Schedule:

Thursday, May 2, 2024

7:00 p.m: Opening Night: Left Alone Rhapsody at Carnegie Music Hall
Film Pittsburgh is excited to present JFilm Festival's Opening Night screening of Left Alone Rhapsody: The Musical Memoir of Pianist John Bayless!

This Pennsylvania premiere of Left Alone Rhapsody will be followed by:
A live performance by John Bayless
A Q&A with John Bayless and the film's director, Stewart M. Schulman
A dessert reception attended by John and Stewart!

Saturday, May 4, 2024

5:00 p.m: Remembering Gene Wilder at Mcconomy Auditorium
Gene Wilder was one of Hollywood’s most celebrated comedic actors, known for iconic roles including Willy Wonka and Leo Bloom. Throughout his storied career, he partnered with other comic legends including Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor and starred in box office hits such as Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, and Stir Crazy. This sweet and affecting documentary tells the story of a boy born Jerome Silberman to a Jewish family in Milwaukee, who simply wanted to make his ill mother laugh. Filled with hilarious clips and outtakes, never-before-seen home movies, and interviews with those who knew him best, this charming movie celebrates the life and legacy of a true mensch.

7:30 p.m: Listen at Mcconomy Auditorium
Dara Nevo, a young officer in Israel’s elite military intelligence unit, finds herself racing against the clock to find an Israeli soldier held hostage in Gaza. With the government prepared to swap her father’s killer for the captured soldier, Dara works feverishly to prevent the exchange from taking place. Listen, a taut thriller from director Omri Bezalel, navigates a complex web of personal and professional relationships in a daring portrayal of moral ambiguity, love, and loss.

Sunday, May 5, 2024

2:00 p.m: The Shadow of the Day at Mcconomy Auditorium
This suspenseful drama is set against the backdrop of the rise of Italian fascism in the 1930s and the increasing oppression of its Jewish community. Luciano, a WWI veteran and non-committal member of the fascist party, runs a local restaurant in the picturesque provincial town of Ascoli Piceno. Complications arise when he falls in love with Anna, a woman who works in the restaurant and is hiding her Jewish identity. A love triangle, a shocking murder, and stellar performances by an ensemble cast combine to capture the era’s oppressive atmosphere and the cost of personal survival in this gripping tale. (Adult content: sex)

5:00 p.m: No Name Restaurant at Mcconomy Auditorium
Ben (Luzer Twersky, One of Us) is an ultra-Orthodox Jew from Brooklyn sent to save the dwindling Jewish community in Alexandria, Egypt, by serving as the tenth man in the Passover minyan. Soon he’s stranded in the Sinai desert where he meets Adel, (Hitham Omari, Matchmaking, Bethlehem) a Bedouin who has lost his camel, and together they set off on an unexpected journey to fulfill separate agendas. Their cultural backgrounds clash, but eventually understanding and a friendship evolves, leading to a welcome and timely conclusion in this delightful dramedy.

Monday, May 6, 2024

7:00 p.m: The Boy in the Woods at The Oaks Theater
Join us for Film Schmooze led by Dr. Jonathan Zisook, University of Pittsburgh, after the screening.
Separated from his family, Max, a young Jewish boy, flees to escape the Nazis in Eastern Europe. He first finds refuge with a family in the country but is eventually forced to live in the woods on his own. His harrowing experience is one of both courage and compassion in which a young boy manages to survive against all odds. Based on the bestselling memoir by Canadian Holocaust survivor Maxwell Smart, The Boy in the Woods is a gripping tale that is both tragic and inspiring and serves as a stark reminder of this dark moment in history and the indomitable spirit of humanity.

Tuesday, May 7, 2024

7:00 p.m: The Catskills at The Oaks Theater
Join us for Film Schmooze led by Dr. Rachel Kranson, University of Pittsburgh, after the screening.
The Catskills is a delightful and nostalgic journey back to the golden era of the Borscht Belt. Director Lex Gillespie weaves together a tapestry of home videos, personal anecdotes, promotional images, and more to create a visual journey back in time. In the process, he joyfully reveals the rich history of the family-run resorts that served as a summer getaway for some, a refuge for others, and even inspired one of cinema’s most iconic films, Dirty Dancing. With humor and authenticity, Gillespie’s documentary reveals the rise and fall of these beloved resorts in “the Jewish Alps” and makes us yearn for a time gone by.

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

7:00 p.m: 999: The Forgotten Girls at The Oaks Theater
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Heather Dune Macadam.
Award-winning author of the international bestseller “999: The Extraordinary Young Women of the First Official Transport to Auschwitz,” Heather Dune Macadam directs this riveting documentary based on her critically acclaimed book. The first prisoners to arrive at Auschwitz were 999 unmarried, teenage Jewish girls sent by the Slovak government to meet the demands of the Nazis to provide a slave labor force. Macadam’s documentary reveals the important untold story of their unbreakable bonds and introduces a piece of Holocaust and women’s history that should never be forgotten.  

Thursday, May 9, 2024

7:00 p.m: Unspoken at The Oaks Theater
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Jeremy Borison.
Growing up, Noam was told he looked and acted just like his beloved grandfather did when he was young. This was comforting to the closeted gay teenager who often felt alone and out of place in his Modern Orthodox Jewish family. After his grandfather dies, Noam discovers a mysterious note in his belongings, suggesting they might have had more in common than either of them ever knew. Struggling with his own identity and hoping to find a sort of validation in his grandfather’s history, he sets out on an odyssey to discover the truth. With a star turn by actor/singer Charlie Korman, Noam’s journey becomes a heartfelt story of self-acceptance in this touching coming-of-age drama. With a nod to Glee, Director Jeremy Borison draws on personal experience to deliver a sweet and gentle tale with beautiful singing.

Friday, May 10, 2024

7:30 p.m: Haute Couture at The Oaks Theater
Jade is an aimless 20-year-old thief who lives in a cramped apartment with her ailing mother. But when she steals a handbag belonging to the head seamstress at Dior, a series of unexpected events is set in motion. Haute Couture is a witty and delightfully stylish modern-day Cinderella story and a glimpse behind the scenes of high fashion. Director and writer Sylvie Ohayon delivers a stunning and detailed look into the world of couture creation in a warm and relatable story of second chances. In the process, she shines a light on the extremely thin lines that separate the young and the old and the haves and have nots.

Saturday, May 11, 2024

5:00 p.m: Running on Sand at The Oaks Theater
Nominated for the Israeli Academy Award for Best Film, Running on Sand is a feel-good tale of mistaken identity. Aumari, a young Eritrean refugee in the process of being deported, is mistaken for a professional soccer player being brought to Israel to help save the struggling Maccabi Netanya team. Despite having no soccer experience, he plays along and somehow manages to reinvigorate the floundering squad. Amid their quest for victory, he finds himself falling for the team owner's daughter and worrying if his true identity will be uncovered. Starring the charismatic Congo-born actor Chancela Mongoza and a group of other African migrant actors, Running on Sand has both humor and heart and sheds light on the challenges faced by refugees.

7:30 p.m: Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortaro at The Oaks Theater
Based on the scandalous true story of a young Jewish boy, Edgardo Mortara, who was abducted from his family home in Bologna in 1858 on the orders of Pope Pius IX, Kidnapped is the latest film from legendary Italian director Marco Bellocchio. In operatic fashion Bellocchio tells this harrowing tale of the Mortara family and their efforts to get their child back. Despite the family’s desperate pleas and public outrage, the Pope stands firm. Their story reveals a dark chapter of historical tyranny in the church set against the backdrop of a nation on the verge of revolution.

Sunday, May 12, 2024

1:00 p.m: Shari & Lamb Chop at The Oaks Theater
Sweet treats from Oakmont Bakery will be available before the film beginning at 12:30pm. Special ticket price applies.
Take a trip back in time and be immersed in the joy and heartwarming creativity of Shari Lewis and her most beloved creation, partner, and puppet, Lamb Chop. Lewis, whose father was also an entertainer and her biggest champion, grew up in a Jewish family in the Bronx. Rising from her early experiences with children’s variety shows in the ‘50s, she soon debuted her iconic partner Lamb Chop on Captain Kangaroo. Shari Lewis went on to win 13 Emmys and a Peabody Award and authored more than 60 children’s books during her impressive career. Using archival footage, TV clips, and insightful interviews, director Lisa D’Apolito delivers a beautiful and heartwarming tribute to one of America’s most versatile and beloved entertainers of a generation.

4:00 p.m: Martha Lieberman: A Stolen Life at The Oaks Theater
Upper-class widow Martha Lieberman stubbornly refused to leave her beloved homeland, choosing to remain in war-torn Berlin. Despite her Jewish heritage, her reputation and that of her departed husband, famous painter Max Liebermann, had managed to keep her safe from the Nazis until early 1943. Faced with imminent deportation to a concentration camp, she is encouraged to sell some of her husband’s valuable paintings and use the funds to make her escape. Martha Lieberman: A Stolen Life, is the true story of this distinguished 85-year-old woman and the impossible choices she is forced to make. (Adult Content: violence, death by suicide)

Date: May 2 - 12, 2024

Locations:

Carnegie Music Hall, 4400 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15217
McConomy Auditorium, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
The Oaks Theater, 310 Allegheny River Blvd, Oakmont, PA 15139

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