The Jewish Museum and Film at Lincoln Center are excited to present the 2020 New York Jewish Film Festival from January 15th to 28th. Now in its 29th season, the festival promises an engaging lineup of narratives, documentaries, short films by women, world premieres, and restored classics which explore Jewish culture.
According to the schedule, all films will be screened at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center.
Opening night (Thursday, January 16th) will feature the documentary Aulcie, directed by Dani Menkin. The film explores the legendary athlete’s rise to fame as an American-Israeli basketball player. Scouts from Maccabi Tel Aviv found a young Aulcie Perry playing basketball in Harlem and recruited him. Perry went on to help the team win 2 European Championships.
The festival’s centerpiece film is The Birch Tree Meadow, an autobiographical film directed by French filmmaker and memoirist Marceline Loridan-Ivens. Anouk Aimée plays Myriam, a French filmmaker and Holocaust survivor who returns to Europe for a reunion of survivors after living in New York. She comes to grip with her past and meets a young photographer who also struggles with his grandfather’s role in the S.S. The film will be screened on Wednesday, January 22nd at 1:15pm and again at 8:15pm.
The 2020 New York Jewish Film Festival’s closing night features a gripping drama directed by Dror Zahavi entitled Crescendo. Peter Simonischek plays a famous conductor tasked to establish an Israeli-Palestinian youth orchestra. His assignment goes from musical to more interpersonal as he comes to grips with the question, “can children of conflict come together in harmony?” Catch this riveting story on Thursday, January 28th at 3:15pm and again at 8:30pm.
Another screening to look forward to is the 50th anniversary of the legendary director, Vittorio De Sica’s Academy Award-winning film, The Garden of Finzi Continis, a story set during the rise of Fascism in the 1930s.
The New York Jewish Film Festival will also have the world premiere of the newly restored film, Broken Barriers. This was director Charles Davenport’s long-lost silent film from 1919. Broken Barriers is the first film based on Sholem Aleichem stories, which inspired Fiddler on the Roof.
For opening night, centerpiece and closing night screenings, ticket prices are $25 for the general public and $20 for members.
For all other shows, prices will be $15 for the general public, $12 for students and seniors, and $10 for members. Visit the website for more ticket information.
The twelve-day screenings offer 32 films from around the world to learn more about Jewish culture. Check out the website to learn more about screenings and schedules.
Featured images c/o Lincoln Center
