Opening Night

Remembering Gene Wilder

Monday, June 17

7 p.m.

92 minutes, English

**Candy & Flavored Popcorn Bar**

This loving tribute to Gene Wilder celebrates his life and legacy as the comic genius behind an extraordinary string of film roles, from his first collaboration with Mel Brooks in The Producers, to the enigmatic title role in the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, to his inspired on-screen partnership with Richard Pryor in movies like Silver Streak. It is illustrated by a bevy of touching and hilarious clips and outtakes, never-before-seen home movies, narration from Wilder’s audiobook memoir, and interviews with a roster of brilliant friends and collaborators like Mel Brooks, Alan Alda, and Carol Kane. Remembering Gene Wilder shines a light on an essential performer, writer, director, and all-around mensch.

iMordechai

Monday, June 24

7 p.m.

102 minutes, English

**iCe Cream Bar**

A heart-warming movie based on a true story, iMordecai stars Academy Award-nominated and two-time Emmy-winning actor Judd Hirsch (star of the Emmy-winning sitcom Taxi, Ordinary People, Independence Day) as Mordecai Samels and Academy Award-nominated actress Carol Kane (Hester Street) as his wife, Fela, both survivors from Poland, who are now living in Miami. Their son, Marvin (Academy Award-nominated actor Sean Astin, The Lord of the Rings), is an ambitious cigar maker trying to support his own family while still being there for his aging parents. But when Mordecai's ancient flip phone breaks, he starts to take lessons from Nina (newcomer Azia Dinea Hale), a young employee of Ultratech. She tutors Mordecai on his new iPhone, opening him up to all kinds of novel experiences and adventures, which makes him feel like a kid again. An uplifting comedy and a love letter to the city of Miami, iMordecai urges us all to live the one life we have to the fullest.

Vishniac

Monday, July 1

7 p.m.

93 minutes, English

**Regular popcorn & water**

Roman Vishniac is best known for having traversed Eastern Europe from 1935 through 1938, on assignment for the American Joint Distribution Committee, to photograph Jewish life in Eastern Europe. The purpose of the photographs was to raise funds for impoverished Jewish communities. Few predicted that, less than a decade later, these communities would be wiped out and that Vishniac’s photographs would provide the last visual records of an entire world.

After the war, Vishniac’s documentation continues with photographs of Berlin in ruins and children in displaced persons camps before he shifts his focus to groundbreaking scientific work. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Laura Bialis (Refusenik, Rock in the Red Zone), Vishniac goes behind the images and beyond the myths to portray a man who took those closest to him to the brink of rejection, yet gave the world a collection as diverse and beautiful as the eye can see.

The One and Only Jewish Miss America

** Post-film discussion with special guest, Director David Arond

Monday, July 8
7 p.m.
51 minutes, English

**Red, White, and Blue Candy & Popcorn Bar**

In September 1945, Bess Myerson, Miss New York City, made history at the most famous beauty pageant in the world. In spite of anonymous phone calls to judges, threats from sponsors, and growing antisemitism, the daughter of struggling immigrants from Russia became the first Jewish Miss America. The judges could not change the point count, the beauty queen from the Bronx won the swimsuit competition, tied for first place in talent and top-ranked in interview and evening gown categories. But was the country ready for a Jewish Miss America?

The film, Bess Myerson: The One and Only Jewish Miss America, tells the surprising story of Bess, her parents and sisters, and the Sholom Aleichem housing project that shaped so many Jewish families starting out in the United States. This one-hour documentary follows Bess from her improbable entrance in her local pageant through her heartbreak when sponsors withdrew their support and restricted tour stops closed their doors on Jews.

** Post-film discussion with special guest, Director David Arond

David Arond has directed and produced over a dozen documentaries in his career as a journalist and filmmaker. He said, “Bess Myerson’s story caught my attention because my 90-year-old mother was 15 in 1945 and she still talks about how her family was gathered around the big radio in their apartment in Chicago on the day that Bess Myerson won the Miss America crown. They were so excited to have a Jewish woman honored for her beauty and her talent... I made this film for her and all the people who do not know the levels of discrimination faced by Jews in this country: Jews were prohibited from entering some hotels and other public places, many colleges placed admission quotas on Jewish students, and Jews faced employment and housing discrimination. Some Jews even changed their last names and hid their Jewish identities to live and work without facing antisemitism.”

The Catskills

Monday, July 22
7 p.m.
85 Minutes, English

**Borscht Belt-Inspired Snacks and Surprises**

The Catskills is a feature-length documentary film on the rise and fall of the Borscht Belt.

With a trove of lost-and-found archival footage and a cast of characters endowed with the gift of gab, The Catskills journeys into the storied mountain getaway north of New York City that served as refuge for Jewish immigrants fleeing poverty as well as a lavish playground for affluent Jewish families.

Stand-up comedians share their best shtick while former waiters, entertainers, and dance instructors recount tales of the family-run resorts and bungalows that inspired films like Dirty Dancing.