by Ara Rubyan | Sep 5, 2010
Wednesday, January 19, 2011, 7:00 PM
(German/Hungarian/English sub.) 112 minutes
Gloomy Sunday
Gloomy Sunday is a hauntingly beautiful gem of a movie, a unique blending of romance, drama, and tragedy all compressed under the relentless weight of history. The film lives and breathes, transporting viewers back to 1930s Budapest with beautiful cinematography, a fascinatingly poignant musical component, and the most human of characters. Known as the Hungarian suicide song, “Gloomy Sunday” forms the backdrop for the film and its characters. The film ran for a record-breaking 70 weeks in Boston. 
Deutscher Filmpreis 2000: Best Screenplay
Bavarian Film Awards 2000: Best Director, Best Cinematography
by Ara Rubyan | Sep 5, 2010
Thursday, January 20, 2011, 7:00 PM
(English) 90 minutes
The Front
The Front, the Festival’s first film retrospective, is a 1976 film about the blacklist during the age of live television written by Walter Bernstein, directed by Martin Ritt and starring Woody Allen and Zero Mostel. Because of the blacklist, a number of artists, writers, directors and others were rendered unemployable, having been accused of subversive political activities in support of communism or of actually being communists themselves. Howard Prince (Woody Allen), an apolitical man who needs money, agrees to become a front, signing his name to scripts submitted to a television network. Combining comedy and pathos, the film enlightens the viewer to the emotional consequences of blacklisting.
1977 Academy Award nominee for Original Screenplay
1977 BAFTA nominee for Best Supporting Actor – Zero Mostel
1977 Glolden Globe nominee for New Star of the Year – Andrea Marcovicci
by Ara Rubyan | Sep 5, 2010
Saturday, January 22, 2011, 7:30 PM
(English) 98 minutes
Where I Stand: The Hank Greenspun Story
Where I Stand: The Hank Greenspun Story is a documentary of the endlessly surprising life of this charismatic newspaperman, Vegas icon and real-life Zelig. Greenspun’s epic journey from associate of mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel to maverick founder of the Las Vegas Sun (and its long-running “Where I Stand’ editorial) features a colorful cast of characters including high-rolling businessmen and gangsters, movie stars, politicians, family and wheeler-dealer friends. Following Siegel’s murder in 1947, the crusading Greenspun rediscovered his Jewish heritage, and became a prominent guerrilla figure in Israeli politics and gun smuggling. Director Scott Goldstein combines archival stills, illuminating interviews, rare diary entries read by Anthony Hopkins, and atmospheric music to create a spirited, highly-stylized mosaic of Greenspun’s legendary escapades.
Speaker: Filmmaker Scott Goldstein
by Ara Rubyan | Sep 5, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010, 1:00 PM
(German) 94 minutes
Max Minsky and Me
Max Minsky and Me is a charming coming of age comedy that will appeal to all ages. Nelly Sue Edelmeister, a skinny Bat Mitzvah candidate and nerdy future astronomer, living in Berlin, wants to be on the girls’ basketball team to meet her “prince charming.” Trading her academic skills for Max Minsky’s basketball prowess produces lots of ups-and-downs both on and off the court.
by Ara Rubyan | Sep 5, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010, 3:30 PM
Three Short Films From Israel
Pesya’s Necklace follows Pesya Goldfarb, an 80-year-old survivor of the camps who accompanies her 17-year-old Israeli granddaughter on a school trip to Auschwitz. While in Poland, she is determined to find her parent’s home and uncover a golden necklace she and her sister hid on the day they were taken to Auschwitz. Pesya must also confront her secret, hidden for years. (Hebrew/English sub.) 35 minutes
A Jerusalem Tale: It is said that when a Jew is sad he cries; when he’s very sad, he sings; and when the pain is overwhelming, he dances. In this poignant film an elderly couple moves to Israel and faces a series of mishaps. (Hebrew/English sub.) 14 minutes
The Worst Company in the World: Love and humor are plentiful, but success is scarce in a small Tel Aviv insurance agency where nothing runs as it should. Perennially on the verge of bankruptcy, the failing agency is run by three middle-aged, divorced, and not particularly successful men. They may be highly intelligent, well-educated, warm and good-humored, but they have no inkling about running a business. This award-winning and refreshingly entertaining documentary offers an amusing behind-the-scenes look at the operations of the firm over one fiscal year, as the manager’s son – also the film’s director – joins this motley crew in a last-ditch attempt to save his father’s collapsing business. (Hebrew/English sub.) 50 minutes
