Adults
Wednesday Matinee Day
From the earliest days of cinema history, films have depicted the challenges faced by immigrants drawn here by the promise of the American dream. These films cover three aspects of the immigration experience: The Journey, the Arrival, and The New Life.
Wednesday Matinee Day
Sin Nombre (2009) follows a Honduran family who want to join their relatives in New Jersey as they embark on a hazardous journey through Guatemala and Mexico on their way to the promised land. They are joined by a Mexican gang member seeking a new life. Directed by Japanese American director Cary Joji Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation, No Time to Die) who won the best director prize at Sundance.
The Immigrant (2013), Marion Cotillard portrays a Polish immigrant who arrives at Ellis Island only to be separated from her sister. She is befriended (or perhaps exploited) by a Jewish theatrical entrepreneur (Joaquin Phoenix) who promises to help reunite them. Directed by James Gray (Ad Astra, The Lost City of Z). Cotillard’s performance won her the best actress awards from both the New York Film Critics and the National Society of Film Critics.
Man Push Cart (2005) is the critically acclaimed debut feature of director/writer Ramin Bahrani. It depicts the day-to-day struggles of Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi), a former Pakistani rock star, who is now reduced to selling coffee and donuts from his pushcart on the streets of Manhattan.
Professor Dan Jatovsky will introduce the films with commentary, we’ll screen them together, and then he’ll lead the discussion following the film. Even if you’ve seen the movie, watching it as a community and discussing it with an expert makes for a richer experience. To read more about the series, read Prof. Jatovsky’s article in the JCC Cinema Seminar forum entitled Hollywood and the Immigrant Experience.
3 Wednesdays, 9/13, 9/20, 9/27, 10:30 am-1 pm, $12/$15 per film, all 3 $30/$40