New York Jewish Film Festival: 5 standout movies to see
Published January 11, 2017
Are this year’s Oscar contenders letting you down? The New York Jewish Film Festival begins its 26th year on Wednesday, and as always, its slate of films is diverse enough to please the most demanding cinephiles. Here are five flicks worth braving the cold to see at the Film Society of Lincoln Center during the festival, which runs between Jan. 11 and 24.
“Stefan Zweig, Farewell to Europe” (New York premiere)
Stefan Zweig is not a household name today, but in the 1920s the Austrian Jew was the most-read novelist in Germany — before committing suicide in Brazil, to where he escaped once the Nazis gained power. German actress Maria Shrader’s acclaimed film, which was Austria’s entry into the running for the Oscar for best foreign film, focuses on Zweig’s life in the 1930s, as tensions built in Europe.(Zweig also inspired Wes Anderson’s 2015 film “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” set in the pre-war Austria that was the author’s milieu.)
“Mr. Gaga” (New York premiere)
“Hummus! The Movie” (New York premiere)
“Shalom Rabin” (World premiere)
Award-winning Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai’s 2015 documentary “Rabin, The Last Day” powerfully chronicled the last days in the life of Yitzhak Rabin, the former Israeli prime minister who was assassinated in 1995 after signing the landmark Oslo Accords. Gitai’s latest, “Shalom Rabin,” is a complement to that film, including excerpts from an extended interview with the then-prime minister shortly before his death.
“Doing Jewish: A Story From Ghana” (U.S. premiere)