Jewish Film Festival 2021 at Lincoln Center is Virtual

This poignant and comic story traces the coming-of-age of two Jewish teenage girls—one white and straight, and the other Black and queer.

Set in Rochester, NY, the film begins at the funeral service of their former Hebrew school classmate who suddenly commits suicide. A complicated romance unexpectedly arises as the best friends navigate their feelings about this tragedy and themselves, and try to make sense of their teacher’s well-meaning but misguided advice about grieving.

The Light Ahead

Known as one of the greatest Russian shtetl films, this restored 1939 classic by Edgar G. Ulmer—adapted from a Mendele Mokher Sforim tale—is a sweetly romantic part-comedy, part-satire.

Featuring actors from New York’s Artef and Yiddish Art Theaters, the story follows an impoverished young couple, Fishke and Hodel, in their fictional village of Glupsk, near Odessa.

They want to get married, and they dream of a future that transcends their own limitations and the constraints of the world. Ulmer, known as a master of film noir, turns the couple’s aspirations into a meditation on hope, love, and the Jewish faith.

World premiere of the new 4K digital restoration by The National Center for Jewish Film.

Shared Legacies

This special event on Martin Luther King Day, Monday, Jan 18, is a documentary about the shared legacy of Jewish and African-American experiences and cooperation.

The crucial historical lessons of Black-Jewish cooperation are revisited and revived in this utterly fascinating and urgent call to action. Common cause was found in the turbulent ‘60s Civil Rights era, as Jewish leaders backed Dr. King’s efforts at racial equality and harmony.

Yet, the relationship has frayed in recent years, as a once mighty bond of support and respect has seemingly faded, been forgotten or ignored.

This special event includes a Q&A and is priced at $13.

Here are the films and the schedule 

Adventures of a Mathematician, Thor Klein. In this film based on a true story, a Polish Jewish mathematician tasked with working on the Manhattan Project faces a moral crisis when the war ends. 

Asia, Ruthy Pribar. In Israel’s entry to the 2021 Oscars, the spirited teenage daughter of a young single mother falls very ill, demanding an overhaul of their strained relationship. 

Love & Stuff, Judith Helfand. A poignant and personal film about the connections between love and the objects we accumulate and pass on. Screening with Helfand’s short, Absolutely No Spitting. 

The Red Orchestra, Carl-Ludwig Rettinger. A fresh and well-rounded account of the Red Orchestra, a crucial resistance network in Nazi Germany, told through interviews and excerpts of feature films made in East and West Germany in the early 1970s.

The Sign Painter, Viestur Kairish. A sign painter in 1940s Latvia is caught in a love triangle; meanwhile, his signs start to reflect the country’s changing politics.  

Who’s Afraid of Alice Miller?, Daniel Howald. The son of the psychotherapist Dr. Alice Miller—a famed advocate of children’s rights—embarks on a trip to uncover the family’s transgenerational trauma.

On Broadway, Oren Jacoby. This star-studded documentary pays tribute to one of the most vibrant legacies of New York: the magic of Broadway. 

The Crossing, Johanne Helgeland. This adaptation of a best-selling novel by Maja Lunde tells the inspiring story of four Norwegian children on the run from the Nazis in the winter of 1942.

Breaking Bread, Beth Elise Hawk. Dr. Nof Atamna-Ismaeel, the first Muslim Arab to win Israel’s MasterChef, founded the A-Sham Food Festival, where pairs of Arab and Jewish chefs collaborate on delicious dishes. This documentary captures the event’s hope, synergy, and mouthwatering fare. 

Minyan, Eric Steel. Adapted from a story by David Bezmozgis set in Brighton Beach in the 1980s, the film follows a young Russian Jewish man as he befriends an older gay couple and comes to terms with his homosexuality.

Kindertransports to Sweden, Gülseren Şengezer. A powerful documentary about the experiences of four Jewish people who, as children, were sent to Sweden by their parents before the outbreak of World War II. 

The festival’s Shorts Program includes:

The Cantor’s Last Cantata, Harvey Wang. A delightful documentary about a local production of the 1947 fringe hit “Brooklyn Baseball Cantata” by a small reform Jewish synagogue in Brooklyn. 

Mimi and Panda, Miriam Luc-Berman & Panda Shi Berman. First cousins Mimi and Panda reflect on their Chinese and Jewish identities and their family relationships. 

Ismail’s Dilemma, Dhimitër Ismailaj-Valona. Inspired by numerous true stories, this narrative short gives a voice to the many Albanians who protected Jewish refugees at great danger to themselves during World War II. 

Holy Woman, Emily Cheeger. By turns sweet and dark, this humorous short about female empowerment in the Hasidic community involves an errant fish bone, facial hair, and a dazzling protagonist.

Mazel Tov Cocktail, Arkadij Khaet & Mickey Paatzsch. This entertaining and provocative short swirls around the story of Dima, a 19-year-old Russian Jewish man living in Germany.

This year’s New York Jewish Film Festival was selected by Rachel Chanoff, Director, THE OFFICE performing arts + film; Lisa Collins, filmmaker and programmer, digital journalist, and special events producer; Aviva Weintraub, Director, New York Jewish Film Festival, The Jewish Museum; with Dennis Lim, Director of Programming, Film at Lincoln Center and New York Film Festival, as adviser; and assistance from Indigo Sparks, performance artist, writer, and arts administrator.

Get tickets here.

Tickets must be purchased online. One rental per account.

For ticketing assistance or questions about the virtual cinema, please email virtualsupport@filmlinc.org, call 212-875-5367, or use the chat function embedded on the lower-right corner of Film at Lincoln Center’s virtual cinema site.

Thanks to these individuals, philanthropies and governments:

The New York Jewish Film Festival is made possible by the Martin and Doris Payson Fund for Film and Media.

Generous support is also provided by Wendy Fisher, Dennis Goodman and the Kirsh Foundation, Sara and Axel Schupf, The Eve Propp Family Fund, Mimi and Barry Alperin, Louise and Frank Ring, the Aboodi Family, the Ike, Molly and Steven Elias Foundation, Barry F. Schwartz, The Carl Marks Foundation, Inc., Amy and Howard Rubenstein, Steven and Sheira Schacter, and through public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with City Council.

Additional support is provided by the Consulate General of Denmark in New York, the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in New York, the Consulate General of Israel in New York, the Polish Cultural Institute New York, and the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York.

Film at Lincoln Center receives additional support for the New York Jewish Film Festival from The Jack & Pearl Resnick Foundation.