Brandeis faculty take center stage at annual festival of National Center for Jewish Film

Boston screenings feature discussions with university faculty

An image from "Demon," a film featured in the NCJF Film Festival

Film screenings and panel talks are being held across the Boston area as part of the National Center for Jewish Film’s JEWISHFILM.2016 festival, including discussions featuring Brandeis faculty and the New England premiere of a film on campus.

On Monday, May 9, Brandeis will host the New England premiere of “Rabin, The Last Day,” which focuses on the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the 25-year-old man who killed him. The screening at Wasserman Cinematheque at 6:30 p.m. will be followed by a Q&A with film scholar Richard Peña. Tickets are available online.

Other festival events that involve Brandeis faculty are listed below. A full schedule can be found on the festival’s website:

  • “Carvalho’s Journey,” the New England premiere of the documentary of the life and work of Solomon Nunes Carvalho, an explorer and artist who photographed the terrain of the American West in the mid-19th century, followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Steve Rivo and Jonathan Sarna, the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, Thursday, May 5, 7:30 p.m., Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
  • “The Venice Ghetto, 500 Years of Life,” a documentary on the oldest ghetto in Europe and of the Venetian Jewish community, which celebrates its 500th anniversary this year, followed by a Q&A with Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Benjamin Ravid, Thursday, May 12, 5:30 p.m., Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
  • “By Sidney Lumet,” a documentary of the life of the legendary director, followed by a Q&A with professor of American studies Thomas Doherty, Sunday, May 15, 1:30 pm, West Newton Cinema.
  • “Arabic Movie,” a look at the Israeli popular-culture ritual of the weekly Friday afternoon TV broadcast of the “Arabic movie,” followed by a Q&A with Ari Ofengenden, assistant professor of Hebrew and director of the Hebrew Language and Literature Program, Thursday, May 19, 3:00 p.m., Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
  • “Demon,” the New England premiere of the modern interpretation of the Dybbuk legend, followed by a Q&A with Professor Emeritus of Holocaust Studies Antony Polonsky, Friday, May 13, 7:00 p.m., Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Tuesday, May 17, 7:00 p.m., Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline.
  • “The Law,” the Massachusetts premiere of the film that tells the story of French health minister Simone Veil’s fight to legalize abortion in France, followed by a Q&A with professor Shula Reinharz and Lisa Fishbayn Joffe, Wednesday, May 18, 7:30 p.m., Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
  • “Summer Solstice,” a drama set in 1943 in German-occupied Poland that focuses on two teenage boys — a polish railway worker and a jazz-loving German military policeman — followed by a Q&A with Professor Emeritus of Holocaust Studies Antony Polonsky, Thursday, May 19, 8:00 p.m., Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Categories: Arts

Return to the BrandeisNOW homepage