Noir ’47: The Year Darkness Came to LightThe murder of Dr. Richard Talbot is the central mystery of this film. In flashback, we see that he was a dedicated family man until he happens to be witness to a car accident.

Rochester Premiere A talented teenage Ukrainian gymnast (former Ukrainian national team gymnast Anastasia Budiashkina in a star-making role), exiled in Switzerland, dreams of Olympic gold in Elie Grappe’s multi-award-winning drama set in 2014. A subtle, tensely handled tale of exile reflecting the pressures on young athletes, the clash between the personal and the political, and a young woman’s search for who she is.

The New Classics | Member Movie Night Prior to being handed a twenty-year ban on filmmaking in 2011 (he has made a number of films under this restriction so far), Jafar Panahi was one of Iran’s most celebrated directors. Though overlooked on its release, the film went on to win the Caméra d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and launched the career of one of the most respected filmmakers in the world.

It’s a Disaster! In turn-of-the-century San Francisco, the Barbary Coast district is full of dance halls, saloons, and riff raff. Blackie Norton (Clark Gable), owner of the Paradise Cafe, is encouraged to run for supervisor to reform outdated city ordinances.

It’s a Disaster! Fox poached Janet Gaynor from Universal with the offer of a supporting role in this proto-disaster movie, a period melodrama inspired by the actual catastrophe that struck Johnstown, PA, in 1889. Live piano accompaniment by Dr. Philip C. Carli.

Noir ’47: The Year Darkness Came to Light When Bob Hunter (Zachary Scott) returns from a business trip, he is confronted with a crime scene at his house.

Rochester Premiere A celebrated Israeli filmmaker named Y arrives in a remote desert village to present one of his films at a local library. Struggling to cope with the recent news of his mother’s terminal illness, he is pushed into a spiral of rage when the host of the screening, a government employee, asks him to sign a form placing restrictions on what he can say at the film’s Q&A. Winner of the Jury Prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, this boldly shot and conceived work feels as though it has welled up from the depths of its maker’s soul.

The New Classics When Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) becomes the sole survivor of a busted mission intended to ferret out a mole in the Impossible Missions Force, he must put together a team of disavowed intelligence agents, including Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and Franz Krieger (Jean Reno).

Barrymore Family Album | Mr. & Mrs. Sidney Drew Shorts Program Sidney Drew was the brother of Georgiana Drew, who married Maurice Barrymore and gave birth to Lionel, Ethel, and John, making Sidney their uncle. Sidney Drew started acting on stage in the late nineteenth century with his first wife,

Rochester Premiere A family—father, mother, adult son, and six-year-old—drive across the Iranian flats, their destination unknown. There is a feeling that something is coming to an end as the older son remains quiet while the parents attempt to distract the boy and care for the sick dog they can’t seem to part with.

The Legend of Orpheus When Eurydice (Marpessa Dawn) arrives in Rio de Janeiro, she is greeted by a trolley driver named Orfeu (Breno Mello) and the pair instantly fall in love. There’s just one problem—Orfeu is engaged to Mira (Lourdes de Oliveira). Orfeu, however,  is not very enthusiastic about the upcoming nuptials. Juli Elliot and Hannah Duff, sopranos, Deborah Fox, theorbo. Singing music of Monteverdi.

The New Classics This multigenerational tale of law enforcement and racial prejudice along the Texas-Mexico border features a sterling set of performances and a dense, twisty mystery. New sheriff Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper) has returned to Frontera, Texas, after years away from his legendary father and previous sheriff, Buddy (Matthew McConaughey).

It’s a Disaster! The all-star film that started the disaster film craze in the 1970s, Airport is based on Arthur Hailey’s bestselling novel of the same name. Mel Bakersfeld (Burt Lancaster), the general manager of a Chicago-area airport, must contend with a massive snowstorm and the closure of its longest runway due to an airplane that is stranded on the field. Meanwhile, distraught construction worker D. O. Guerrero (Van Heflin) thinks he has solved his family’s financial problems by buying a large amount of life insurance before he boards his plane with a bomb.

Ames Amzalak Rochester Jewish Film Festival The Louis S. Wolk Jewish Community Center of Greater Rochester established the Ames Amzalak Rochester Jewish Film Festival (RJFF) in 2001 to present the best contemporary Jewish-themed films from around the world to the Rochester community.