Norman Mailer, 'Brighton Beach' docs highlight Cinema Arts Centre's Long Island Jewish Film Festival
Carol Stein and Susan Wittenberg from 1980 documentary film "Brighton Beach," which will be screened at Cinema Arts Centre's Long Island Jewish Film Festival. Credit: Indiecollect
The Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington will hold its second Long Island Jewish Film Festival this weekend, offering a small but ambitious six-film lineup.
“This is like an annual fixture on our schedule now,” said Dylan Skolnick, the Cinema’s co-director. “And we plan to keep doing it into the future.”
Last year’s festival arrived at a time of heightened concerns over antisemitism; this year’s comes at an even more fraught moment as the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza sparks emotional debates on college campuses. Nevertheless, the festival isn’t intended to push any political viewpoints, according to Skolnick and returning programmer David Schwartz. Both say it’s intended only to highlight Jewish cinema, as any culturally minded festival might.
“This was not part of any agenda,” Schwartz said. “I just programmed the strongest films that were out that have Jewish themes.”
Last year’s event drew sold-out crowds, according to Skolnick, strengthening his belief that audiences will leave their couches for a theater — if they can see something truly different. “They’re looking for programs that have films they wouldn’t otherwise know about, films with guest speakers, all the things that come under the auspices of a special event,” Skolnick said. “That’s part of what we do in general, all the time.”
Tickets for the festival, which runs May 3 to May 7, cost $16-$18 and can be purchased through the Cinema’s website, cinemaartscentre.org. Here’s the full schedule:
KIDNAPPED (Friday and Sunday at 7 p.m.) In 19th century Italy, an ailing Jewish infant is baptized by well-meaning caregivers. Years later, however, Papal State law mandates that the child is a Christian — and now must be taken from his family.
THE OTHER WIDOW (Saturday at 2 p.m.; Tuesday at 7 p.m.)
Ania Bukstein and Dana Ivgy from 2022 film "The Other Widow." Credit: Lama Films/Cup of Tea/Tobina Films
A woman decides to attend shiva for her suddenly deceased lover — who happened to be a married man. Schwartz calls the film “a great character study, beautifully written and performed and directed.” Screenings will be accompanied by a prerecorded Q&A with filmmaker Maayan Rypp.
THE GOLDMAN CASE (Saturday at 4 p.m.; Monday at 7 p.m.) Cédric Khan’s courtroom drama features Arieh Worthalter as Pierre Goldman, a real-life French left-wing militant who made headlines in the early 1970s following a string of robberies that left two dead.
HOW TO COME ALIVE WITH NORMAN MAILER (Saturday at 7 p.m.)
"How to Come Alive with Norman Mailer" will be screened at Cinema Arts Centre's Long Island Jewish Film Festival, Credit: Zeitgeist Films & Kino Lorber
A documentary on one of America's definitive literary lions, who chalked up six marriages, nine children, 11 bestsellers, three arrests and two Pulitzer Prizes. The screening will be accompanied by a prerecorded Q&A with director Jeff Zimbalist.
THE ANCIENT LAW (Sunday at 2 p.m.)
"The Ancient Law," a 1923.silent movie that is seen as a precursor to "The Jazz Singer," will be screened at the Cinema Arts Centre's Long Island Jewish Film Festival. Credit: Long Island Jewish Film Festival
In this German silent, the son of a rabbi breaks with tradition to pursue an acting career. Sound familiar? E.A. Dupont’s 1923 drama preceded “The Jazz Singer” by several years, though it remains little known outside the world of cinema scholarship. Organist Donald Sosin and violinist Alicia Svigals will accompany the film live, performing their original score.
BRIGHTON BEACH (Sunday at 5 p.m.) This overlooked documentary from 1980 (recently restored by IndieCollect, a nonprofit film preservation organization) focuses on the Brooklyn neighborhood of its title, famous then as now for its Russian Jewish population. Susan Wittenberg, one of the film’s two directors, will speak at the screening.
