SEPT. 7 – 30: Roman Polanski, a complete retrospective of his work including his early student films as well as such acclaimed works at “The Pianist,” “Chinatown,” “Knife in the Water” and “Rosemary’s Baby.” Museum of Modern Art (11 W. 53rd St.). For information go to www.moma.org.
Sept. 11: “Manhattan,” arguably Woody Allen’s best film, certainly one of his most deeply felt. A love letter to the city, it is a nice choice for the tenth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. BAMcinématek, BAM Rose Cinemas (30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn). For information go to www.bam.org.
Sept. 16: “Berlin 36,” a new drama by Kaspar Heidelbach, focuses on the plight of Jewish high jumper Gretel Bergmann (Karoline Herfurth) as the 1936 Berlin Olympics approach. The German coach is a confirmed Nazi who doesn’t want her on the team, despite her world-class status. But her chief competitor is also a good friend. Quad Cinema (34 W. 13th St.); for information go to www.quadcinema.com.
Sept. 18: “God’s Fiddler” a new documentary portrait of the great Jascha Heifetz, gets a sneak preview at the 92nd St. Y (92nd St. and Lexington Ave.) at 7:30 p.m., and another preview at the JCC in Manhattan (76th St. and Amsterdam Ave.) on Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m. Then it opens on October 28 at the Quad Cinema (34 W. 13th St.).
Sept. 30-Oct. 16 : The 49th annual New York Film Festival, features a number of Jewish filmmakers and Jewish-themed subjects, starting with the Opening Night film, “Carnage” directed by Roman Polanski. Add to that David Cronenberg’s take on the Freud-Jung rivalry, “A Dangerous Method,” and two new Israeli films, Joseph Cedar’s “Footnote” and Nadav Lapid’s “Policeman.” At the Walter Reade Theatre (165 W. 65th St.) and other near-by locations. For information go to www.filmlinc.com.
Oct. 14: “Connected: An Autoblogography about Love, Death & Technology,” a new film by Tiffany Shlain, whose hilarious short “The Tribe” used the Barbie doll as a brilliant lens through which she examined what it means to be Jewish-American. The new film takes the metaphor a step further, using the Internet and the ever-growing array of social media as a vehicle for ruminations on not only Jewish but human identity. Theater to be announced.
Nov. 10-17: The fifth annual Other Israel Film Festival. Forget the artificial controversy surrounding the festival, which focuses on Israeli Arabs. This is an important event, an opportunity to see some Israeli films that might not get shown here any other way, and a chance to hear a variety of viewpoints that don’t make it into the U.S. media. JCC in Manhattan (76th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.) For information, go to www.otherisrael.org.
Nov. 30: “Khodorkovsky,” a new German documentary about Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a half-Jewish former Russian oligarch-turned-apostle of freedom, once the richest man in Russia, now a prisoner of the post-Soviet state since 2003. Is he a victim, a villain or both? One thing is certain, his plight proves that when it comes to a system of justice, Vladimir Putin’s Russia isn’t all that far removed from Stalin’s or Ivan the Terrible’s. The film will play for two weeks at Film Forum (209 W. Houston St.). For information, go to www.filmforum.org.
Dec. 13-20: Russian-Jewish Cinema, part of a weeklong program of events relating to the history and current state of the Jewish community in Russia, including several films about Jewish artists and the Jewish-Russian diaspora around the world. JCC in Manhattan (76th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.) For more information, go to www.jccmanhatan.org.
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