January 13–26, 2016
The 25th annual New York Jewish Film Festival, co-presented by the Jewish Museum and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, features world, US, and New York premieres of films from around the globe, a retrospective of highlights from the past 25 years, plus other programming in honor of our silver jubilee.
The films presented for this year’s NYJFF were selected by Florence Almozini, Associate Director of Programming, Film Society of Lincoln Center; Rachel Chanoff, THE OFFICE performing arts + film; Jaron Gandelman, Curatorial Assistant for Media, the Jewish Museum and Coordinator, New York Jewish Film Festival; Jens Hoffmann, Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Public Programs, the Jewish Museum and Curator for Special Programs, New York Jewish Film Festival; Dennis Lim, Director of Programming, Film Society of Lincoln Center; and Aviva Weintraub, Associate Curator, the Jewish Museum and Director, New York Jewish Film Festival.
Exhibition: Celluloid on Paper
For the past three years, the NYJFF has curated a selection of film posters for display in the Walter Reade Theater’s Frieda and Roy Furman Gallery. This year, we present posters highlighting works from the Festival’s quarter-century history.
Anniversary publication
Visit nyjff.org for essays on the Festival’s history and founding, on what makes a film “Jewish,” and a broader overview of the history of film festivals and their significance today by Jens Hoffmann, Richard Peña, Jeffrey Shandler, and Aviva Weintraub, as well as an interactive archive of more than 700 films presented over the last 25 years.
Guest Selects: Todd Solondz
20th anniversary screening
Welcome to the Dollhouse
Todd Solondz, USA, 1995, 35mm, 88 minutes
Todd Solondz’s celebrated black comedy follows junior high geek Dawn “Weinerdog” Weiner through the many dark corners of suburban youth. Bitterly funny and true to life, the film launched Solondz’s career, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and is now hailed as a classic of modern independent cinema.
Night and Fog
Alain Resnais, France, 1955, 35mm, 32 minutes
French with English subtitles
Ten years after the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps, French filmmaker Alain Resnais documented the abandoned grounds of Auschwitz in this harrowing documentary. One of the first cinematic reflections on the horrors of the Holocaust, Night and Fog contrasts the stillness of the former camps with wartime footage.
Talking Movies (free events, in the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center amphitheater at 144 W 65th Street)
Panel discussion: Curating Film
A collection of New York’s finest film curators and programmers—Thomas Beard, Stuart Comer, Chrissie Iles—come together to jump-start a discussion, moderated by Jens Hoffmann, about engaging film audiences in the 21st century. With festivals, museums, galleries, and online platforms all presenting film in new and different ways, the medium finds itself at an exciting crossroads.
Master class with Alan Berliner
Alan Berliner’s ability to combine experimental cinema and artistic purpose has made him one of the most acclaimed independent filmmakers in the United States. In this unique master class, Berliner will discuss his use of sound and image metaphors in Intimate Stranger (1991) and Nobody’s Business (1996), both of which are screening in the Festival. The lecture includes a presentation of several clips from each film.
Ticket info:
On sale dates
Members: December 17
General public: December 22
Tickets may be purchased online or in person at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center and Walter Reade Theater box offices, 144 and 165 West 65th Street. For our free event ticket policy and complete festival information, visit nyjff.org.
Complete lineup and schedule available at nyjff.org.
The New York Jewish Film Festival is made possible by the Martin and Doris Payson Fund for Film and Media. Generous support is provided by Mimi and Barry Alperin, The Liman Foundation, Sara and Axel Schupf, Monica and Andrew Weinberg, a gift in memory of Max Weintraub, and through public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Additional funding is provided by the Office of Cultural Affairs, Consulate General of Israel in New York.
