveys the idea of “emptiness”.

The story revolves around a young couple, Feigi and Naftali, who live with Naftali’s parents. They have been married for five years and are unable to conceive. Putting his faith solely in prayer, Naftali flies to Uman in the Ukraine to pray for a child at the grave of Lubavitcher rabbi Nachman at Rosh Hashanah. At the same time, Naftali’s father invites an itinerant rabbi to his home for dinner. He claims to be a healer and tells Feigi that he can perform a ritual to make her fertile. He says that the ritual must occur before Rosh Hashanah. That night he goes into Feigi’s bedroom and convinces her to let him have sex with her.

The consequences of the encounter are at the heart of the film which is based on actual cases. The husband’s reaction, Feigi’s inner struggle, and a ruling by a rabbinical panel sharpen the issues that women in the ultra-Orthodox community face in dealing with infertility and faith.  But it’s also a story of faith within contemporary society and the challenges in balancing the two.

Sh’ma tells the moving story of Dr. Veronka John-Steiner, a Santa Fe High alum and beloved professor at the University of New Mexico. Recounting Veronka’s experience before, during and after the Shoah, it seamlessly weaves together the emotive languages of dance, music, and film. The story follows our heroine from her school days to the ghetto, deportation to Bergen-Belsen, and finally to immigration to the U.S.

Originally a choreodrama performed in the former Yugoslavia and New York, the international resurgence of fascism and anti-Semitism spurred the creation of Sh’ma as a film. “Sh’ma” means “listen” in Hebrew. It is a fitting title for a film whose story is a cautionary tale, but one that ultimately celebrates resilience, connection, and hope.

With a cast of extraordinary dancers, including Dance Theater of Harlem and Texas Ballet Theatre professionals, and a haunting original score, the film is part of the Sh’ma Project. This three-part arts and education initiative uses the power of the arts to engage and build understanding about the Holocaust and Human Rights.

Dr. Suki John, Veronka’s daughter, will join us in-person for a post-film discussion.

Our signature event, Flix & ChopStix, is back this year!  It’s movies and Chinese food on Christmas Day, and this year we have two of Gene Wilder’s best films: The Producers and Young Frankenstein. Come to the movies and then stay for a Chinese dinner catered by LuLu’s. The films are at CCA and the dinner is just around the corner at Temple Beth Shalom.

See both films as a double feature or just see one. The dinner is optional.

“ENCORE” SCREENING!

REMEMBERING GENE WILDER is a heartfelt tribute to the beloved star of such movie classics as “The Producers”, “Blazing Saddles”, and “Young Frankenstein”. His remarkable life is told through never-before-seen home movies and photographs, as well as the intimate insights of friends and colleagues including Mel Brooks, Alan Alda, Carol Kane, and Gene’s wife, Karen Wilder,

Born Jerome Silberman, his roots in comedy began as a child when his mother suffered a heart attack. Her doctor told him never to argue with his mother and, instead, try to make her laugh. And that he did as well as audiences throughout his prolific career.

But he also experienced tragedy with the pre-mature death of his wife, comedian Gilda Radner, and suffered the ravages of Alzheimer’s in his later years. Remembering Gene Wilder will make you laugh and make you cry, but most of all, make your remember his wonderful films and comedic genius.

NOTE THE CHANGE IN DATE TO NOV. 19.

Nominated for six Israeli Academy Awards and winner of Best Screenplay at the Jerusalem Film Fest, MORE THAN I DESERVE is finely-crafted coming of age drama. The story revolves around a mother (Tamara) and son (Pinchus) who are new immigrants from Ukraine. Pinchas spends most of his time alone, while Tamara works hard to put food on the table.

When Pinchas learns that his classmates ­­­are preparing for their Bar Mitzvah, he asks his neighbor, Shimon, for help.  Shimon, who still lives with his parents, is a religious bachelor, waiting to meet the right girl. The two form a strong bond, and Shimon treats Pinchas as he would be his own son.

Despite her initial disapproval of his religious influence, Tamara gradually falls in love with Shimon. Pinchas learns to accept his mother’s need for love and blends into the familial atmosphere.

Things get complicated when Shimon’s Rabbi pressures him to marry a woman from their community. Pinchas refuses to accept Shimon’s departure, blames his mother and seeks revenge.

Golda’s War Diaries is presented by the Santa Fe Jewish Film Festival in association with Temple Beth Shalom’s Israel Committee.

Streaming Now! In September 2023, the official protocols of Prime Minister Golda Meir’s office covering the Yom Kippur War were made public. Released by Israel’s National Archive to mark the 50th anniversary of the war, they contradict many of the myths of Golda’s shortcomings and provide a clearer picture of her contributions. Golda’s War Diaries, which is based on these archives, tells the story of those fateful days in the Prime Minister’s own words and those who were with her. It is a unique glimpse of the real story.

Following the film, David Shulman, Chair of Temple Beth Shalom’s Israel Committee, will be in conversation with Prof. Meron Medzini. Prof. Medzini was Golda Meir’s spokesperson at the time of the Yom Kippur War and also served as spokesperson for Prime Ministers Levi Eshkol and Yitzhak Rabin. HIs book, Golda – A Political Biography. won the Israel Prime Minister’s Prize.

The conversation is pre-recorded due to the time difference with Israel.

Meet Prof. Meron Medzini, Hebrew University Jerusalem

Professor (Emeritus) Meron Medzini was born in Jerusalem in 1932. After high school, he served as an infantry officer in the Israeli army and then traveled to the United States to obtain university degrees., including a Ph.D. from Harvard University in Asian Studies. Between 1962 and 1978, he served as director of the Israel Government Press Office and in that capacity was spokesperson for Prime Ministers Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, and Yitzhak Rabin.

Prof. Medzini has pursued an academic career and is the author of nine books. His Golda – A Political Biography (De Gruyter Verlag, Berlin, 2016) won the Israel Prime Minister’s Prize.  In 2016, the Japanese Government awarded him the Order of the Rising Sun for promoting Israel-Japan Cultural relations.  More recently he served as a consultant to the film Golda which starred Helen Mirren.

Meet David Shulman

David Shulman is a retired Wall Street research executive (Salomon Brothers, Lehman Brothers) and a semi-retired academic in economics and finance. He served on the Board of Trustees of the Summit Jewish Community and is currently on the Board of Temple Beth Shalom where he chairs the Israel Committee. He organized a series of Santa Fe-wide events to celebrate Israel at 75.

Making its international debut at Berlinale and its U.S. premiere at Telluride, 1341 Frames of Love and War is a look at Israel through the lens of one of the country’s most celebrated war photographers, Magnum photographer Micha Bar-Am.

1341 Frames is a unique cinematic, visual, and sensory experience that is a story of Israel and the photographer who documented the country’s war-torn history. It explores how to imbue still photography with movement on the one hand, while freezing cinematic movement to distill meaning and emotion on the other. It is a complex love letter to the power, beauty and horror of photographic imagery, and the personal cost of a life devoted to recording a conflict told through an extraordinary archive of iconic photographs.

1341 Frames of Love and War can also be seen “in-theater” at CCA. See Home Page.

1341 FRAMES of LOVE and WAR has been made possible by the generous support of Season Underwriters Patricia & David Shulman, Film Underwriters Leslie Nathanson & Hervey Juris, and Film Sponsors Janet Sanders & Stuart Cohen

Making its international debut at Berlinale and its U.S. premiere at Telluride, 1341 Frames of Love and War is a look at Israel through the lens of one of the country’s most celebrated war photographers, Magnum photographer Micha Bar-Am.

1341 Frames is a unique cinematic, visual, and sensory experience that is a story of Israel and the photographer who documented the country’s war-torn history. It explores how to imbue still photography with movement on the one hand, while freezing cinematic movement to distill meaning and emotion on the other. It is a complex love letter to the power, beauty and horror of photographic imagery, and the personal cost of a life devoted to recording a conflict told through an extraordinary archive of iconic photographs.

1341 Frames of Love and War will also be available via streaming. See Home Page.

1341 FRAMES of LOVE and WAR has been made possible by the generous support of Season Underwriters Patricia & David Shulman, Film Underwriters Leslie Nathanson & Hervey Juris, and Film Sponsors Janet Sanders & Stuart Cohen

The Devil’s Confession: The Lost Eichmann Tapes unearths secret recordings of Adolf Eichmann recorded in Buenos Aires in 1957 by Dutch journalist and former SS-Officer Willem Sassen. A few weeks before the opening of the Eichmann trial in 1961, transcripts of these recorded conversations were mysteriously handed over to prosecutor Gideon Hausner. But could Hausner use them as evidence? Did the Israeli government want the contents revealed in their entirety? Where were the actual tapes and how would our understanding of Eichmann changed had they been heard at the trial? .For the first time, we will confront Eichmann with himself in full color, revealing his inner thoughts and the hidden factors and motives that succeeded in hiding these recordings.

The Devil’s Confession: The Lost Eichmann Tapes unearths secret recordings of Adolf Eichmann recorded in Buenos Aires in 1957 by Dutch journalist and former SS-Officer Willem Sassen. A few weeks before the opening of the Eichmann trial in 1961, transcripts of these recorded conversations were mysteriously handed over to prosecutor Gideon Hausner. But could Hausner use them as evidence? Did the Israeli government want the contents revealed in their entirety? Where were the actual tapes and how would our understanding of Eichmann changed had they been heard at the trial? .For the first time, we will confront Eichmann with himself in full color, revealing his inner thoughts and the hidden factors and motives that succeeded in hiding these recordings.

Based on the best-selling novel by one of Israel’s most critically acclaimed authors, Amos Oz, JUDAS explores the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot in a multi-layered story that touches on the roots of anti-Semitism, the origins of the Jewish-Arab conflict, and the complex reality in Israel. It raises the question of when is a traitor a visionary.

Dan Wolman , director, is a veteran Israeli filmmaker whose films have been presented at Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and many other film festivals, winning awards and prizes. Wolman received a “Life time achievement award” at the Jerusalem International film festival and “The Silver Hugo” award at the Chicago International Film Festival for “Unique vision and innovative work”.

JUDAS premiered at the Haifa International Film Festival. Prof. Ranen Omer-Sherman joins us after the film for a pre-recorded talk about Amos Oz, the novel, and the film.

MEET RANEN OMER-SHERMAN

Ranen Omer-Sherman is the  JHFE Endowed Chair in Judaic Studies at the University of Louisville. In addition to dozens of journal articles and reviews, he is the author or editor of six books including the soon to be released Amos Oz: The Legacy of a Writer in Israel and Beyond. 

Professor Omer-Sherman made aliyah to Israel when he was 17, lived on a kibbutz and served in the IDF as a paratrooper. He brings both an American and Israeli perspective to this multi-layered film adaptation of Oz’s novel.

JUDAS has been made possible by Season Underwriters Linda Schoen Giddings and Daryl Giddings, Film Underwriters Audrey Goldings and Barry Schrager, and Film Sponsors Gloria Abella Ballen and Ron Duncan Hart.

Based on the best-selling novel by one of Israel’s most critically acclaimed authors, Amos Oz, JUDAS explores the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot in a multi-layered story that touches on the roots of anti-Semitism, the origins of the Jewish-Arab conflict, and the complex reality in Israel. It raises the question of when is a traitor a visionary.

Dan Wolman , director, is a veteran Israeli filmmaker whose films have been presented at Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and many other film festivals, winning awards and prizes. Wolman received a “Life time achievement award” at the Jerusalem International film festival and “The Silver Hugo” award at the Chicago International Film Festival for “Unique vision and innovative work”.

JUDAS premiered at the Haifa International Film Festival. Prof. Ranen Omer-Sherman joins us after the film for a pre-recorded talk about Amos Oz, the novel, and the film.

MEET RANEN OMER-SHERMAN

Ranen Omer-Sherman is the  JHFE Endowed Chair in Judaic Studies at the University of Louisville. In addition to dozens of journal articles and reviews, he is the author or editor of six books including the soon to be released Amos Oz: The Legacy of a Writer in Israel and Beyond. 

Professor Omer-Sherman made aliyah to Israel when he was 17, lived on a kibbutz and served in the IDF as a paratrooper. He brings both an American and Israeli perspective to this multi-layered film adaptation of Oz’s novel.

JUDAS has been made possible by Season Underwriters Linda Schoen Giddings and Daryl Giddings, Film Underwriters Audrey Goldings and Barry Schrager, and Film Sponsors Gloria Abella Ballen and Ron Duncan Hart.

An offbeat, comedic journey that delights and surprises, KARAOKE follows Tova and Meir, a standard aging couple with 46 years of marriage and two grown daughters. They live a comfortable life, with Meir currently on sabbatical from his academic professorship, and Tova running a boutique shop. Their lives get a jolt of excitement from their neighbor from above, Itzik, who invites them to his penthouse for karaoke nights. Tova and Meir fall hard for Itzik’s energetic lifestyle. They enter into a competition amongst their other neighbors and soon themselves, trying to win Itzik’s attention.

An offbeat, comedic journey that delights and surprises, KARAOKE follows Tova and Meir, a standard aging couple with 46 years of marriage and two grown daughters. They live a comfortable life, with Meir currently on sabbatical from his academic professorship, and Tova running a boutique shop. Their lives get a jolt of excitement from their neighbor from above, Itzik, who invites them to his penthouse for karaoke nights. Tova and Meir fall hard for Itzik’s energetic lifestyle. They enter into a competition amongst their other neighbors and soon themselves, trying to win Itzik’s attention.

They met in secret to negotiate the unthinkable – compensation for the survivors of the largest mass genocide in history. Survivors were in urgent need of help, but how could reparations be determined for the unprecedented destruction and suffering of a people?

RECKONINGS explores this untold true story set in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Roberta Grossman, RECKONINGS recounts the tense negotiations between Jewish and German leaders. Under the constant threat of violence, they forged ahead, knowing it would never be enough but hoping it could at least be an acknowledgement and a step towards healing.

We will be joined after the film via Zoom by Karen Heilig who has participated in the Claims Conference negotiations.

MEET KAREN HEILIG

Karen Heilig serves as the Claims Conference Assistant Executive Vice President and General Counsel.  Since 1999 she has participated in negotiations between the Claims Conference and the German government, the Austrian government and negotiations on unpaid Holocaust era insurance policies. She broke ground as the first female representative for the Claims Conference in negotiations. Ms. Heilig is also co-producer of RECKONINGS.

They met in secret to negotiate the unthinkable – compensation for the survivors of the largest mass genocide in history. Survivors were in urgent need of help, but how could reparations be determined for the unprecedented destruction and suffering of a people?

RECKONINGS explores this untold true story set in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Roberta Grossman, RECKONINGS recounts the tense negotiations between Jewish and German leaders. Under the constant threat of violence, they forged ahead, knowing it would never be enough but hoping it could at least be an acknowledgement and a step towards healing.

We will be joined after the film via Zoom by Karen Heilig who has participated in the Claims Conference negotiations.

MEET KAREN HEILIG

Karen Heilig serves as the Claims Conference Assistant Executive Vice President and General Counsel.  Since 1999 she has participated in negotiations between the Claims Conference and the German government, the Austrian government and negotiations on unpaid Holocaust era insurance policies. She broke ground as the first female representative for the Claims Conference in negotiations. Ms. Heilig is also co-producer of RECKONINGS.

FILMMAKERS FOR THE PROSECUTION retraces the hunt for film evidence that could convict the Nazis at the Nuremberg Trial. The searchers were two sons of Hollywood – brothers Budd (What Makes Sammy Run) and Stuart Schulberg – serving under the command of OSS film chief John Ford.

The Nuremberg Trials were the first time a cinema screen appeared in a courtroom, and the footage the Schulbergs compiled – mostly shot by the Nazis themselves – became part of the official record. These images shape our understanding of the Holocaust to this day.

Seventy-five years after the trial, the French journalist and filmmaker Jean-Christophe Klotz returns to the German salt mine where films lay burning, uncovers never-before-seen footage and interviews key figures to unravel why the resulting film about the trial – Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today by Stuart Schulberg – was intentionally buried by the U.S. Department of War.

Klotz’s riveting film fills in the gaps of how these groundbreaking materials were sourced, and poses still-pertinent questions about documentarians’ obligations to posterity. It is a story of the power of cinema in the pursuit of justice but also raises questions of the power of media in the world today.

Harvard University’s Professor Eric Rentschler will join us for a Zoom discussion about propaganda in German cinema during the Nazi era.

MEET ERIC RENTSCHLER, Ph.D.

Eric Rentschler, professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures, is a faculty member of Harvard University’s Film and Visual Studies Program and the convener of the monthly Film and Visual Studies Colloquium. He has served as director of the annual Berlin Film Program offered by the Harvard Summer School (in cooperation with the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin). He is also  co-director of the German Film Institute held most recently at the University of Michigan.

Professor Rentschler is the author of many books including German Film and Literature (Methuen, 1986), West German Filmmakers on Film (Holmes & Meier, 1988), The Ministry of Illusion (Harvard UP, 1996), ), and The Use and Abuse of Cinema: German Legacies from the Weimar Era to the Present (Columbia UP, 2015).  He is also the recipient of the Joseph R. Levenson Memorial Teaching Prize for Senior Faculty at Harvard (2001) and the Walter Channing Cabot Fellowship (2003).

FILMMAKERS FOR THE PROSECUTION retraces the hunt for film evidence that could convict the Nazis at the Nuremberg Trial. The searchers were two sons of Hollywood – brothers Budd (What Makes Sammy Run) and Stuart Schulberg – serving under the command of OSS film chief John Ford.

The Nuremberg Trials were the first time a cinema screen appeared in a courtroom, and the footage the Schulbergs compiled – mostly shot by the Nazis themselves – became part of the official record. These images shape our understanding of the Holocaust to this day.

Seventy-five years after the trial, the French journalist and filmmaker Jean-Christophe Klotz returns to the German salt mine where films lay burning, uncovers never-before-seen footage and interviews key figures to unravel why the resulting film about the trial – Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today by Stuart Schulberg – was intentionally buried by the U.S. Department of War.

Klotz’s riveting film fills in the gaps of how these groundbreaking materials were sourced, and poses still-pertinent questions about documentarians’ obligations to posterity. It is a story of the power of cinema in the pursuit of justice but also raises questions of the power of media in the world today.

Harvard University’s Professor Eric Rentschler will join us for a Zoom discussion about propaganda in German cinema during the Nazi era.

MEET ERIC RENTSCHLER

Eric Rentschler, professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures, is a faculty member of Harvard University’s Film and Visual Studies Program and the convener of the monthly Film and Visual Studies Colloquium. He has served as director of the annual Berlin Film Program offered by the Harvard Summer School (in cooperation with the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin). He is also  co-director of the German Film Institute held most recently at the University of Michigan.

Professor Rentschler is the author of many books including German Film and Literature (Methuen, 1986), West German Filmmakers on Film (Holmes & Meier, 1988), The Ministry of Illusion (Harvard UP, 1996), ), and The Use and Abuse of Cinema: German Legacies from the Weimar Era to the Present (Columbia UP, 2015).  He is also the recipient of the Joseph R. Levenson Memorial Teaching Prize for Senior Faculty at Harvard (2001) and the Walter Channing Cabot Fellowship (2003).

Winner of 7 Israeli Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, LET IT BE MORNING is an up close look at the inner tensions and outer challenges of Israel’s Arab community. Told through the eyes of Sami who is brought back to a small Arab village where his brother lives, viewers see a microcosm of Sami’s world and the dry comedy that unfolds.

Directed by Eran Kolarin (The Band’s Visit) and based on a book by Sayed Kashua who wrote the hit Israeli TV series Arab Labor, LET IT BE MORNING is a non-political portrayal of Israeli-Palestinian tensions at a very human level.

Winner of 7 Israeli Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, LET IT BE MORNING is an up close look at the inner tensions and outer challenges of Israel’s Arab community. Told through the eyes of Sami who is brought back to a small Arab village where his brother lives, viewers see a microcosm of Sami’s world and the dry comedy that unfolds.

Directed by Eran Kolarin (The Band’s Visit) and based on a book by Sayed Kashua who wrote the hit Israeli TV series Arab Labor, LET IT BE MORNING is a non-political portrayal of Israeli-Palestinian tensions at a very human level.

Join us after the screening for an optional Israeli Mezze Plate Reception at the Santa Fe Woman’s Club (1616 Old Pecos Trail). See old friends and make new ones!

Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg saved as many as 100,000 Jewish lives during the Holocaust.  Raoul Wallenberg: A Hero for Our Time honors his memory and examines his legacy  on this, the 110th anniversary of his birth.

Who was Raoul Wallenberg, and what can we learn from his heroic efforts to save Jews in the winter of 1944-45 in Budapest? Why did he disappear in January 1945, and what was his subsequent fate? What lessons can we learn for today’s world from Wallenberg’s legacy?

Esther Kovari, whose mother was saved by Wallenberg, will introduce the program, beginning with the screening of the first half of the German documentary The Case of Raoul Wallenberg – Saviour and Victim. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with law professor and diplomat David Scheffer, historian and Wallenberg expert Susanne Berger, and Stephen Kovary who will relate his personal experience during WW II in Budapest. There will be an opportunity to ask questions of the panelists.

In addition to the “live” presentation at CCA, ticket holders will be able to stream the complete film at home or purchase a ticket to steam the “film only” on September 11 and 12.

About the Film

The Case of Raoul Wallenberg – Saviour and Victim sheds light on the circumstances of Wallenberg’s disappearance in Budapest following its liberation in 1945 by the Red Army, his detention in the former Soviet Union, and his probable execution there in 1947. Drawing on the testimony of many well-placed witnesses, researchers and previously unpublished archival material, KGB and prison files, the film paints a disturbing picture of the machinations and cold war maneuvering that led to Wallenberg’s arrest, imprisonment and abandonment by the Allies. As Stalin’s personal hostage and trump card in his negotiations with the West, Wallenberg became one of the incipient Cold War’s first victims.

The U.S. and the Holocaust is a new three-part, six-hour series that tells the story of how the American people grappled with one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the twentieth century, and how this struggle tested the ideals of our democracy. Directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and Lynn Novick, the series examines the periods leading up to and during the Holocaust with fresh eyes and dispels competing myths that Americans either were ignorant of the unspeakable persecution that Jews faced in Europe, or that they looked on with callous indifference.

It also takes a candid look at the roles that eugenics and racism, as well as xenophobia and antisemitism, played during this crisis and throughout American history. In the process, it grapples with questions that remain essential to our society today: Is America, truly, as it claims to be, a land of immigrants? Why did we fail to rescue a people at the time of their greatest need? How do the continued struggles over how we define our past shape our future as a country?

MEET DANIEL GREENE

Following the preview screening, we will be joined by Dr. Daniel Greene who curated Americans and the Holocaust, an exhibition that opened at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC., joins us after the preview to shed additional insight into the role of the U.S. in the years leading up to and during the Holocaust.

The full series initial broadcast on KNME is scheduled for 7 PM MT September 18-20, 2022.  (6 hours)

Did you ever wonder why Topol was chosen to play the part of Tevye (and not Zero Mostel) in the movie version of Fiddler? Or who really played the Fiddler’s violin? Do you know where Fiddler was shot and about the synagogue that was built for the movie?

If you’d like to know the answers or are just in the mood for an entertaining movie, join us in partnership with Jean Cocteau Cinema for a SNEEK PEAK of FIDDLER’S JOURNEY TO THE BIG SCREEN 7 PM, Wednesday, May 18.

FIDDLER’S JOURNEY  captures the humor and drama of director Norman Jewison’s quest to recreate the lost world of Jewish life in Tsarist Russia and re-envision the beloved stage hit as a wide-screen epic. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Daniel Raim puts us in the director’s chair and in Jewison’s heart and mind, drawing on behind-the-scenes footage and never-before-seen stills as well as original interviews with Jewison, Topol (Tevye), composer John Williams, and many more

The film explores how the experience of making “Fiddler” deepens Jewison as an artist and revives his soul while recalling the movie that Pauline Kael (The New Yorker) called “the most powerful movie musical ever made.”

SPECIAL GUEST INTERVIEW follows the screening.

Award-winning author and film critic Professor Alisa Solomon of Columbia University’s School of Journalism joins us in a Zoom interview for a fascinating look at the making of the original production of Fiddler on Broadway. Prof. Solomon is the author of the critically acclaimed Wonder of Wonders – A Cultural History of Fiddler.

Set against the backdrop of Israel’s War of Independence, IMAGE OF VICTORY is based on the true story of the Battle of Nitzanim and the initial loss to the Egyptians as seen from both sides. Directed by one of Israel’s most important and influential filmmakers, Avi Nesher, it was nominated for 15 Israeli Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.

IMAGE OF VICTORY is also available for streaming from 11 AM on Sunday, May 1 to 10 PM, Saturday, May 7.

For the story behind the making of the film, click here: Image of Victory – The Story Behind the Film

Set against the backdrop of Israel’s War of Independence, IMAGE OF VICTORY is based on the true story of the Battle of Nitzanim and the initial loss to the Egyptians as seen from both sides. Directed by one of Israel’s most important and influential filmmakers, Avi Nesher, it was nominated for 15 Israeli Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.

Film is also be shown “in theater”  at CCA at 11 AM on May 1. Proof of vaccination and wearing of masks required, limited seating.

For the story behind the making of the film, click here: Image of Victory – The Story Behind the Film

Moyshe Beregovsky crisscrossed Ukraine with a phonograph in hand during the most dramatic years of Soviet history to record and study the traditional music of Ukrainian Jewry. The wax cylinders, which were thought to be lost, captured a Yiddish musical culture that was destroyed in the Holocaust.

SONG SEARCHER is not only Beregovsky’s remarkable story but a window on 20th century Ukrainian Jewish history, all told against the backdrop of a Yiddish musical treasure rediscovered.

Moyshe Beregovsky crisscrossed Ukraine with a phonograph in hand during the most dramatic years of Soviet history to record and study the traditional music of Ukrainian Jewry. The wax cylinders, which were thought to be lost, captured a Yiddish musical culture that was destroyed in the Holocaust.

SONG SEARCHER is not only Beregovsky’s remarkable story but a window on 20th century Ukrainian Jewish history, all told against the backdrop of a Yiddish musical treasure rediscovered.

ALSO “IN-THEATER” AT CCA on Sunday, Feb. 27 at 3 PM

STREAMING NOW

In Ethiopia they were called “Falashas”, a derogatory term meaning outsiders/exiles. In the United States they were referred to as “Black Jews”. In Israel, they are simply Ethiopian Jews. They call themselves “Beta Israel” (House of Israel). Decedents of an ancient Jewish tribe, for over 2500 years they managed to uphold the laws of Judaism, all the while believing they were the last Jews on earth.

The ties between Beta Israel and their fellow Jews were renewed only at the turn of the 20th century, thanks to the determination of a few individuals, and the exodus of Ethiopian Jews began. YERUSALEM is the story of this exodus and the heroic actions by individuals and communities; of daring covert operations by the Mossad and IDF’s elite combat units; of a worldwide effort which called on Jewish communities everywhere to help save this Jewish tribe from extinction.

It was only towards the end of the 20th century after a long and tumultuous journey that the community of Beta Israel finally arrived in Israel, the land of the Jews. The loving embrace that was extended to the newcomers quickly faded and the new immigrants were now facing difficulties from religious factions and Israeli society. The validity of their religious practices was scrutinized and questioned. Like many other immigrants from different countries during different eras, the Ethiopian Jews were asked to give up their “unique” traditions in order to blend in and be fully accepted.

The struggle to adapt to a modern Israel is still very much an ongoing process.

For more information about the Ethiopian Jewish community, go to:  http://www.santafejff.org/ethiopian-jewry-resources/

YERUSALEM has been generously sponsored by Audrey Goldings and Barry Schrager

Also available for Streaming from Feb. 27 – Mar. 5

In Ethiopia they were called “Falashas”, a derogatory term meaning outsiders/exiles. In the United States they were referred to as “Black Jews”. In Israel, they are simply Ethiopian Jews. They call themselves “Beta Israel” (House of Israel). Decedents of an ancient Jewish tribe, for over 2500 years they managed to uphold the laws of Judaism, all the while believing they were the last Jews on earth.

The ties between Beta Israel and their fellow Jews were renewed only at the turn of the 20th century, thanks to the determination of a few individuals, and the exodus of Ethiopian Jews began. YERUSALEM is the story of this exodus and the heroic actions by individuals and communities; of daring covert operations by the Mossad and IDF’s elite combat units; of a worldwide effort which called on Jewish communities everywhere to help save this Jewish tribe from extinction.

It was only towards the end of the 20th century after a long and tumultuous journey that the community of Beta Israel finally arrived in Israel, the land of the Jews. The loving embrace that was extended to the newcomers quickly faded and the new immigrants were now facing difficulties from religious factions and Israeli society. The validity of their religious practices was scrutinized and questioned. Like many other immigrants from different countries during different eras, the Ethiopian Jews were asked to give up their “unique” traditions in order to blend in and be fully accepted.

The struggle to adapt to a modern Israel is still very much an ongoing process.

YERUSALEM has been generously sponsored by Audrey Goldings and Barry Schrager

ALSO “IN-THEATER” AT CCA on Sunday, Jan. 30 at 3 PM

Imprisoned by the Soviets, orphaned by the Holocaust, elected Prime Minister, crowned peacemaker by the Nobel Prize Committee, haunted by the Lebanon War. Menachem Begin was a pillar of the State of Israel and a tireless fighter for the Jewish people. He was, at the same time, a controversial leader. His life is a nuanced and complicated canvas that tells the story of key events in the history of modern Israel and its relationship to its Middle East neighbors. With evocative imagery, rarely seen archival materials, and revealing interviews with those who knew him, Upheaval portrays the life and essence of this brilliant, tough, complex, loving, and proud man who never compromised when the survival of Israel and the Jewish people were at stake.

ALSO AVAILABLE VIA STREAMING from Jan. 30 to Feb. 5

Imprisoned by the Soviets, orphaned by the Holocaust, elected Prime Minister, crowned peacemaker by the Nobel Prize Committee, haunted by the Lebanon War. Menachem Begin was a pillar of the State of Israel and a tireless fighter for the Jewish people. He was, at the same time, a controversial leader. His life is a nuanced and complicated canvas that tells the story of key events in the history of modern Israel and its relationship to its Middle East neighbors. With evocative imagery, rarely seen archival materials, and revealing interviews with those who knew him, Upheaval portrays the life and essence of this brilliant, tough, complex, loving, and proud man who never compromised when the survival of Israel and the Jewish people were at stake.

STREAMING NOW UNTIL DEC. 6

Light up this year’s Hanukkah with the Santa Fe JFF’s Hanukkah Film Festival. The Festival, which is all virtual, is showcasing four films over eight nights for one price!

See the Israeli Academy Award winning film, HERE WE ARE for a tender tale of a father and his autistic son. For a glimpse of the Jewish community in Mexico and a Jane Austen-like story, watch LEONA,  a film that was nominated for seven Mexican Academy Awards. The little known community of Jews of Majorca is the subject of XUETA ISLAND  and it is being shown with UNRAVELING, an investigation of whether Pancho Villa killed the filmmaker’s Grandfather!

STREAMING NOW UNTIL NOV. 27

He was called the Michael Jordan of bridge, considered to be the world’s greatest player, and accused of cheating in a scandal that rocked the bridge world to its core.  DIRTY TRICKS is the detective-like story of Lotan Fisher, the self-confident Israeli who seemed invincible until his nemesis, Norway’s Boye Brogeland, brought him down. But was Fisher cheating?

Lotan Fisher was a precocious child with a mind-boggling ability to remember numbers. His passion for bridge started when he walked into a bridge club at age 11 and was immediately identified as a possible champion. Fisher’s quick rise through the ranks, while rubbing shoulders with some of the richest men in the world, reflected not only his skill but a passion that was all consuming.

Then Brogeland, who had lost to Fisher in the quarter finals of a bridge championship, began to question some of Fisher’s moves. They were unconventional, too unconventional, were Fisher and his partner secretly signaling one another? Many thought the pair were doing just that. DIRTY TRICKS is the story of what happened in a fast-paced narrative that leaves it to you to decide.

Director Daniel Sivan is an award-winning Israeli director /producer. His works include the hit Netflix documentary series ‘The Devil Next Door’ (2019); the Emmy nominated ‘The Oslo Diaries’ (2018) which premiered at Sundance; and ‘Censored Voices’ (with co-director Mor Loushy, 2015) which won the Israeli Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Available in New Mexico only.

ON SALE NOV. 3

He was called the Michael Jordan of bridge, considered to be the world’s greatest player, and accused of cheating in a scandal that rocked the bridge world to its core.  DIRTY TRICKS is the detective-like story of Lotan Fisher, the self-confident Israeli who seemed invincible until his nemesis, Norway’s Boye Brogeland, brought him down. But was Fisher cheating?

Lotan Fisher was a precocious child with a mind-boggling ability to remember numbers. His passion for bridge started when he walked into a bridge club at age 11 and was immediately identified as a possible champion. Fisher’s quick rise through the ranks, while rubbing shoulders with some of the richest men in the world, reflected not only his skill but a passion that was all consuming.

Then Brogeland, who had lost to Fisher in the quarter finals of a bridge championship, began to question some of Fisher’s moves. They were unconventional, too unconventional, were Fisher and his partner secretly signaling one another? Many thought the pair were doing just that. DIRTY TRICKS is the story of what happened in a fast-paced narrative that leaves it to you to decide.

Director Daniel Sivan is an award-winning Israeli director /producer. His works include the hit Netflix documentary series ‘The Devil Next Door’ (2019); the Emmy nominated ‘The Oslo Diaries’ (2018) which premiered at Sundance; and ‘Censored Voices’ (with co-director Mor Loushy, 2015) which won the Israeli Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

STREAMING NOW THROUGH OCT. 30.

Come to the New Mexico premiere and “virtual screening” of Bernadette Wegenstein’s THE CONDUCTOR. The doc takes the audience into the heart of classical music and into the soul of one of its top artists: the internationally renowned conductor Marin Alsop.  Film will be available online until 10 PM October 30.

A protégé of Leonard Bernstein, Alsop smashed the glass ceiling when she became the first woman to serve as music director of a major orchestra. Set against a breathtaking soundtrack of her performances, this inspiring tale of perseverance against prejudice and institutional obstacles follows Alsop through a series of first that has paved the way for a diversified future within the world of classical music and lends a backstage pass to the artistry and energy that rewards her audiences and inspires her students today.

Join us at CCA for a continental brunch and the New Mexico premiere of Director Bernadette Wegenstein’s THE CONDUCTOR. The doc takes the audience into the heart of classical music and into the soul of one of its top artists: the internationally renowned conductor Marin Alsop. A protégé of Leonard Bernstein, Alsop smashed the glass ceiling when she became the first woman to serve as music director of a major orchestra. Set against a breathtaking soundtrack of her performances, this inspiring tale of perseverance against prejudice and institutional obstacles follows Alsop through a series of first that has paved the way for a diversified future within the world of classical music and lends a backstage pass to the artistry and energy that rewards her audiences and inspires her students today.

Seating is limited for this “in-theater” screening. Attendees must provide proof of vaccination or a negative PCR or acceptable rapid test and wear a mask when inside the theater. For more information about required Covid-19 protocols, click here.

Come to the New Mexico premiere and “virtual screening” with brunch of Bernadette Wegenstein’s THE CONDUCTOR. The doc takes the audience into the heart of classical music and into the soul of one of its top artists: the internationally renowned conductor Marin Alsop.  Film will be available online for five days beginning Oct. 24.

A protégé of Leonard Bernstein, Alsop smashed the glass ceiling when she became the first woman to serve as music director of a major orchestra. Set against a breathtaking soundtrack of her performances, this inspiring tale of perseverance against prejudice and institutional obstacles follows Alsop through a series of first that has paved the way for a diversified future within the world of classical music and lends a backstage pass to the artistry and energy that rewards her audiences and inspires her students today.

Join us at CCA for the New Mexico premiere of Director Bernadette Wegenstein’s THE CONDUCTOR. The doc takes the audience into the heart of classical music and into the soul of one of its top artists: the internationally renowned conductor Marin Alsop. A protégé of Leonard Bernstein, Alsop smashed the glass ceiling when she became the first woman to serve as music director of a major orchestra. Set against a breathtaking soundtrack of her performances, this inspiring tale of perseverance against prejudice and institutional obstacles follows Alsop through a series of first that has paved the way for a diversified future within the world of classical music and lends a backstage pass to the artistry and energy that rewards her audiences and inspires her students today.

Seating is limited for this “in-theater” screening. Attendees must provide proof of vaccination or a negative PCR or acceptable rapid test and wear a mask when inside the theater. For more information about required Covid-19 protocols, click here.

Streaming Now
What is the legacy of a number indelibly tattooed on the arm of an Auschwitz survivor? How does this ever-present reminder affect memory of the past and the shape of one’s future? These are two of the questions explored in NUMBERED, an award-winning documentary which will be streamed April 1-7 in commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day. The film is also part of Jewish Federation New Mexico’s State-wide commemoration on April 7.

Auschwitz and its sub-camps were the only German concentration camps in World War II to tattoo its prisoners. Numbers were assigned to 400,000 inmates with tattooing beginning in 1941. It was part of a process to dehumanize Jews and other groups, branding them like cattle. Auschwitz was liberated in 1945, and few survivors are alive today. NUMBERED is a rare opportunity to hear their stories in their own words and voices.

Among the testimonies are those of a survivor who uses his number as a basis for computer security codes, another who views it as a proud badge of courage and survival, and a daughter who chooses to have her father’s number tattooed on her body to keep his memory alive. These testimonies, filmed against stark black backgrounds, recall the darkness of the past and the resilience of the human spirit.

NUMBERED is a co-presentation with Federation and in association with the Center for Contemporary Arts.

This event has been generously supported by Film Underwriters
Leslie Nathanson & Hervey Juris and Noreen and David Perlmutter.

ON SALE NOWThey came to Israel alone, six women from Arab countries and one from Poland, leaving behind comfortable lives for a barren desert “development” town that none expected would be their new home. The women from Arab countries not only endured economic hardship but discrimination as well. Their language, traditions, and often their skin color were different from their Ashkenazi brethren. They stood apart and, as such, were treated as second class citizens. Yet by dint of character, these women succeeded in creating productive lives and blurring the gap that separated them. DIMONA TWIST is their remarkable story.

STREAMING EXTENDED!The award-winning Ma’abarot is the first documentary to tell the story of the controversial Israeli transit camps and the experience of the Jews from Arab countries. These camps housed hundreds of thousands of new immigrants from different parts of the world, transitioning them into becoming part of the Israeli cultural tapestry and yet creating nearly unsurmountable challenges for the newly formed state. Ma’abarot unravels the many stories of the camp residents, discovering new details, that shatter common stereotypes in the current Israeli discourse.

VIRTUAL SCREENING NOW UNTIL 4 PM FRI. JAN. 22
It was a different time. The Civil Rights movement was in full swing, and the common cause of racial equality bonded Blacks and Jews. The documentary Shared Legacies takes us back to when Black-Jewish co-operation was a given, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel walked arm in arm.

Archival footage and recent interviews remind us of two communities, each of whom encountered prejudice, violence, and segregation, that came together with the founding of the NAACP in 1909 and blossomed in the 1960s due in large measure to the relationship between Dr. King and Rabbi Heschel. With narration and interviews with Holocaust survivors, the late Congressman John Lewis, Oscar-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr., Rabbi Peter S. Berg, Julian Bond, and members of the King and Heschel families, among others, it is a story of two people whose support of the other made each stronger.

The screening is a backdrop to “Standing Together Against Racism: Building on Our Common Heritage” which is a conversation with Dr. Bernice A. King (daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) and Dr. Susannah Heschel (daughter of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel), moderated by African American Rabbi Capers Funnye Jr. The conversationt will be streamed nationally at 4 PM MST on Sunday, January 24.

Co-presented by Jewish Federation NM

A Presentation of
the Santa Fe Distinguished Lecture Series and
the Santa Fe Jewish Film Festival.

The documentary Holy Silence tells the dramatic story of the Vatican’s actions – and inactions – during World War II and the years leading up to it. Featuring Oscar-nominated actor David Strathaim as the voice of President Franklin Roosevelt, the film reveals the different attitudes of Pope Pius XI and Pius XII toward the Jews. Among the stories the film uncovers is that of the American Jesuit priest John LaFarge who, at Pope Pius XI’s request, drafted an encyclical denouncing racism and anti-Semitism. When the Pope died, so did the possibility that the encyclical would be published, raising the question of whether the Holocaust would have taken a different turn had Pius XI lived a few years longer.

ON SALE NOW!
Aviva Kempner’s Yoo-hoo, Mrs. Goldberg looks at the life and career of Gertrude Berg, the creator, writer and star of The Goldbergs, a popular 1930s radio show that was subsequently a weekly TV program. Berg pioneered the family-based sitcom format that has proven to be television’s most durable and popular genre. More remarkably, she did it by presenting America with an outwardly Jewish family that wore its immigrant heritage on its sleeve. The film also examines the stand Berg took against McCarthyism when she refused to fire her long-time co-star Philip Loeb – who resigned to prevent the cancellation of the show and later committed suicide.

Co-presented by the
Santa Fe Distinguished Lecture Series

ON SALE NOW!
On January 15th, 2015, a few weeks after completing his memoir, the writer and neurologist Oliver Sacks learned that the rare form of cancer for which he had been treated seven years earlier had returned, and that he had only a few months to live. One month later, he sat down with the producers for a series of marathon filmed interviews. He spoke with astonishing candor, and with unflinching honesty – a profoundly gifted 81-year-old man facing death with remarkable courage and vitality who was still vigorous while facing the end. He was determined to come to grips with what his life has meant and what it means to be, as he put it, “a sentient being on this beautiful planet.”

Drawing on these riveting and profoundly moving twilight reflections, OLIVER SACKS: HIS OWN LIFE explores the extraordinary life and work of the renowned neurologist, clinician and writer.

ON SALE NOW!
On January 15th, 2015, a few weeks after completing his memoir, the writer and neurologist Oliver Sacks learned that the rare form of cancer for which he had been treated seven years earlier had returned, and that he had only a few months to live. One month later, he sat down with the producers for a series of marathon filmed interviews. He spoke with astonishing candor, and with unflinching honesty – a profoundly gifted 81-year-old man facing death with remarkable courage and vitality who was still vigorous while facing the end. He was determined to come to grips with what his life has meant and what it means to be, as he put it, “a sentient being on this beautiful planet.”

Drawing on these riveting and profoundly moving twilight reflections, OLIVER SACKS: HIS OWN LIFE explores the extraordinary life and work of the renowned neurologist, clinician and writer.

Join us after the film for a conversation with Niki Russ Federman, fourth generation owner of Russ & Daughters. What’s the connection between Oliver Sacks and Russ & Daughters? Throw in a little schmaltz herring and you’ll find out!

MEET NIKI RUSS FEDERMAN
Niki is the fourth-generation owner of Russ & Daughters, the home of bagels and lox since 1914. Since taking over her family’s 106 year-old food legacy, Niki and her cousin Josh Russ, have expanded the business beyond Russ & Daughters’ original appetizing store on New York’s Lower East Side. Together they launched and oversee Russ & Daughters Cafe, Russ & Daughters at the Jewish Museum and Russ & Daughters Brooklyn, which includes their jewish bakery and nationwide shipping facility. Niki is frequently featured in the media, including “The Sturgeon Queens,” an award-winning documentary about the Russ family and Russ & Daughters.

Is your mouth watering? Check out Russ & Daughters selection of deli delectables that can be shipped directly to your home: russanddaughters.com.