The Great Neck Arts Center is partnering with Great Neck Synagogue to expand their film offerings with the new Jewish Film Series. The series, modeled after the Arts Center's successful Furman Film Series which presents independent, art, classic, and foreign films, will highlight films with Jewish themes and/or featuring Jewish artists and filmmakers. Like the Furman Film Series, all films will be followed by a discussion with a relevant speaker who will provide exciting insight into the film and its subject matter. The series will be held on five monthly Monday nights: February 13, March 5, April 16, May 14, and June 4.
“It is clear from the success of the Great Neck Arts Center’s Gold Coast International Film Festival and our nearly sold out screenings at the Furman Film Series that there is a growing audience here for intelligent, thoughtful, and entertaining films,” says Regina Gil, Executive Director and Founder of the Arts Center. “We are thrilled to partner with the Great Neck Synagogue on this new series which will feature previews as well as some classic films, and bring prominent filmmakers and speakers to our post-screening Q&As.”
The series begins February 13 with the film Musical Chairs, directed by Susan Seidelman. A romantic tale about two New Yorkers, Armando from the Bronx, and Mia from the East Side, and their love of ballroom dancing. Mia is a vivacious professional dancer but a tragic accident forever changes her life. True to his heart, Armando dedicates himself, along with a group of colorful misfits, to help Mia deal with her challenges and dance once more. There will be a discussion after the screening with the film’s director Susan Seidelman, whose previous work includes Desperately Seeking Susan and the first television episodes of Sex and the City.
Musical Chairs is presented as part of the ReelAbilities Film Festival, the largest festival in the country dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories, and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities. Furman Film Series regulars may remember ReelAbilities festival director Isaac Zablocki, who spoke after last year’s screening of The Human Resources Manager during the Winter 2011 series. For more information about ReelAbilities, visit http://newyork.reelabilities.org.
Next up on March 5 is Pelotero, official selection of the Hamptons Film Festival directed by Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin, and Jonathan Paley and narrated by John Leguizamo. Baseball is a way of life in the Dominican Republic. Major League Baseball has wisely invested in recruiting Dominicans with a training program that has the world’s largest number of future major leaguers per capita. Each year, a handful of Dominican players, almost always from low-income families, are selected to begin their careers in the United States. That invitation comes with a signing bonus and the promise of a secure future for their families. The system, however, is flawed. A must-see for fans of baseball, Pelotero tells the story of two of the nation’s most talented hopefuls, and their long, rocky road towards achieving their dreams. There will be a post-screening discussion with director and Pelotero producer Isaac Solotaroff.
Joan Mickling Silver’s 1975 film Hester Street will screen on April 16. The story of Jewish immigrants who come to the Lower East Side of New York City in 1896 from Europe, Hester Street stars Carol Kane in an Oscar-nominated role. The film is noteworthy for its detailed reconstruction of Jewish immigrant life, with much of the dialogue delivered in Yiddish with English subtitles. Director Joan Mickling Silver will join the audience for a Q&A after the film, to discuss the film that pioneered a wave of films that dealt with the complexities of American Jewish identity. She will be joined by producer Sarah Teale.
Details on for May 14 and June 4 films will be announced shortly.
Films in the Great Neck Synagogue Jewish Film Series will be screened on Monday evenings at 7:30 pm at Clearview Cinemas Great Neck Squire Theater, 115 Middle Neck Road. Entry is 7:00 pm for subscribers and 7:15 for ticket holders. Each screening has a Q&A with a notable filmmaker or personality after the film.
Subscriptions to the series are $75 ($65 for seniors and Great Neck Synagogue members) and individual tickets are $15 ($10 for students, $20 at the door subject to availability). For more information, call the Great Neck Arts Center at (516) 829-2570 or visit www.greatneckarts.org/Film.htm.
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