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An enormously riveting and inspirational tale of WWII and the Holocaust, Partisans of Vilna chronicles the amazing endeavors of the Jewish resistance fighters.

Co-written by director Josh Waletzky (Image Before My Eyes) and producer Aviva Kempner, Partisans of Vilna skillfully blends songs, newsreels and rare archival footage dating from 1939-44 and contemporary interviews with forty partisan survivors (including Abba Kovner, a founder of the partisan movement and one of Israel’s leading poets).

The film explores the difficulties of organizing under the anarchic conditions of the ghetto in Vilna, the capital of Lithuania. Recounting how a commando unit was formed under tremendous risk to conduct sabotage missions against the Nazis, the film explores the moral dilemmas facing the Jewish youth who organized an underground resistance in the Vilna ghetto, and fought as partisans in the woods against the Third Reich.

More than just a record of great historical importance, Partisans of Vilna is an intensely stirring and uplifting commemoration of heroes during the darkest of times.

Featuring producer Aviva Kempner in conversation after both screenings.

Presented as part of 40 Years of Filmmaking: An Aviva Kempner Retrospective

Rosenwald is the incredible story of Julius Rosenwald, the son of an immigrant peddler who never finished high school, who rose to become the President of Sears. Influenced by the writings of the educator Booker T. Washington, this Jewish philanthropist joined forces with African American communities during the Jim Crow South to build 5,500 schools, providing 660,000 black children with access to education in the segregated American South.

Inspired by the Jewish ideals of tzedakah (charity) and tikkun olam (repairing the world) and a deep concern over racial inequality in America, Julius Rosenwald used his wealth to become one of America’s most effective philanthropists.

Recipients of Julius Rosenwald’s seminal Rosenwald Fund for African American artists and intellectuals include Marian Anderson, James Baldwin, Julian Bond, Ralph Bunche, W.E.B. DuBois, Katherine Dunham, Ralph Ellison, John Hope Franklin, Zora Neale Hurston, Jacob Lawrence, Dr. Charles Drew, Langston Hughes, Augusta Savage, and Gordon Parks.

Addressing needs brought about by the Great Migration, Rosenwald also funded the building of housing and YMCAs for African Americans.

Director Aviva Kempner in conversation following both screenings.

Presented as part of 40 Years of Filmmaking: An Aviva Kempner Retrospective

Yoo-Hoo Mrs Goldberg is the humorous and eye-opening story of television pioneer Gertrude Berg.

She was the creator, principal writer, and star of The Goldbergs, a popular radio show for 17 years, which became television’s very first character-driven domestic sitcom in 1949. Berg received the first Best Actress Emmy in history, and paved the way for women in the entertainment industry. Includes interviews with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, actor Ed Asner, producers Norman Lear (All in the Family) and Gary David Goldberg (Family Ties), and NPR correspondent Susan Stamberg.

Director Aviva Kempner will introduce the Saturday, November 16 screening and lead a conversation after the Tuesday, November 19 screening.

Presented as part of 40 Years of Filmmaking: An Aviva Kempner Retrospective

As Hitler invaded Europe, a young Jewish baseball player challenged Babe Ruth’s home run record. This is the story of how he became an American hero.

The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg is a humorous and nostalgic documentary about an extraordinary baseball player who transcended religious prejudice to become an American icon. Detroit Tiger Hammerin’ Hank’s accomplishments during the Golden Age of Baseball rivaled those of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

Included in the colorful collage of forty-seven interviews are Hank Greenberg and family members; sports figures Ira Berkow, Ernie Harwell, Joe Falls and Dick Schaap; fellow players Bob Feller, Charlie Gehringer and Ralph Kiner; fans Alan Dershowitz, Congressman Sander Levin and Senator Carl Levin; and actors Walter Matthau, Michael Moriarty, and Maury Povich.

Director Aviva Kempner in conversation after both screenings.

Presented as part of 40 Years of Filmmaking: An Aviva Kempner Retrospective

Moe Berg led two lives: one was of public accomplishment, easy grace, and dazzling intellect. Hidden from view was his career as an OSS operative, whose daring deeds helped prevent the Axis powers from developing an atom bomb.

Tagged the ‘brainiest man in baseball,’ the son of Jewish immigrants stumped collegiate competitors by calling signals in Latin, and was eventually called up to the majors—playing catcher for the Washington Senators and other clubs during baseball’s Golden Age.

He went on to join Babe Ruth on an All-Star tour to Japan, which brought his heroism, athletic career, and spy-craft together.

Director Aviva Kempner will lead a conversation after the Sunday, November 17 screening and introduce the Saturday, November 23 screening.

Presented as part of 40 Years of Filmmaking: An Aviva Kempner Retrospective

Loosely based on director Nadav Lapid’s (The Kindergarten Teacher) own experiences, the film follows young Israeli ex-soldier Yoav—played by newcomer Tom Mercier, in an incredible performance—who escapes his country and past to take up residence in Paris. Armed with a pocket-sized French dictionary, Yoav refuses to speak his native Hebrew as he desperately tries to immerse himself in French society. Living on only a few francs a day, he bounces from job to job on a wildly erratic journey, attempting to assimilate into a seemingly impenetrable culture.

Unpredictable yet kinetically assured, Lapid’s lucid assault against nationhood asks if individuals can ever be fully extricated from the society into which they were born. While Synonyms is loaded with ideas about identity, both personal and national, it’s the intense emotional impact of Yoav’s experiences that resonate so strongly.

-Note adapted from the Toronto International Film Festival

Film contains adult content, themes, and nudity

Based on real events, from visionary writer-director Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life, The Thin Red Line) A Hidden Life is the story of an unsung hero, Franz Jägerstätter, who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II.

When the Austrian peasant farmer is faced with the threat of execution for treason, it is his unwavering faith and his love for his wife Fani and children that keeps his spirit alive.

Screening courtesy of Fox Searchlight.

Nominated for 8 Israeli Academy Awards including Best Picture, Shoelaces tells the gently comic story of a complicated relationship between an aging father and his special-needs adult son.

Reuven’s (Doval’e Glickman, Shtisel) kidneys are failing and his son Gadi (Nevo Kimchi, Footnote, Restoration) wants to donate one of his own to help save his father’s life. However, the transplant committee objects, claiming that Reuven, acting as Gadi’s sole legal guardian after the recent passing of his mom, does not have the right to authorize such an invasive procedure.

Afraid of losing his father as well, Gadi feels he finally has the chance to do something meaningful and stand on his own, and he sets out to fight for his right to save his father’s life. Co-starring Yafit Asulin (The Women’s Balcony) and Evelin Hagoel (A Matter of Size, The Women’s Balcony), Shoelaces is a heartwarming story full of love, life, and human connection.