American Jewish Life

Abe

About the Film 
In this lighthearted Sundance dramedy, Noah Schnapp (Stranger Things) is a Brooklyn kid and son of an Israeli mother and Palestinian father. With the aid of a Brazilian chef and food blogger who believes mixing flavors can connect people, Abe hopes to unify his politically fraught, mixed-heritage family over a Thanksgiving feast.
Genre 
Narrative
Running Time 
85 minutes

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After Class

About the Film 
Justin Long leads an all-star cast in this edgy, Big Apple dysfunctional family dramedy about a 30-something college professor forced to defend his reputation. Josh is also beset with multiple family issues—divorcing parents and bickering siblings, among them—in this millennial urban tale that tackles changing social attitudes with humor, candor and compassion. With Lynn Cohen, Fran Drescher and Richard Schiff.
Genre 
Narrative
Running Time 
94 minutes

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The Bronx, USA

About the Film 
Seinfeld producer George Shapiro visits old stomping grounds in this star-studded, funny, nostalgic ode to New York’s northernmost borough. Decades after launching a successful showbiz career, Shapiro returns to the Bronx, kibitzing with friends about the glories of their immigrant neighborhood. The class of ’49 Bronx Boys also endearingly encounter students of today, at their high school alma mater. Notable Bronxites reminiscing include Carl Reiner, Gen. Colin Powell, Robert Klein, and Alan Alda, in this heartwarming walk down memory lane.
Genre 
Documentary
Running Time 
83 minutes

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Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn

About the Film 
An unflinching look at one of the country’s most vilified figures, this riveting profile of the closeted, self-loathing power broker reveals the man behind the Machiavellian mask. From McCarthyism’s chief architect to Trump mentor, Cohn’s amoral career stained U.S. politics. Filmmaker Ivy Meeropol, granddaughter of the Rosenbergs, executed as spies, adds a personal prism to this interrogatory account.
Genre 
Documentary
Running Time 
94 minutes

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A Cantor's Head

About the Film 

One of the world’s leading cantorial masters departs the bema, prompting questions about the fading tradition of Jewish sacred music. With an outsized Brooklyn persona and phenomenal voice, Cantor Jack Mendelson utterly leaps off the screen. But after 29 years, his synagogue prefers a younger cantor. With emotion, Mendelson and other experts explain a centuries-long art form, and what its loss represents.

Genre 
Documentary
Running Time 
87 minutes

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Jay Myself

About the Film 
After 50 years amassing random items in his Lower Manhattan mansion, revered photographer Jay Maisel plans to depart his Bowery nest. His iconic work includes magazine and album covers, advertising, and street photography. A compulsive collector, he crammed every corner of “The Bank”—his 72-room dwelling—with copious miscellany. But as it’s emptied, a melancholy Maisel waxes philosophical, resulting in an affectionate ode to a noteworthy life, the attritions of age, and the end of an era.
Genre 
Documentary
Running Time 
79 minutes

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Keeping the Faith

About the Film 
Edward Norton helms and co-stars in this sweet, spiritual comedy about an unusual love triangle: a rabbi and priest fall for the same woman. Friends since childhood, Brian (Norton) and Jake (Ben Stiller) are now servants of God. Their lives are upended with the return of Anna (Jenna Elfman), who’s become a high-powered workaholic beauty. Both are enchanted by her, sparking rivalry and dilemmas, in this fresh and funny date movie with a stellar supporting cast: Anne Bancroft, Milos Forman, Ron Rifkin, and Eli Wallach.
Genre 
Narrative
Running Time 
128 minutes

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Last Week at Ed's

About the Film 
In this fond farewell to a community fixture, a favorite West Hollywood diner serves its final meals. Since 1947, an eclectic mix of folks ate at Ed’s Coffee Shop, an old-school breakfast and lunch nook, first owned by Ed Blumstein and then his daughter. But after nearly 60 years, it’s closing, a victim of shifting demographics and competition. Hit hard by the news, close-knit staff and loyal customers share memories over last servings of classic comfort food. Former Ed’s regulars, Oscar nominees Lawrence Kasdan and wife Meg, direct this intimate passion project.
Genre 
Documentary
Running Time 
39 minutes

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The Mamboniks

About the Film 
Jewish soul and Cuban song mesh on the dance floor in this wistful look at the mambo mania that swept the nation in the ‘50s. Jewish Americans fell for Havana’s hot mix of sultry Latin and Afro-Cuban rhythms in neon-splashed New York, Miami’s art deco hotels, and the Catskills resorts. Against a big band soundtrack, the free-spirited mamboniks colorfully recall their love affair with the Cuban dance craze.
Genre 
Documentary
Running Time 
90 minutes

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The Rabbi Goes West

About the Film 
An idealistic rabbi brings Hasidic Judaism to Big Sky country, getting a mixed reaction from locals. Rabbi Chaim Bruk and family left Brooklyn’s bustle for Bozeman, Montana. Founding the state’s first Chabad center, he sets out to affix a mezuzah on every Jewish doorpost, but his big persona and proselytizing tactics are challenged by rabbis and Jewish neighbors. When neo-Nazism looms, ideological differences come to the fore. Gorgeous scenery lends a stunning backdrop to this appealing profile of religious pioneers in the American West.
Genre 
Documentary
Running Time 
78 minutes

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