November 2019

Resources Available from the Greater Altoona Jewish Federation

The Federation has a collection of films on DVD and VHS available for loan at no cost. Call the office if you are interested at 515-1182 or e-mail altfed@atlanticbb.net.

Documentaries

100 Voices: A Journey Home - 91 minutes, documentary.  A musical documentary that uniquely tells the history of Jewish culture in Poland. It highlights the current resurgence of Jewish culture through the personal reflections and musical selections of a group of cantors and acclaimed composer Charles Fox who made an important historical mission to the birthplace of Cantorial music. The documentary will give new generations the opportunity to learn about and re-embrace the Jewish culture that produced one of the most artistic and educated societies that once flourished in Europe. The film celebrates the resilience and the power of Jewish life, while telling the story of two peoples who shared intertwined cultures.

20th Century Indifference & Injustice, VHS, English.  Elie Wiesel spoke on 4/12/1999 about the violence of the 20th Century and how indifference has led to many of the atrocities of the century, including the Holocaust and the current crisis in the Balkans. After his remarks, President Clinton reacted to the comments by speaking about U.S. involvement in the NATO mission in Yugoslavia and about the need for civil society. 

2000 Holocaust Commemoration

Above and Beyond, DVD, 90 minutes, English. In 1948, just three years after the liberation of Nazi death camps, a group of Jewish American pilots answered a call for help. In secret and at great personal risk, they smuggled planes out of the U.S., trained behind the Iron Curtain in Czechoslovakia and flew for Israel in its War of Independence. As members of Machal – “volunteers from abroad” – this ragtag band of brothers not only turned the tide of the war; they also embarked on personal journeys of discovery and renewed Jewish pride.

A Film Unfinished, DVD, 90minutes. The film exposes Nazi propaganda about life in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust.  It utilizes actual 1942 archival footage and separates reality from propaganda.

Against the Tide, DVD, 104 minutes.  A compelling film that documents what happened in the US during the Holocaust, highlighting how a young activist, Peter Bergson, challenged Washington and theestablishment Jewish organizations to demand that the rescue of Europe’s Jews become a top priority for American Jews.

Ahead of Time, Documentary, DVD, 73 minutes. For seven decades foreign correspondent and photojournalist Ruth Gruber didn’t just report the news…she made it.  Guber defied tradition from the beginning, Becoming the world’s youngest PhD at age 20. In a trailblazing career that included authoring 19 books, Gruber reported from the Soviet Arctic, escorted Holocaust refugees on a secret war-time mission, and stunned the world with dispatches from the Palestine-bound ship Exodus in 1947.

American Idealist, DVD, 87 minutes.  In the shadow of the Vietnam War and assassinations and rebellions at home, Robert Sargent Shriver launched a string of social inventions and arguably touched more lives than any leader since FDR.

(The) Anatomy of Hate, A Dialogue of Hope, DVD, Documentary, 86 minutes. It was filmed over five years with unprecedented access to Christian Fundamentalists, White supremacists, Israeli Settlers, Palestinian Militants, US Soldiers in Iraq, and Capital Murders.  The result is a film, which provides an emotional and intellectual insight into the common mechanisms present in all acts of violence, war, and hate-and through this exploration leads to a most unexpected conclusion- Hope. 

American Lives - Jewish Stories, VHS, 46 minutes. Personal stories are used to explore the challenges and joys of being Jewish in America. There are 3 vignettes with a discussion guide.

Among the Righteous: Lost Stories from the Holocaust in Arab Lands , DVD, 60 minutes. Robert Satloff, head of a respected Washington policy center, set off in the wake of 9/11 on what would become an eight-year journey to find an Arab hero whose story would change the way Arabs view Jews, themselves and their own history. Along the way, Satloff found not only the Arab heroes whom he sought, but a vast, lost history of what happened to the half-million Jews of the Arab lands of North Africa under Nazi, Vichy and Fascist rule. Robert MacNeil narrates.

Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century, The Resurgence, DVD, 60 minutes. There has been an increase in anti-Semitic incidents since the year 2000, particularly in Western Europe. In addition, there is an alarming increase of anti-Semitic rhetoric in many Arab and Islamic communities, especially in the mainstream media. What is fueling it and what threats does it pose?

(The) Architecture of Doom, DVD, 119 minutes.  This film captures the inner workings of the Third Reich and illuminates the Nazi aesthetic in art, architecture and popular culture. The Nazis went from banning modernist art to forced euthanasia of the retarded and sick, and finally to the persecution of homosexuals and the extermination of the Jews.

A Sacred Duty, DVD, 59 minutes. This documentary addresses the environmental crisis now facing humanity. With global warming threatening catastrophic impacts, it is imperative that we respond quickly to help shift our imperiled planet to a sustainable path. The message of the film is founded upon the ancient teachings of the Torah and other Jewish scriptures.
As Seen Through These Eyes, DVD, English, 74 minutes.  As Maya Angelou narrates this powerful documentary, she reveals the story of a brave group of people who fought Hitler with the only weapon they had: charcoal, pencil stubs, shreds of paper and memories etched in their minds.  These artists took their fate into their own hands to make a compelling statement about the human spirit, enduring against unimaginable odds.

Black Fox: The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler, DVD, 87 minutes. This is a revealing film story of Adolf Hitler's ambition, his passion, his demonic will, his million-fold murders. The picture is also a study in-depth of those tragic rivers of history which made Hitler's rise possible and which came to confluence in an apocalypse of 50 million dead and a large part of the world in anguish and ruin. Narrated by Marlene Dietrich, this video won the 1962 Academy Award for best Documentary Feature.

Blessed is the Match, DVD – 2 versions, 85 minutes and 45 minutes. The life and death of Hannah Senesh, poet, early Zionist and freedom fighter.

Bonhoeffer, DVD, 90 minutes. This documentary sheds light on the little-known efforts of the German resistance. It brings to a wide audience the heroic rebellion of Bonhoeffer, a highly regarded Lutheran minister who actively opposed Hitler and the Nazis. He could have kept his peace and saved his life on several occasions but instead paid the ultimate price for his beliefs. The Nazis hanged him on April 9, 1945, less than a month before the end of the war.

Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy, DVD, 84 minutes.  This entertaining documentary mingles cultural history with illuminating perspectives on the origins and meanings of some of Broadway’s most beloved songs, stories and shows. 

Broken Silence, DVD (TV Miniseries), 4 hours, 43 minutes. This collection of five different films, each directed by a different director from a different country, offers an eloquent and unforgettable series of interviews with Holocaust survivors, many of them children during the 1940s.

Bullied, DVD, 40 minutes. The true-life story of Jamie Nabozny. The film documents the bullying that Jamie endured for years. Firsthand accounts from Jamie and his mother allow viewers to glimpse the humiliation and emotional pain that Jamie experienced, not only at the hands of the bullies, but also as a result of the detachment of the school administrators in Jamie’s Wisconsin schools. After years of mistreatment at the hands of bullies, written off by school officials as “boys being boys,” Jamie decided to do something about the abuse and filed the landmark LGBTQ court case Nabozny v. Podlesny. The case became the federal precedent that clarified the constitutional obligation of school systems to protect gay students from abuse and bullying.

(The) Case for Israel: Democracy’s Outpost, DVD, 78 minutes.  Film presents a vigorous case for Israel - for its basic right to exist, to protect its citizens from terrorism, and to defend its borders from hostile enemies.

Constantine’s Sword, DVD, 95 minutes. Former priest, James Carroll confronts what he considers “persecution and violence in the name of God – today and in the church’s past,” beginning with the Emperor Constantine’s vision of the cross as a sword and a symbol of power and continuing to the rise of genocidal anti-Semitism to modern day conflicts sparked by religious extremism.

Courage to Care: Rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust. VHS, 28 minutes. These are interviews with ordinary people who refused to succumb to Nazi Tyranny. They fed strangers, kept secrets and provided hiding places.

(The) Courageous Heart Of Irena Sendler, DVD, 90minutes. In the Warsaw Ghetto 1941, Irena Sendler, a Polish Christian saves the lives of 2500 Jewish children.  She has been honored at Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations.

(A Journey to) Darfur, DVD, 30 minutes. In April 2006 veteran journalist Nick Clooney was asked by his son, George, to accompany him to the troubled region of Darfur. This documentary is an account of their journey, the stories of unimaginable violence that have befallen the Darfurians and the courage of the aid workers who struggle to provide relief to 200,000 refugees.

Defiant Requiem, DVD, 85 minutes, English.  This is the little-known story of the Nazi concentration camp, Terezin.  Led by imprisoned conductor Raphael Schächter, the inmates of Terezin fought back…with art and music.  Through hunger, disease, and slave labor, the Jewish inmates of Terezin hold onto their humanity by staging plays, composing opera and using paper and ink to record the horrors around them.  This creative rebellion reaches its peak when Schächter teaches a choir of 150 inmates one of the world’s most difficult and powerful choral works, Verdi’s Requiem, re-imagined as a condemnation of the Nazis.  The choir would ultimately confront the Nazis face to face…and sing to them what they dare not say.

Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War, DVD, 90 minutes, English. Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War tells the story of a daring rescue mission that occurred on the precipice of World War II. It tells the previously untold account of Waitstill and Martha Sharp, an American minister and his wife from Wellesley, Massachusetts, who left their children behind in the care of their parish and boldly committed to a life-threatening mission in Europe. Over two dangerous years they helped save scores of imperiled Jews and refugees fleeing the Nazi occupation across Europe.

Deli Man, DVD, 91 minutes, English. Jewish culture reflects the heart of a vital ethnic history.  As that culture continues to shift and adapt alongside mainstream America, delicatessen food remains a beloved communal delicacy.  In Houston, TX, third generation deli man Ziggy Gruber has built arguably the finest delicatessen restaurant in the US.  This is his story.

(The) Devil Came on Horseback, DVD, 85 minutes. An uncompromising look at the crisis in Darfur using the testimony of a former U.S. Marine, Brian Steidle. The film shows the genocide and Steidle’s advocacy since his return to the USA.

Divan, DVD, 77 minutes, English, Yiddish and Hungarian with English subtitles.  To reclaim an ancestral couch upon which esteemed rabbis slept, Pearl Gluck travels from her Hasidic community in Brooklyn to her roots in Hungary. Along the way, a colorful cast of characters gets involved – the couch exporter, her ex-communist cousin in Budapest, a pair of matchmakers, and a renegade group of formerly ultra-Orthodox Jews. Divan is a visual parable that offers the possibility of personal reinvention and cultural re-upholstery.
Elusive Justice, DVD, 120 minutes. This documentary begins with the Nuremberg trials of the immediate postwar era and ends with the present-day dismantling of Nazi war crimes units throughout the world. Major cases and manhunts are reconstructed and analyzed. The narrative is supported with interviews, location sequences, news reel footage and intelligence material, much of it never before seen.

Escape from Auschwitz, DVD, 60 minutes. This 2008 PBS feature tells the incredible story of two young Slovak Jews who managed to escape by hiding in a woodpile for three days and then fleeing across enemy territory.

Ever Again, DVD, 74 minutes. This film examines the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe and its connection to international terrorism and Islamic extremism. It points out the shift from the traditional anti-Semitism of the right to that of the extreme left.

Exodus 1947, DVD, 60 minutes. After World War II, a group of private American citizens banded together in a clandestine effort to transport Holocaust survivors to Palestine. On July 11, 1947, 4,500 Jewish refugees were crammed into the hull of a decrepit steamship, later named Exodus 1947. Exodus 1947 is the true story of boat that created a nation. Narrated by Morley Safer.

Fate Did Not Let Me Go, DVD, Documentary. August 24, 1942, Trapped by history, a loving mother writes a farewell letter to her son just days before she dies in the Thereseinstadt concentration camp during the Holocaust.  Lost for nearly 50 years, the letter mysteriously reaches her son in 1985, when he is 79 years old.

Fighter, DVD, 86 minutes, DVD, English.  Filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev follows two Czech Holocaust survivors, Jan Weiner and Arnost Lustig, as they revisit Terezin, a labor camp where Arnost was interned for five years and Jan's mother was murdered.

Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story, DVD, 87 minutes.  Two story arcs that will tragically and heroically connect.  The first is the dramatic Entebbe hijack and rescue, 8 days when a nation held its breath and executed a military miracle that redefined the Jewish Nation’s call “Never Again!”  The second is the remarkable life story of Jonathan Netanyahu, a young soldier who struggled to find the balance between the people and the Nation he loved. 

(The) Forgotten Refugees, DVD, 49 minutes. The history and destruction of Jewish communities in the Middle East and Northern Africa – some of which existed for 2500 years. These “forgotten refugees” number about 800,000 and were forced to leave Arab countries due to the creation of the State of Israel.

Genocide, DVD, 83 minutes. This is a powerful and sad look at the Holocaust, "The Final Solution" by the Nazi evil to exterminate the Jewish race. With a fantastic narration by Orson Welles and Elizabeth Taylor, and a dramatic score by Elmer Bernstein, "Genocide" is both a documentary about the time when a lack of humanity almost eliminated an entire race from European soil, and a film that cries for people to remember the six million lives taken by the powers of evil.

GI Jews, DVD, 90 minutes, English subtitles. The profound and unique story of the 550,000 Jewish men and women who served in World War II. Through the eyes of the servicemen and women, the film brings to life the little-known story of Jews in World War II – as active participants in the fight against Hitler, bigotry and intolerance. These brave men and women fought for their nation and their people, for America and for Jews worldwide. Like all Americans, they fought against fascism, but they also waged a more personal fight—to save their brethren in Europe. After years of struggle, they emerged transformed, more powerfully American and more deeply Jewish, determined to continue the fight for equality and tolerance at home.

Great Jewish Achievers, VHS, 55 minutes.The goal of the film is to help instill pride in Jewish children through celebrating the contributions of Jewish people to all phases of life. Target audience is children ages 11 and older. A discussion guide is included.

(The) Green Prince, DVD, 101 minutes, English & Hebrew.  As a defiant teenager growing up in Palestine, Mosab Hassan Yousef’s fervor against Israel was unquestionable, ultimately landing him in prison. Shaken by Hamas’s brutality within the prison’s walls and a growing disgust for their methods, particularly suicide bombing, he had an unexpected change of heart and began to see Hamas as more of a problem than a solution. Recruited by the Shin Bet (Israel’s internal security agency) and given the code name "Green Prince," he spied on the Hamas elite for over a decade, constantly risking exposure and certain death while grappling with the perception that he had betrayed his own family and people. Along the way, what started as a cautious alliance between Mosab and his Shin Bet handler Gonen Ben Yitzhak grew into an enduring loyalty that no one could’ve ever predicted.

Hava Nagila: The Movie, DVD, 75 minutes, English. The song you thought you knew.  The story you won’t believe. Hava Nagila is much more than a tale of Jewish kitsch and bad bar mitzvah fashions. It carries with it an entire constellation of history, values and hopes for the future. In its own believe-it-or-not way, Hava Nagila encapsulates the Jewish journey over the past 150 years. It also reveals the power of one song to express and sustain identity, to transmit lessons across generations and to bridge cultural divides and connect us all on a universal level.

Hitler’s Pawn, VHS, 60 minutes, English.Tells the story of Margaret Lambert, a Jewish athlete whose dreams of competing in the 1936 Olympics were crushed by Hitler’s regime, even as it used her to avoid an American boycott of the games.

Holocaust - Echoes of Darkness, VHS, 46 minutes.  Altoona Area High School. Survivors telling the history, beginning of the war, into concentration camps and escape.  Students telling about their parents and grandparents.

Human Failure, DVD, 91 minutes, German with English subtitles. The expropriation of assets from German Jews, during the Third Reich, benefitted virtually every German citizen. It was not only the Gestapo who invaded Jewish residences in order to confiscate all property, from bank accounts to the last shirt, it was the German tax officials. A competition evolved between bureaucrats as to how to organize the robbery of the Jews before they were expelled, or sent to their deaths.

I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal, DVD, 105 minutes. Wiesenthal, a Holocaust survivor who lost 89 family members, helped track down 1,100 Nazi war criminals and dedicated six decades to fighting anti-Semitism and prejudice against all people.

Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust, VHS, 90 minutes. Hollywood was reluctant to peer into the darkness of the Holocaust and anti-Semitism. It is only in recent years that the realism of the concentration camp has been depicted.

In Search of Peace – Part 1 1948-1967, DVD, 112 minutes. The documentary chronicles the first two decades of Israel’s existence offering new insights into the origins of the Middle East conflict.

Inside Hana’s Suitcase, DVD, 94 minutes. The poignant story of two young children who grew up in pre-WWII Czechoslovakia and the terrible events that they endured just because they happened to be born Jewish.

Israel, Appointment with Destiny, DVD, 47 minutes.This is a historical portrayal of the Jews and Zionism and Israel produced by Christians, reflecting on their sometimes unfair and discriminatory treatment of Jews.

Jerusalem: Center of the World, DVD, 120 minutes. This documentary about the 4,000 year history of Jerusalem was just shown on PBS. It explores the convergence of the world’s three major monotheistic religions in this holy city.

(The) Jewish Americans, DVD, 6hours, PBS series. It traces 350 years of Jewish American history from the arrival of the first Jews in 1654 up to the present day.
(The) Jewish People: A Story of Survival, DVD, 90 minutes. From slavery to the loss of their homeland; from exile to anti-Semitism; form pograms to near annihilation in the Holocaust, how did they endure while so many other communities have vanished?

Jewish Soldiers in Blue and Gray, DVD, 86 minutes. This film is a first-of-its-kind film that reveals the little-known struggles facing American Jews both in battle and on the home front during the nation’s deadliest war. This Documentary reveals an unknown chapter in American history when allegiances during the War Between the States deeply split the Jewish community.

Jews in Baseball, DVD, 91 minutes. This film traces the Jewish involvement in the history of the sport from the game's earliest days, through the tumultuous war years to today's All-Star games. By analyzing various stages in this history, including how the legendary Sandy Koufax pioneered rights for players and Hank Greenberg's support of Jackie Robinson, the film demonstrates how Jews shaped baseball, and baseball shaped them.

Joe Papp in Five Acts, DVD, 84 minutes, English. Joe Papp in Five Acts is the story of New York’s indomitable, street-wise champion of the arts who introduced interracial casting to the American stage, brought us free Shakespeare in the Park, Hair, and A Chorus Line, and nurtured many of our greatest playwrights, directors, and actors. Using his life and work as its prism, the film explores the issues he chose to champion: freedom of expression; democracy in the arts; the definition of American culture. 

(The) Journalist and the Jihadi – The Murder of Daniel Pearl, DVD, 80 minutes, narrated by Christiane Amanpour.The film tracks the parallel lives of Wall Street Journal reporter, Daniel Pearl and Jihadi, Omar Shrekh. Both are highly educated individuals from privileged backgrounds, but there the similarities end.

Journey of Faith, DVD, 11 min. Journey of Faith is an engaging 10-minute trigger film which discusses the importance of conversion to Judaism of a non-Jewish spouse in an interfaith family. It tells the true story of Douglas and Jodi Smith’s conversion from an interfaith family to a Jewish family. Parents of two young children, Douglas converted to Judaism in 2005 and later that year, Douglas and Jodi were married in the Jewish tradition by a rabbi on their tenth wedding anniversary.

King, A Filmed Record…Montgomery to Memphis, DVD, 181 minutes, English (2 disc set).  Constructed from archival footage, the film follows Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from 1955 to 1968, in his rise from regional activist to world-renowned leader of the Civil Rights movement.

(The) Lady in Number 6, DVD, 39 minutes, English.  At 109 years old, Alice Herz Sommer still practiced the piano for two and a half hours each day. She remained fiercely independent and attributed her long life, less to "good genes" than to "good music". A relentlessly positive and optimistic outlook plus her deeply held belief in the essential goodness of her fellow man kept Alice Herz Sommer alive for over a century. Not only was she the oldest living person in London, England, but she was the oldest survivor of Hitler's Holocaust. It has often been said that fear and hatred eat the soul – but conversely might it also be argued that love – of life, of those around us – and in Alice's case – of music, can nourish the soul and liberate the spirit? To the end day Alice never tired of saying; "Music saved my life and Music saves me still".

(The) Last Survivor, DVD, 88 minutes, English. The Last Survivor presents the stories of genocide survivors and their struggle to make sense of tragedy. They work to educate, motivate and promulgate a civic response to mass atrocity crimes, with a focus on awareness, prevention and promoting social activism and civic engagement. (Screener & 1 copy is also a screener)

(The) Long Way Home, DVD, 115 minutes. This Academy Award winning documentary examines the critical post World War II period from 1945-1948 and the plight of tens of thousands of refugees who survived the Nazi Holocaust and their often-illegal attempts to get to the Jewish home land. 

Making Trouble (A project of the Jewish Women’s Archive), DVD, 85 minutes. A journey with three generations of funny Jewish women. Defying cultural expectations and changing the rules. Molly Picon, Fanny Brice, Sophie Tucker, Wendy Wasserstein and Gilda Radner and Joan Rivers successfully went from vaudeville and the Yiddish theater to Broadway, from Ziegfeld’s Follies to Saturday Night Live.

March of the Living 2011, DVD, 2 disc set. The March of the Living is an annual educational program, which brings students from all over the world to Poland, in order to study the history of the Holocaust and to examine the roots of prejudice, intolerance and hate. Since the first March of the Living was held in 1988, over 200,000 participants, from 35 countries, have marched down the same path leading from Auschwitz to Birkenau on Holocaust Remembrance Day. 2011 program.

Milestones of the Civil Rights Movement (To Form a more Perfect Union), DVD, 38 minutes. A powerful and compelling journey documenting the ten milestones of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950's and 1960's emphasizing rare and unseen archival video footage of the actual events. Strong emphasis on the non-violent aspects of the Civil Rights Movement and the pivotal role played by the Supreme Court.

Next Year Jerusalem, DVD, 73 minutes, English. Choosing life in life’s final chapter is the poignant subtext of the new independent documentary Next Year Jerusalem, a lyrical portrait of eight nursing home residents who travel to Israel on a tour. Earnest and nuanced, Next Year Jerusalem is a poetic exploration of living and dying, hope and fear, travel and memory.  It is a celebration of human experience and a reverent tribute to life's eldest travelers.
Never Forget to Lie, DVD, 60 minutes. Marian Marzynski’s autobiographical exploration of his own wartime childhood and the experiences of other child survivors, teasing out their feelings about Poland, the Catholic Church, and the ramifications of identities forged under circumstances where survival began with the directive “never forget to lie”.
Nicky’s Family, DVD, 90 minutes.  A nearly forgotten story of Nicholas Winton, an Englishman who organized the rescue of 669 Czech and Slovak children just before World War II.  Winton, now 102 years old, did not speak about these events with anyone for more than 50 years until his wife found a suitcase in the attic, full of documents and transport plans.  Today the story is known all over the world and thousands of children have decided to follow in his footsteps by developing projects that help in the saving of lives of sick children in Cambodia and Africa. 
Night and Fog, DVD, 31 minutes. The history of Nazi Germany's death camps of the Final Solution and the hellish world of dehumanization and death contained inside.

No Place on Earth, DVD, 83 minutes, English.  While mapping out the largest cave system in Ukraine, explorer and investigator Chris Nicola discovers evidence that five Jewish families spent nearly a year and a half in the pitch-black caves to escape the Nazis. This is the story of the longest uninterrupted underground survival in recorded human history.

No. 4 Street of Our Lady, DVD, 95 minutes. This is a remarkable, yet little known story of a Polish-Catholic woman who rescued 15 of her Jewish neighbors during the Holocaust. The film draws on excerpts from a diary kept by one of the survivors, Moshe Maltz, whose granddaughter, Judy, a Penn State Professor, is one of the filmmakers.

One Survivor Remembers, DVD, 39 minutes. Coproduced by the U.S.Holocaust Memorial Museum Research Institute,this Academy Award-winning documentary relates the harrowing story of Gerda Weissmann Klein and her journey of survival and remembering both before and after the war.

Orchestra of Exiles, DVD, 85 minutes, English. In the early 1930’s Hitler began firing Jewish musicians across Europe. Overcoming extraordinary obstacles, violinist Bronislaw Huberman moved these great musicians to Palestine and formed a symphony that would become the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. With courage, resourcefulness and an entourage of allies including Arturo Toscanini and Albert Einstein, Huberman saved close to 1000 Jews - along with the musical heritage of Europe.

Out of Ashes, VHS, 113 minutes.  Based on a true story, this heart-wrenching film follows the journey of Gisella Perl (Christine Lahti), a Jewish-Hungarian doctor who manages to survive Auschwitz. Decades later, she's applying for U.S. citizenship when she becomes accused of colluding with the Nazis. Her judge and jury are three INS investigators who must decide her fate.

Out of Faith, DVD, 82 minutes. This is the story of how marriage outside of the faith places stress on three generations of a Chicago area Jewish family. It gradually becomes a portrait of the Welbel family’s iron willed matriarch Leah, whose survival of Auschwitz and Birkenau makes her strong, but defines her for the rest of her life.

(The) Outrageous Sophie Tucker, DVD, 96 minutes, English.  Known as the “Last of the Red Hot Mamas”, Sophie Tucker and her smoky voice worked through vaudeville, the first talking motion pictures and eventually television.  Born into an Orthodox Jewish family, Sophie wasn’t what you would expect for a star.  She wasn’t exactly beautiful, but her voice, attitude and humor were enough to pack the house.

Paperclips, DVD, 84 minutes.The students in a Tennessee middle school studied the Holocaust as a way of learning about intolerance and diversity. In 2001, their paperclip project culminated in a unique memorial.

Praying with Lior, DVD, 87 minutes.  A documentary about a Jewish boy, Lior, who has Down syndrome. The film follows Lior and his family as they prepare for Lior's bar mitzvah.

Protocols of Zion, DVD, 95 minutes. A documentary about the rise of anti-Semitism in the USA after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Rape of Europa, DVD, 117 minutes. This astonishing and timely documentary tells the epic story of the systematic theft, deliberate destruction and miraculous survival of Europe’s art treasures during the Third Reich.

Refusenik, DVD, 117 minutes. The epic story of freeing the Soviet Jews is told in this documentary. What began as a fledgling gathering of students and housewives forty years ago grew into a human rights movement that eventually freed one and a half Soviet Jews and cracked the seemingly impenetrable wall of Soviet Communism.

(The) Ritchie Boys, DVD, 90 minutes.  The untold story of a group of young men who fled Nazi Germany and returned to Europe as soldiers in US-uniforms. They knew the psychology and the language of the enemy better than anybody else. In Camp Ritchie, Maryland, they were trained in intelligence and psychological warfare. Not always courageous, but determined, bright, and inventive they fought their own kind of war. They saved lives. They were victors, not victims.
(A) Sacred Duty, DVD, 60 minutes.  The film focuses on Jewish teachings about caring for the earth, treatment of animals, and the environment, with a focus on vegetarianism. Interviews with rabbis, activists, and scholars are interspersed with footage and stills illustrating the points being discussed.

Shanghai Ghetto, DVD, 95 minutes. Thousands of European Jews were shut out of country after country while trying to escape Nazi persecution in the late 1930’s. A beacon of hope materialized in an unlikely place, Japanese-controlled Shanghai, where refugees sought a new home.

Sophie Scholl - The final days, DVD, 117 minutes.  The last six days of Sophie Scholl’s life: a heart-stopping journey from arrest to interrogation, trial and sentence in 1943 Munich.  Unwavering in her convictions and loyalty to her comrades, her cross-examination by the Gestapo quickly escalates into a searing test of wills as Scholl delivers a passionate call to freedom and personal responsibility that is both haunting and timeless.

Soul of the Garden, DVD, 54 minutes, English. Exploring the garden of life, by Tom Spencer.

Standing Silent, DVD, 85 minutes, English. Phil Jacobs, editor of the Baltimore Jewish Times, has begun writing and publishing a series of articles about sexual abuse in the Orthodox Jewish community. He has found what he believes to be clear evidence that several respected rabbis have been able to avoid arrest and recrimination due to the control they wield over the community. Jacobs fights the orthodox establishment to bring to light the pain and suffering of hundreds of survivors. At the same time he reveals a deep, personal truth which takes the story to a remarkable climax.

(The) Story of the Jews, DVD, 295 minutes on 2 DVD’s, English. Simon Shama presents an epic 5-part series exploring the extraordinary story of the Jewish experience from ancient times to the present day.  The story presents a compelling argument about distinctiveness and difference, separation and isolation, tolerance and prejudice, but it is also a celebration of the ways in which Jewish thought, Jewish imagination, and Jewish achievement have transformed the world for us all.

Swimming in Auschwitz, 2 DVD set, 63 minutes.  Documents the plights of six women who each ended up in the notorious Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during WWII and the shocking inhumanities they endured.

Tak for Alt, Survival of the Human Spirit, VHS or DVD, 60 minutes. This award-winning documentary is the life story of Judy Meisel, Holocaust survivor and civil rights activist.

(The) Third Reich, DVD, 180 minutes. This film uncovers familiar anecdotes and fascinating details about the people who comprised the Nazi Party, and raids the treasure trove of archives the Nazis left behind, including rarely seen German newsreel recordings along with other unique footage carried home by Russian troops.

Three Stories of Galicia, DVD, 83 minutes. The film follows the stories of three characters during and after the Second World War in the region of Eastern Europe called Galicia: a Jewish family that chose to save its worst enemy, a Ukrainian woman who sacrificed her children to save her country and a Polish priest who risked everything to end the sectarian hatred that tore at his parish.

Triumph of Memory, VHS, 29 minutes. Four non-Jewish Nazi survivors, a Frenchman, a Norwegian, a Czech, and a Russian, speak about their experiences in concentration camps and memories of the Holocaust.

Unmasked Judeophobia, DVD, 88 minutes. This film isa meticulous examination of rising anti-Jewish ideology. Filmmaker Gloria Greenfield travels from Israel to Europe to North America, covering this phenomenon from all angles, including Christian and Islamic polemics against Jews, the proliferation of anti-Israeli bias in academia and cultural institutions, misinformation campaigns and state-sanctioned denials of Israel’s right to exist.

Voices of Auschwitz, DVD, English, 47 minutes. CNN's Wolf Blitzer hosts a one-hour documentary marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp with personal testimony from survivors.

Walking the Bible, DVD, 168 minutes.  Both a heart-racing adventure and an uplifting quest, Walking the Bible describes one man's epic odyssey—by foot, jeep, rowboat, and camel—through the greatest stories every told. From crossing the Red Sea to climbing Mount Sinai to touching the burning bush, Bruce Feiler's inspiring journey will forever change your view of some of history's most storied events.
Watermarks, DVD, 77 minutes, English, Hebrew and German/English subtitles. A heartwarming film that narrates the story of the champion women swimmers of the legendary Vienna sports club. Hakoah – it is a tale of survival and friendship.

Elie Wiesel at the White House, DVD, 90 minutes.  As part of the millennium series, Wiesel is the guest of President and Mrs. Clinton and speaks about “Indifference in the 20th Century”.

Worse Than War, DVD, 120 minutes.  Based on Daniel Goldhagen’s book of the same tilte. is apersonal exploration of the nature of genocide, ethnic cleansing and large-scale mass murder.  Documenting Goldhagen’s travels, teachings discussions and opinions, the film offers profound insight into genocide’s dimensions, causes and patterns, and the role it plays in politics and human affairs. 

(A) Yiddish World Remembered, DVD, 60 minutes, English.  The story of Jewish life in the shtetls (villages) of Eastern Europe is told by some of the last remaining eyewitnesses, the great-grandmothers and grandfathers from this devastated Yiddish world, whose numbers dwindle every day. Through their words, the cities and shtetls of Eastern Europe come alive again, accompanied by archival films, vintage photographs and traditional klezmer and cantorial music.

Yoo Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg, DVD, 92 minutes.  Adocumentary film on the broadcast career of Gertrude Berg and her radio and television serials, The Goldbergs. The filmaddresses developments contemporaneous with the years of The Goldbergs, Kristallnacht, the American Nazi German-American Bund and right-wing radio lecturer Father Coughlin. It also deals with Berg's struggle against the McCarthy Era blacklisters and the influence of Red Channels. The film ends with the end of the television program and Berg's post-Goldbergs professional career. 

Music

A Taste of Chanukah, VHS, 60 minute. A holiday concert with varied artists performing songs and prayers.

A Taste of Passover, VHS, 60 minutes. A celebration of the joys and music of the holiday, hosted by Theodore Bikel.

The Cantors, VHS, 90 minutes. This concert features three world famous cantors who are featured in a PBS special.

Feature Films

1945, DVD. 91 minutes, Hungarian with English subtitles. On a sweltering August day in 1945, villagers prepare for the wedding of the town clerk's son. Meanwhile, two Orthodox Jews arrive at the village train station with mysterious boxes labeled "fragrances." The town clerk fears the men may be heirs of the village's deported Jews and expects them to demand their illegally acquired property back, originally lost during the second World War. Other villagers are afraid more survivors will come, posing a threat to the property and possessions they have claimed as their own.

Aftermath, DVD, 110 minutes, Polish.  Franek and Jozek Kalina, sons of a poor farmer, are brothers from a small village in central Poland. Franek immigrated to the United States in the 80’s, and cut all ties with his family.  Only when Jozek’s wife arrives in the US, without explanation, does Franek finally return to his homeland. Franek discovers that Jozek has been ostracized from the community, and constantly receives various threats. As Franek and Jozek struggle to rebuild their relationship, they are drawn into a gothic tale of intrigue. The two brothers eventually uncover a dark secret that forces them to confront the history of their family and their hometown.

All I’ve Got, DVD, 72 minutes, Hebrew with English subtitles.  A 72-year-old grandmother dies and finds herself on a ferry which will take her across the river to the hereafter. On the ferryboat she meets her first love, who was killed in a road accident in which they were both involved when they were young. She is presented with a fateful choice: to start life afresh as a 22-year-old - her age at the time of the accident - and to relinquish all her memories of the life she has lived with her husband and children; or to remain a 72-year-old woman with all her life’s memories intact. If she chooses the second alternative she will get off the boat when it reaches its destination and will never be truly reunited with her.

American History X, DVD, 119 minutes. Yinyard (Edward Norton), a charismatic leader of a group of young white supremacists lands in prison for a brutal, hate-driven murder.  Upon his release, ashamed of his past and pledging to reform, Vinyard realizes he must save his younger brother from a similar fate. 

Annie Hall, DVD, 93 minutes, English.  A romantic comedy following two mismatched New York neurotics:  Alvy,  a New York City TV writer and Annie, his aspiring actress/singer girlfriend who's originally from the Midwest. Alvy is an extreme pessimist that obsesses over the subject of death and has very sarcastic and cynical views about the world and the people around him. Annie is a ditsy and clumsy talented singer and photographer. When Alvy and Annie meet for the first time they are instantly attracted to each other and as a result their conversations are awkward but never the less adorable. The film takes you through the couple's love lives, before and after their relationship.

Arranged, DVD, 90 minutes, English.  Two young women — one an Orthodox Jew, the other Muslim — meet and become friends as first-year teachers at a public school in Brooklyn. Over the course of the year they learn they share much in common, not least of which is that they are both going through arranged marriages.

(The) Band’s Visit, DVD, 87 minutes, English, Hebrew & Arabic with English subtitles. On an ordinary day, the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra arrives in Israel from Egypt for a cultural event, only find there is no delegation to meet them, nor any arrangements to get to their destination of Petah Tiqva. When they find their own ride, they arrive instead at the remote town of Beit Hatikva. Stuck there until the next morning's bus, the band, lead by the repressed Tawfiq Zacharaya, gets help from the worldly lunch owner, Dina, who offers to put them up for the night. As the band settles in as best it can, each of the members attempts to get along with the natives in their own way. What follows is a special night of quiet happenings and confessions as the band makes its own impact on the town and the town on them.

Beaufort, DVD, 126 minutes, Hebrew with English subtitles. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2008. It is the story of Israeli soldiers in a fort in occupied Lebanon. It is a “haunting anti-war movie” – New York Times.

Beau Jest, DVD, 98 minutes.  When Sarah Goldman, a lovely young school teacher in Chicago, wants to please her parents, she invents a boyfriend whom she believes will be the man of her mother's dreams. When her parents insist on meeting the man, Sarah hires Bob, an actor, to pretend to be her "beau". The masquerade works flawlessly for a time and brings comic situations, but in the end, their lives are irrevocably changed.

Bee Season, DVD, 104 minutes. Richard Gere stars in this gripping tale about a father obsessed with training his daughter for the National Spelling Bee. Eliza Naumann (Flora Cross) demonstrates such an amazing gift for spelling any word given to her that her father Saul (Richard Gere) insists on coaching her himself. But as Eliza’s success continues, Saul’s newfound devotion grows...causing huge changes for the entire family. The film touches on Kaballah, Mysticism and getting closer to God.

Berlin ’36, DVD, 100 minutes, German with English subtitles.  Based on the true story of Gretel Bergmann who unwittingly became the biggest threat to the Nazi party in 1936.  Berlin was hosting the summer Olympic Games and Gretel was one of Germany’s best gold medal contenders.  She was also Jewish.  Her skill and ethnicity undermined the Nazi belief that Aryans were the superior race, so the German authorities schemed to replace Gretel with another woman - but “she” had a secret that, if uncovered, could be even more embarrassing to the Nazis.

Black Book, DVD, 145 minutes, in Dutch, German, English and Hebrew with English Subtitles. This is a gripping World War II thriller about resistance to the Nazis by the Dutch in 1944. Black Book also presents a complex moral drama. No one - neither resistance fighter nor Nazi soldier - is ever exactly who he appears to be.

Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi, DVD, 98 minutes, Hebrew with English subtitles.A warm and witty family comedy that centers on Shlomi, a 16 year old boy who plays the role of peacekeeper within his chaotic family. The pressures of being constant mediator, confidant and cook leave Shlomi little time to develop his own personality. But when one of his teachers detects an extraordinary gift Shlomi never knew he had, aided by the power of first love, Shlomi breaks out of his timid shell, discovering his own independence and potential.

(The) Book Thief, DVD, 131 minutes, English.  When her mother can no longer take care of her, Liesel is adopted by a German couple.  Although she arrives illiterate, Liesel is encouraged to learn to read by her adoptive father.  When the couple then takes Max, a Jew hiding from Hitler’s army, Liesel befriends him.  Ultimately, words and imagination provide the friends with an escape from the events unfolding around them.

(A) Borrowed Identity, DVD, 104 minutes, Hebrew with English subtitles. Gifted Eyad (Tawfeek Barhom), a Palestinian Israeli boy, is given the chance to go to a prestigious Jewish boarding school in Jerusalem. As he desperately tries to fit in with his Jewish schoolmates and within Israeli society, Eyad develops a friendship with another outsider, Jonathan (Michael Moshonov, Lebanon) a boy suffering from muscular dystrophy, and gradually becomes part of the home Jonathan shares with his mother, Edna (Yael Abecassis, Kadosh, Alila, To Live and Become). After falling in love with Naomi (Daniel Kitsis), a Jewish girl, he leaves school when their relationship is uncovered, and he discovers that he will have to sacrifice his identity in order to be accepted. Faced with a choice, Eyad will have to make a decision that will change his life forever.

Boynton Beach Club, DVD, 95 minutes.A heartwarming romantic comedy about adults in their sunset years who refuse to go gently into the balmy night.

(The) Bracelet of Bordeaux, DVD, 99 minutes, English (SCREENER). Someone is dognapping the canine citizens of Chem City, Texas! Two pre-teen girls overcome danger and conspiracies as they set out to solve the crime and administer justice with the help of a magical bracelet. As the girls battle the Mob, a punk gang and a crooked cop they learn something about friendship, courage and hanging with the right crowd.

Cast a Giant Shadow, DVD, 138 minutes, English. Part fact, part fiction, it dramatizes Israel’s heroic 1947-1948 struggle for independence. It chronicles the work of Colonel Mickey Marcus who created an army to defend the new state and features an all-star cast.

(The) Cemetery Club, Feature Film, DVD, 107minutes. When three spirited widows throw caution to the wind and go in search of eligible bachelors, they discover that the transition from mating to dating is a tricky proposition filled with unexpected surprises. 

Chariots of Fire, DVD, 124 minutes.  The inspiring true story of Harold Abrahams, Eric Liddell and the team of England’s finest athletes on their quest for glory at the 1924 Olympic Games.  Success brings honor to their nation as one of its greatest sports victories.  For two runners, the honor at stake is a personal honor…and their challenge is one from within.

Conspiracy, DVD, 96 minutes. The film is based on the only surviving record of the Wannsee Conference where Reinhard Heydrich and Adolf Eichman sealed the fate of European Jewry with approval of the “Final Solution.”

(The) Counterfeiters, DVD, 99 minutes, German with subtitles. Academy Award winner as best foreign film. Salomon Sorowitsch is the king of counterfeiters. He is arrested and thrown into a concentration camp where he is forced to produce fake foreign currency under the program Operation Berhard.

Crossing Delancey, DVD, 97 minutes, English. Can an independent, contemporary woman find happiness with a guy who sells pickles? Isabelle Grossman is an attractive, intelligent Jewish woman in her early 30s. She has a good job and a nice apartment on the Upper West Side, and she values her independence; she often visits her grandmother Bubbie, who lives on the Lower East Side and wants Isabelle to meet a nice Jewish man and settle down. Bubbie goes so far as to obtain the services of Hannah Mandelbaum, a matchmaker who finds the "perfect" man for Isabelle: a pickle salesman named Sam Posner. Isabelle thinks Sam is a nice enough guy, but she has a hard time imagining herself spending her life with the pickle man, and she isn't sure if she wants to pursue the relationship. However, Sam is taken with Isabelle and goes out of his way to change her mind.

David and Fatima, DVD, 120 minutes. A Romeo and Juliet story set in the Jerusalem of today where David, a young Israeli Jew falls in love with Fatima, a beautiful Palestinian Muslim girl.

(The) Debt, DVD, Feature Film, 97 minutes. German and Hebrew/Subtitle. In the mid -1960’s, three young Israeli secret agents teamed up to capture a Nazi doctor who had conducted ghastly experiments on death camp prisoners.  When he tried to flee he was shot dead- or was he? More than 30 years later, the three agents, now retired, learn that the monster they risked their lives to destroy may have escaped alive.

(The) Debt, DVD, 114 minutes, - English. Three young Mossad agents capture the Surgeon of Birkenau, a monstrous Nazi war criminal. While being brought to public trial, the Surgeon manages to escape. Faced with failure in their mission, the agents report their captive committed suicide and return to Israel as national heroes. More than thirty years later, the supposedly dead Surgeon resurfaces in the Ukraine, determined to confess his crimes. Rachel Brener, one of the three Mossad agents, must now track down and silence the Surgeon in order to protect the life and reputation she has built upon her fabricated past.

Defiance, DVD, 136 minutes.  Jewish brothers in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe escape into the Belarussian forests, where they join Russian resistance fighters and endeavor to build a village in order to protect themselves and about 1,000 Jewish non-combatants.

Denial, DVD, 1 hour, 49 minutes, Drama, English, German, Hebrew. DENIAL recounts Deborah E. Lipstadt's legal battle for historical truth against David Irving, who accused her of libel when she declared him a Holocaust denier. In the English legal system, in cases of libel, the burden of proof is on the defendant, therefore it was up to Lipstadt and her legal team, led by Richard Rampton, to prove the essential truth that the Holocaust occurred.

(The) Devil’s Arithmetic, 95 minutes, English.  This is another telling of the holocaust, but this time from the perspective of a modern teenage girl who only grudgingly accepts the Jewish traditions, but when she is asked to "open the front door" as part of the Seder feast finds herself, not unlike Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, to have entered the 1940's and has stepped into the life of a prisoner in one of the German death camps where she experiences all of its horrors firsthand.

(The) Diary of Anne Frank – 50th Anniversary Edition, DVD, 179 minutes, This is the original George Stevens’ production from 1959 and includes special features. Nominated for 8 Oscars in 1959 and winner of 3, it tells the story of 13 year old Anne and her family’s being hidden from the Nazis in occupied Amsterdam.

Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story, DVD, 104 minutes, French with English subtitles.  An anxious crowd of refugees surrounds the Consulate of Portugal, an officially ‘neutral’ nation. The Portuguese Consul is a man named Aristides de Sousa Mendes. But Portugal’s Prime Minister Salazar has forbidden its diplomats to open Portugal’s borders to ‘undesirables’ –specifically Jews, refugees from occupied countries, and ‘stateless’ persons.  The Consul, plunged into a moral crisis, takes to his bed for three days. Should he disobey, and thus jeopardize his career and the safety of his family? When he emerges from his room his hair has turned white. But his face is calm as he announces his decision: he will issue visas to anyone who asks!

Dough, DVD, 94 minutes, English.  Jonathan Pryce (Pirates of the Caribbean, Game of Thrones) and Pauline Collins (Shirley Valentine) star in this hilarious comedy that shows you don't have to be baked to make some DOUGH! An old Jewish baker (Pryce) takes on a young Muslim apprentice (Jerome Holder) to save his failing kosher bakery. When his apprentice's marijuana stash accidentally falls in the mixing dough, the challah starts flying off the shelves! DOUGH is a warmhearted and humorous story about overcoming prejudice and finding redemption in unexpected places.

East/West, DVD, 125 minutes, French/Russian with English & French subtitles.  Film follows the plight of a young couple and their child as they choose to go back to the Soviet Union in 1946.  Their arrival is a rude one.  Interrogations are followed by the grim reality of post-war Soviet Union.  Marie (wife) soon starts to rebel against the circumstances, but her husband finds that his talents are needed and appreciated by the authorities, so he starts to get ahead.  She must face a terrifying choice: to leave her husband and child for freedom, or stay and confront a grim future.

Enemies, A Love Story, DVD, 1 hour, 59 minutes, drama, English.  Set in 1949 New York, a Holocaust survivor who makes a living as a ghostwriter for a Jewish rabbi, finds himself involved with three women - his current wife, a passionate affair with a married woman, and his long-vanished wife whom he thought was killed during the war and suddenly reappears. The film concentrates on the views of the Jewish survivors, who no longer abide by religious morales and question a God who could let the Holocaust occur.

Everything is Illuminated, DVD, 1 hour, 46 minutes, English, PG-13. Tale of a young man's quest to find the woman who saved his grandfather in a small Ukrainian town that was wiped off the map by the Nazi invasion. What starts out as a journey to piece together one family's story under the most absurd circumstances turns into a surprisingly meaningful journey with a powerful series of revelations -- the importance of remembrance, the perilous nature of secrets, the legacy of the Holocaust, the meaning of friendship and, most importantly, love.

(The) Exception, DVD, 1 hour, 47 minutes, English, Rated R. A German soldier tries to determine if the Dutch resistance has planted a spy to infiltrate the home of Kaiser Wilhelm in Holland during the onset of World War II, but falls for a young Jewish Dutch woman during his investigation.

Exodus, DVD, 3 ½ hrs, English.Inspired by Leon Uris’ best seller, the film chronicles the birth of Israel. It stars Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint and features and Academy Award winning score.

Family Law, DVD, 100 minutes, Spanish with English subtitles.A touching comedy about a young husband who must learn to become a good son before he can be a good father.

Fateless, DVD, 140 minutes, Hungarian with English subtitles. Set in 1944, a 14 year old boy from Budapest is separated from his family and taken to a concentration camp. It is a surreal adventure in adversity and adaptation.

Fiddler on the Roof, VHS, 178 minutes, English.  The life-affirming story of Tevye, a poor milkman whose love, pride and faith help him face the oppression of turn-of-the-century Czarist Russia.

Fighter, DVD, 86 minutes, English, NR.  A unique adventure unfolds as two friends take a risky road trip into their past. Together, Jan Wiener and Arnost Lustig -- both survivors of Hitler's invasion of Czechoslovakia and now living in America.

Focus, DVD and VHS, 106 minutes. The film is based on the Arthur Miller’s story and stars William H. Macy and Linda Dern in a story of anti-Semitism in New York during WWII.

Footnotes, Feature Film, DVD, 106 minutes, Hebrew subtitles. Footnote is the tale of a great rivalry between a father and son, two eccentric professors, who have both dedicated their lives to work in Talmudic Studies.  The father, Eliezer, is a stubborn purist who fears the establishment and has never been recognized for his work.  his son, Uriel, is an up-and coming star in the field, who appears to feed on accolades, endlessly seeking recognition.

For My Father, DVD, 96 minutes, Hebrew & Arabic with English subtitles.  A suicide bomber becomes dependent on the kindness of strangers when his explosives won't detonate, giving him time to meet some of the people he's targeting.

Freedom Writers, DVD, 122 minutes, English.  A dedicated California teacher finds a way to unify her disadvantaged, racially divided students and to improve their grasp of academics, partly by having them keep journals about their violent, troubled lives.

(The) Frisco Kid - DVD, 114 minutes, Yiddish and English, comedy. Gene Wilder plays Polish rabbi , Avram Belinsky, who intends to set up a congregation in San Francisco. Eminitely unsuited for life in the Old West, poor Avram is victimized by everyone with whom he comes in contact, Salvation arrives in the unlikely form of taciturn bank robber Tommy, (Harrison Ford). Incredibly, Tommy takes a liking to the feckless Avram, and together the two men embark on a series of seriocomic adventures.

Gentleman’s Agreement, DVD, 118 minutes (black & white).  Gregory Peck plays a journalist assigned to write a series of articles on anti-Semitism.  Searching for an angle, he decides to pose as a Jew - and soon discovers what it is to be a victim of religious intolerance.

The German Doctor, DVD, 93 minutes, Spanish with English subtitles.  Set in 1960 South America, a German doctor meets an Argentine family and follows them to a small town where the family is starting a new life.  Eva, Enzo and their children welcome the doctor into their home and entrust their youngest daughter to his care - unaware that he is a notorious war criminal.  At the same time, Israeli agents are desperately looking to bring ‘the German Doctor’ to justice.

Gloomy Sunday, DVD, 114 minutes, German with English subtitles.This bittersweet love story flashes back from the 1990’s to the 1930’s in Budapest. A hit song of the 1930’s, “Gloomy Sunday” was the inspiration for the film.

(The) Grey Zone, DVD, 108 minutes, English.  The story of five prisoners in the Auschwitz concentration camp as told through the memoirs of Dr. Miklos Nyiszil, a Hungarian Jew chosen by Josef Mengele to be the head pathologist at Auschwitz.

Hate Crime, DVD, 104 minutes. A provocative thriller, Hate Crime delves deep into intolerance, challenging audiences to question their own prejudices as they witness the heartbreaking consequences of hate and a family's painful quest for retribution.

Hester Street, DVD, 89 minutes. Carol Kane and Steven Keats star in the story of the trials and tribulations of a young Jewish immigrant couple as they discard their old world traditions and adjust to life in New York City in the early 1900’s.

(The) Hiding Place, DVD, 150 minutes, English. In this inspiring true story of Holocaust survivor Corrie ten Boom, a family joins the underground resistance. But when they themselves are arrested and imprisoned in concentration camps, they realize the importance of their own faith.

Holocaust, DVD, 7hrs 29 minutes (3 disc set). The saga of a Jewish family's struggle to survive the horror of Nazi Germany's systematic marginalization and extermination of their community.

(The) Human Resources Manager, DVD, 104 minutes, Romanian & English with English subtitles. A tragi-comedy centered on the HR manager of Israel's largest industrial bakery, who sets out to save the reputation of his business and prevent the publication of a defamatory article.

I am David, DVD, 90 minutes. It is adapted from the novel “North to Freedom” and tells of a 12 year old boy’s escape from a post WWII labor camp and personal journey through Europe to freedom.

Ida, DVD, 80 minutes, Polish with English & French subtitles. On the eve of her vows, 18 year-old novice Anna meets her estranged aunt Wanda, a cynical Communist judge who shocks the naïve Anna with a stunning revelation. Anna is Jewish and her real name is Ida.  Tasked with this new identity, Ida and Wanda embark on a revelatory journey to their old family home to discover the fate of Ida’s birth parents and unearth dark secrets dating back to the Nazi occupation.

In Darkness, Feature Film, DVD, 144 minutes, Polish/subtitles. From acclaimed director Agnieszka Holland, In Darkness is based on a true story.  Leoplod Socha, a sewer worker and petty thief in Lvov, a Nazi-occupied city in Poland, one day encounters a group of Jews trying to escape the liquidation of the ghetto.  He hides them for money in the labyrinth of the town’s sewers beneath the bustling activity of the city above. 

(The) Infidel, DVD, 105 minutes. Mahmud (Omid Djalili – star comic, Sex and The City 2) is a loving husband, doting father and an admittedly “relaxed” Muslim. A normal guy living an everyday life.  That is until a chance discovery turns his life upside down, throwing him into a full-scale identity crisis: it turns out he’s adopted, and was actually born Jewish.

Invincible, DVD, 135 minutes, Polish, German and English subtitles. The film is based on a true story of a Jewish blacksmith who leaves a Polish shtetl for 1932 Berlin where he is billed the strongest man in the world.

Ira and Abby, DVD, 105 minutes. A sweet, hilarious and slightly subversive romantic comedy that examines the issues of marriage, monogamy and whether "I do" is the only path to life-long love and happiness.

Jacob the Liar, DVD, 120 minutes.In Nazi occupied Poland during WWII Jewish café owner (Robin Williams) invents news bulletins to lift the spirits of the depressed residents of the ghetto.

(The) Jewish Cardinal, DVD, 100 minutes, French with English subtitles.  The amazing true story of Jean-Marie Lustiger, son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, who maintained his cultural identity as a Jew even after converting to Catholicism at a young age, and later joining the priesthood and celebrated his dual identity as a Catholic Jew which earned him friends and enemies among both groups.  When Carmelite nuns start building a convent within the walls of Auschwitz, Lustiger finds himself a mediator between the two communities - and may be forced at last to choose his side.

Judgment at Nuremberg, DVD, 178 minutes, 1961.  The docu-drama covers the trial of accused war criminals in Germany after WWII.  The script is based on true events that unfolded during the Nuremberg trials in 1948.  There is an all-star cast including: Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark and Marlene Dietrich.

Julia, DVD, 117 minutes, English. Hellman (Jane Fonda) recalls her lifelong relationship with the fiercely independent and politically minded Julia (Vanessa Redgrave). Born to great wealth, Julia devotes her life to political causes fighting fascism in the 1930's. While Hellman is travelling in Europe, she is approached by one of Julia's political friends (Maximilian Schell) and is swept into Julia's world, smuggling money across hostile borders.

La Petite Jerusalem, DVD, 94 minutes, French and Hebrew with English subtitles.The setting is a Paris suburb where immigrant Sephardic Jews live. It depicts the family conflicts when one daughter rebels against their religious life and embraces a secular lifestyle.

Liberty Heights, DVD, 128 minutes. Film maker Barry Levinson returns to his hometown of Baltimore to explore American social change through the eyes of a Jewish family in 1954.

Life is Beautiful, VHS, 118 minutes.  Guido, a charming but bumbling waiter who’s gifted with a colorful imagination and an irresistible sense of humor - has won the heart of the woman he loves and created a beautiful life for his young family.  But then, that life is threatened by WWII…and Guido must rely on those very same strengths to save his beloved wife and son from an unthinkable fate.

Life is Beautiful, DVD, 116 minutes.  Guido, a charming but bumbling waiter who’s gifted with a colorful imagination and an irresistible sense of humor - has won the heart of the woman he loves and created a beautiful life for his young family.  But then, that life is threatened by WWII…and Guido must rely on those very same strengths to save his beloved wife and son from an unthinkable fate.

Lies My Father Told Me, DVD, 104 minutes. This heart-warming Canadian film classic set in the 1920’s Jewish immigrant community of Montreal is seen primarily through the eyes of David, the grandson. David lives with his Canadian-born parents, his grandfather Zaida, a junk peddler who emigrated from Russia, and Zaida’s aging horse, Ferdeleh. David’s father is a modern materialistic man of science who dreams of striking it rich by designing unique inventions. Zaida, on the other hand, is a humble man who works hard for his living and patiently awaits the arrival of the Messiah. Intuitively, David responds to his grandfather’s love.  Every Sunday, David travels the back alleys of Montreal with Zaida and his horse Ferdeleh and carriage. Zaida answers all of David’s questions about the world in terms of the Creator and the miracles that he performs. But this winter there are no miracles to spare David the pains of growing up.

(The) Little Traitor, DVD, 88 minutes, English. Proffy Liebowitz, a militant yet sensitive eleven year old wants nothing more than for the occupying British to get the hell out of his land. Proffy and his two friends spend most of their time plotting ways to terrorize and/or blow up the British until one evening, while he's out after curfew, Proffy is seized by Sergeant Dunlop, a British officer. Instead of arresting him, he deposits him back home,but what ensues in the weeks to come is a friendship between these two foes. Proffy looks to Dunlop as a father figure as his own father is cold and remote. Dunlop, lonely and poetic, loves the spirited boy and they find lots to talk about in their meetings which Proffy must keep a secret from his friends and family.

Live and Become, DVD, 143 minutes.In 1984, nine year old Salomon was living in a refugee camp in Sudan. His mother sees the Israeli-American airlift of Ethiopian Jews as the only way to save him from the misery, famine and civil war that were ravaging Ethiopia. She puts him on the plane with the words, “GO, live and become.” Salomon is not Jewish. Thus begins the remarkable story of his life in Israel.

Look to the Sky, DVD, 100 minutes. It is a hope filled view of the Holocaust from the perspective of a young Dutch boy who spends much of his childhood in a concentration camp.

Marjorie Morningstar, DVD, 125 minutes.This treasure from the past stars Natalie Wood, Gene Kelly and Ed Wynn. It is the coming of age story of a young Jewish woman in the 1950’s. The setting is New York City and the Catskills. Kelly sings “A Precious Love,” Wood is beautiful, and Wynn has a great character role.

(A) Matter of Size, DVD, 90 minutes (subtitles).  A group of fat people from the Israeli city of Ramla is fed up with the sanctity of diets and the 'Dictatorship of the Thinness' of the diet workshop they participate in. They leave it and discover the world of sumo, where fat people like them are honored and appreciated. Through sumo they are connecting to themselves and to their fat body, each one in his own way.

(A) Mighty Heart, DVD, 108 minutes. This is an adaptation of Mariane Pearl’s memoir and is a detailed account of the search for kidnapped Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002. Pearl was kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan by supporters of Islamic radical cleric Omar Sheikh.

Miracle at Midnight, DVD, 1 hour, 29 minutes, Drama, English.  A TV movie based on the Rescue of the Danish Jews in Denmark during the Holocaust. Set in Denmark during September 1943, Miracle at Midnight is a dramatization of the true story of the Danish rescue of Jews from deportation to Nazi concentration camps by Dr. Karl and Mrs. Doris Koster

Modigliani, DVD, 127 minutes.The post WWI golden age of art in Paris is the backdrop for the story and struggles of Jewish painter, Amadeo Modigliani.

(The) Mortal Storm, 1 hour, 40 minutes, English. The Roth family leads a quiet life in a small village in the German Alps during the early 1930s. When the Nazis come to power, the family is divided and Martin Brietner, a family friend is caught up in the turmoil.

My Favorite Year, DVD, 92 minutes. It is 1954, and the larger-than-life, swashbuckling movie star Alan Swann (Peter O’Toole) is set to make his first television appearance on the hugely popular show, The Comedy Cavalcade. Given Swann's reputation as a wild, unpredictable alcoholic, the producers give their new writer, young Benjy Stone, the job of babysitting Swann and getting him to the show on time and sober. The experience is far more stressful than   Benjy expected, but after some adventures, he and Swann both learn some valuable     lessons and develop a friendship.

Never Forget, VHS, 94 minutes. This film tells the story of Mel Mermelstein, a Jewish survivor of the Nazi Holocaust who was angered and horrified at the gall of the Institute for Historical Review, a neo Nazi organization dedicated to claiming the Holocaust never happened. When a friend notes that this kind of lying represents a breach of contract, leaving the organization open to a lawsuit, Mermelstein presents his proof, and takes them to court. Now, Mermelstein must battle the neo Nazis not only in court, but outside as well as they try to intimidate him to drop a case that would lead the legal recognition of the Holocaust's occurrence being declared an incontestable fact.

Norman, DVD, 1 hour, 58 minutes. Persistent wheeler-dealer Norman (Richard Gere) falls in with an Israeli politician (Lior Ashkenazi) on the rise. When the politician is elected prime minister, Norman rises in esteem with the New York Jewish community, even though his social connections might only be a sham.

Nowhere in Africa, DVD, 142 minutes. A family flees Berlin in 1938 and try to adapt to their new life in Kenya. This film won an Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film (German with English subtitles) and was the best received film at our 2004 Festival.

O Jerusalem, DVD, 100 minutes.  An epic drama re-creating the historic struggle surrounding the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. The film is told from alternating viewpoints of the Jews, Arabs and Brits, all of whom collide in their fight for control of Jerusalem. It brings to the forefront themes of courage, terrorism, deprivation, politics and a strong sense of morality.
Once in a Lifetime, DVD, 1 hour, 45 minutes, French with English subtitles.  The fact-based story of a class of schoolchildren, teenagers, in a, from the look of it, mixed ethnic district of Paris, who's teacher decides to enter them in a competition to examine the holocaust from the point of view of its impact on young people. It contains some very emotional scenes and chronicles the change in the opinions and interactions of a typical class of adolescents.

One Day You’ll Understand, DVD, 90 minutes, French with English subtitles.  As the 1987 trial of Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie unfolds on television, Victor Bastien reviews old family documents and finds a distressing “Aryan declaration” authored by his late father, a discovery that throws Victor’s conception of his family’s history into darkness.  His mother, Rivka, keeps a stubborn silence about the past, while Tania, his sister, defends their father’s declaration.  At the same time, Victor’s wife and children grow concerned about his increasing distraction. 

(The) Only Way, DVD, 86 minutes. In April 1940, the armies of Nazi Germany invaded Denmark. The Danish government promised peaceful cooperation on the condition that Denmark s Jews remain free. The Nazi s agreed. In October, 1943, the agreement was broken...This is the true and magnificent saga of Denmark s valorous actions to save Danish Jews from Nazi extermination at peril of death! For the Danes, this was THE ONLY WAY.

The Other Son, DVD, 105 minutes, French with English subtitles.  As her is preparing to join the Israeli army for his national service, Joseph discovers he is not his parents’ biological son, and that he was inadvertently switched at birth with Yacine, the son of a Palestinian family from the West Bank.  This revelation turns the lives of these two families upside-down, forcing them to reassess their respective identities, their values and their beliefs.

Out of the Ashes, VHS, 120 minutes, English. Christine Lahti stars in this made-for-cable film based on the real-life story of Gisella Perl, a Jewish Hungarian doctor imprisoned in the notorious Auschwitz death camp of World War II.

(The) Pawnbroker, DVD, 111 minutes.Rod Steiger gives a mesmerizing performance as the embittered survivor of a Nazi death camp who can’t escape the ghosts of the past or the painful lesson that awaits him in the future.

(The) Physician, DVD, 2 hours, 30 minutes, English.  A young boy, is left a penniless orphan in an 11th century English mining town when his mother dies of a mysterious illness. Vowing to become a physician and vanquish Death itself, he travels to Isfahan in Persia to study medicine under the great Ibn Sina. Through countless ordeals and challenges, and making many sacrifices along the way, he struggles on unwaveringly. His unflagging quest for knowledge leads to the blossoming of friendship and true love.

(The) Pianist, DVD, 150 minutes.  The true-life story of brilliant pianist and composer Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody) whose promising career was interrupted by the onset of WWII. This powerful, ultimately triumphant film follows Szpilman’s heroic and inspirational journey of survival with the unlikely help from a sympathetic German officer.

Play the Game, DVD, 105 minutes. A young ladies' man teaches his dating tricks to his lonely, widowed grandfather, and plays his best mind games to meet the woman of his dreams. Starring Andy Griffith and Doris Roberts.

(A)Price above Rubies, DVD, 116 minutes. Set in Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish community, this is a story about a young woman (Sonia) who harbors doubts about continuing to follow the path of her religion.  Sonia always did just what was expected: she married the right man, moved to the right neighborhood and had a beautiful baby.  But when she discovers an exciting world beyond her tightly knit community, it sparks a growing desire for independence that threatens the security of the perfect life she knows.

(The)Prince of Egypt, DVD, 74 minutes, English.  This is the extraordinary tale of two brothers named Moses and Ramses, one born of royal blood, and one an orphan with a secret past. Growing up the best of friends, they share a strong bond of free-spirited youth and good-natured rivalry. But the truth will ultimately set them at odds, as one becomes the ruler of the most powerful empire on earth, and the other the chosen leader of his people! Their final confrontation will forever change their lives and the world.

(The) Producers, DVD, 88 minutes, English.  A "startling, stunning, outrageous [and] breathtaking debut" from acclaimed writer/director Mel Brooks. Low-rent Broadway producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) and his high-strung accountant, Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder), discover that, with the help of a few gullible investors, they can make more money on a flop than on a hit! Armed with the worst show ever written ("Springtime for Hitler") and an equally horrific cast, this double-dealing duo is banking on disaster. But when their sure-to-offend musical becomes a surprise smash hit, they find themselves in the middleof a Broadway blitzkrieg!

Remember, DVD, 94 minutes, English. With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.

Remembrance, DVD, 105 minutes, German and English/English subtitles. A remarkable love story that blossomed amidst the terror of a German concentration camp in 1944 Poland. This impossible passion fuels the courage of a Polish prisoner who manages to rescue his Jewish girlfriend. Against all odds, they escape the camp and survive a treacherous journey to freedom. But during the chaos of the end of the war, they are forcibly separated and each is convinced that the other has died. More than thirty years later in New York, the happily married 52-year-old woman accidentally finds out that her former Polish lover is still alive. And she has to see him again.

Return to the Hiding Place, 102 minutes, English, DVD.  Corrie Ten Boom's Secret Student Army. The Untold True Story. In WWII Holland, Corrie ten Boom leads a secret resistance army of untrained university students who navigate a deadly labyrinth of hijackings, rescue missions, and underground networks to save and transport over 880 Jewish people in their panicked exodus from death. Watch this harrowing true tale of ordinary students who dare to resist one of history’s cruelest tyrants, risk their lives for total strangers, and prove that a handful of devoted young people can change the course of history.

Reuniting the Rubins, DVD, 97 Minutes, Comedy; An up-tight lawyer, Lenny Rubins, (Timothy Spall-The Kings Speech), has to put his dream retirement on hold when his ailing mother (Honor Blackman-Goldfinger) emotionally blackmails him into reuniting his estranged children for a Jewish Holiday.
 
Rosenstrasse, DVD, 136 minutes, German and English/English subtitles.A moving testament to a handful of Aryan women who save the lives of their Jewish husbands in 1943 Berlin. This is a powerful film of love, loss and reconciliation. Based on a true story.

Run Boy Run, DVD, 107 minutes, German, Polish, Russian with subtitles.  Escaping the Warsaw ghetto at the behest of his father, nine-year old Srulik flees to the woods. There, he learns to hide from SS patrols and scour for food, until loneliness and the harsh onset of winter drive him back to civilization. Taken in by a kindhearted farmer’s wife (Elisabeth Duda), he is given shelter and a new identity. Passing himself off as Jurek, a Christian war orphan, the intrepid boy traverses the countryside from village to village, working as a farmhand under an ever-present threat of persecution. Some will help him survive and others will betray him. Just when it seems his childhood memories and identity could be lost forever, Jurek’s harrowing journey culminates in a powerhouse conclusion and postscript. 

Sarah’s Key, DVD 111 minutes. In modern-day Paris, a journalist finds her life becoming entwined with a young girl whose family was torn apart during the notorious Vel' d'Hiv Roundup in 1942. Also have Book on CD available.

Saviors in the Night, DVD, 97 minutes, German with English subtitles. Based on the memories of Marga Spiegel. In her narrative, published in 1965, she describes how courageous farmers in southern Munsterland hid her, her husband Siegfried and their little daughter Karin from 1943 until 1945, thus saving them from deportation to the extermination camps in the East. Without reservation, the farmers offer the refugees their protection. That this turns them into heroes would never occur to them. They are used to weathering even dangerous situations somehow, guided only by their instinct and century-old code of ethics. They risk their own lives, and, if necessary, even that of their families. There is never a discussion about friendship, reliability, humanity.

Schindler’s List, VHS, 3hours 17minutes. A Stephen Spielberg Film that won the 1993 Academy Award for Best Picture, presents the incredible true story of Oskar Schindler, a Nazi, womanizer, and war profiteer who saved the lives of more than 1100 Jews during the Holocaust.  
 
Schindler’s List, DVD, 3hours 16minutes (includes “Voices from the List” special feature). A Stephen Spielberg Film that won the 1993 Academy Award for Best Picture, presents the incredible true story of Oskar Schindler, a Nazi, womanizer, and war profiteer who saved the lives of more than 1100 Jews during the Holocaust.

School Ties, DVD, 107 minutes. After receiving a scholarship to an exclusive prep school, a working class teen becomes a star athlete. But the ties of his new found friendships are broken when a student reveals his secret – he is Jewish.

(A) Secret, DVD, 110 minutes, French with English subtitles.  Francois, a solitary, imaginative child, invents for himself a brother as well as the story of his parents’ past.  But on his fifteenth birthday, he discovers a dark family secret that ties his family’s history to the Holocaust and shatters his illusions forever.

(The) Secrets, DVD, 120 minutes, Hebrew and French with English subtitles. Two Jewish women study in a seminary in Tzfat (Safed) and struggle to discover their own voices in the repressive and male dominated world of Orthodox Judaism.

Secrets of War, DVD, 95 minutes, Dutch with English subtitles. Tuur and Lambert are best friends in a Nazi-occupied Dutch village who pass their days playing soldiers and exploring local caves, mimicking a war that seems far removed from their everyday life. When Maartje joins their class, the young girl immediately stands out as different from her classmates. Yet the boys embrace their new friend, forming a unique bond based on shared adventures, secrets and mischief. Ultimately, the realities of war find even them - Lambert's father, a Nazi sympathizer, is named mayor of their town and Tuur discovers his own father and brother have joined the resistance, instantly putting the two boys at odds. Meanwhile, Maartje is hiding a secret of her own, one that not only threatens to tear the new friends apart, but could lead to devastating consequences for anyone involved in keeping it. Secrets Of War puts both the danger and the humanity of wartime friendships squarely on the shoulders of three children who must face extraordinary circumstances with a maturity far beyond their years.

Selma, DVD, 128 min, English, PG-13.  True story of courage and hope that changed the world forever.  Martin Luther King, Jr. rallied his followers on the historic march from Selma to Montgomery  in the face of violent opposition, an event that became a milestone victory for the civil rights movement.

Selma, Lord, Selma, DVD, 89 minutes, English, PG.  In 1965, during the turbulent early days of the right-to-cote movement, a young Alabama schoolgirl is inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, JR. to resist the degradation that her fellow African-Americans are suffering.  Along with a white seminary student from the north…and against the ever-increasing threat of racial violence…she promises to do what she can to help Dr. King’s efforts.

Septembers of Shiraz, DVD,110 minutes, English.  Based on true events, Septembers of Shiraz follows a secular Jewish family whose lives are turned upside down in the wake of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. When Isaac (Adrien Brody) is suddenly arrested and taken to a secret prison, his wife (Salma Hayek) is left to make sense of what has happened and must somehow secure Isaac's release and her family's safety.

(A) Serious Man, DVD, 106 minutes.  Physics professor Larry Gopnik can’t believe his life: His wife is leaving him for his best friend, his unemployed brother won’t move off the couch, someone is threatening his career, his kids are a mystery and his neighbor is tormenting him by sunbathing nude.  Struggling to make sense of it all, Larry consults three different rabbis and their answers lead him on a twisted journey of faith, family, delinquent behavior and mortality.

Son of Saul, DVD, 107 minutes, Hungarian with English subtitles. October 1944, Auschwitz-Birkenau. Saul (Géza Röhrig) is a Hungarian member of the Sonderkommando, the group of Jewish prisoners forced to assist the Nazis. While working, Saul discovers the body of a boy he takes for his son. As the Sonderkommando plans a rebellion, Saul decides to carry out an impossible task: save the child's body, find a rabbi to recite the mourner's Kaddish and offer the boy a proper burial.

Steel Toes, DVD, 90 minutes. Academy Award nominee David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck) portrays a soul-searching Jewish lawyer appointed by the court to represent a neo-Nazi skinhead on trial for the racially motivated murder of an East Indian immigrant.

Stolen Summer, DVD, 93 minutes. A touching story of a young Catholic boy on a quest to help a dying Jewish friend get into heaven. Appropriate for children and family viewing.

(A) Stranger Among Us, DVD, 110 minutes, English.  Detective Emily Eden, a tough New York City cop forced to go undercover to solve a puzzling murder. Her search for the truth takes her into a secret world of unwritten law and unspoken power, a world where the only way out is deeper in! Delivering edge-of-your-seat excitement that won't let you go, this action-packed thriller is sure to entertain you with its sizzling star power, electrifying story, and nonstop surprises!

Taking Sides, DVD, 108 minutes.Based on fact, Taking Sides dramatizes the post-WWII investigation of Wilhelm Furtwangler, brilliant Berlin Philharmonic conductor and accused Nazi collaborator. Taking Sides is a thought-provoking exploration of the artists social responsibility, and more broadly, of the difficult choice between disloyalty and complicity that anyone must make when living under an evil regime.

(A)Tale of Love and Darkness, DVD, 99 minutes, Hebrew with English subtitles, PG-13. Story about Fania, a young wife and mother in war-torn Jerusalem, during the early state of Israel.  Fania created stories for her son, Amos, full of adventure and beauty, that would influence him to become a writer himself.

(The) Tenants, DVD, 97 minutes. Set in 1972 Brooklyn, Henry Lesser (Dylan McDermott) is the sole tenant in a rundown tenement struggling to finish a novel. His solitary pursuit of the sublime grows complicated when Willie Spearmint (Snoop Dogg), a black militant writer, moves into the building. Henry and Willie are artistic rivals and unwilling neighbors, and their uneasy peace is disturbed by the presence of Willie's white girlfriend and the landlord's attempt to evict both men and demolish the building.

(The) Tenth Man, DVD, 120 minutes, English.  Anthony Hopkins stars in this compelling WWII drama about a wealthy lawyer in a small French village who is taken hostage by the Nazis and sentenced to death.

Tevye, DVD, 96 minutes, Yiddish/English subtitles. This memorable adaptation of Sholem Aleichem’s play was filmed in 1939. It centers on Chave who is Tevye, the dairyman’s daughter, who marries Fedye the Ukranian. It is the first non-English language film to be included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

Uprising, DVD, 177 minutes.The film chronicles the uprising of the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1943. Disc 2 includes documentaries with actual participants.

Ushpizin, DVD, 92 minutes, Hebrew with English subtitles.A touching and amusing story of the Haredi (ultra-orthodox) in Jerusalem and their ushpizin (guests) during Sukkot.

Walk on Water, DVD, 104 minutes, Hebrew, English, German/English subtitles, made in Israel and Berlin. Director Eytan Fox explores issues of relationships, use of violence and reconciliation in this popular film about modern Israel.

Waltz with Bashir, DVD, 90 minutes, Hebrew with English subtitles. Nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign film in 2008, this Israeli production fuses animation and documentary to examine a man’s memory of the first Lebanon war. It mixes real with surreal, the personal and the political.

(The) Wedding Plan, DVD, 110 minutes, Hebrew with English subtitles.
Michal is 32 years old. She became religious 12 years ago, and only now is she getting married. A month before the wedding, while checking out the catering for the event, the groom has a change of heart and the wedding is called off. Michal feels she's unable to go back to ordinary life, to the usual course of matchmaking. She feels this is the moment to change something very basic in her personality. A simple belief that God is good and sweet - that He wants to give and is only waiting for her to wish it. Michal goes on a month-long journey up to the planned wedding day: "I have the venue, the dress, the apartment; God can easily come up with my groom

Westbank Story, DVD, 21 minutes. A musical comedy about competing falafel stands in the West Bank where an Israeli soldier falls in love with a Palestinian cashier. Nominated for an Academy Award for best short subject.

(The) Women’s Balcony, DVD, 96 minutes, Hebrew with English subtitles.
When the bar mitzvah boy at whose ill-fated celebration the accident occurred confesses to his grandmother that he had prayed to God for some divine intervention to save him from the embarrassment of not having learned his Torah portion properly, the wise woman laughs. The woman, Etty, sweetly chastises the young boy for thinking that God has time to worry about helping out a mortified adolescent. The Creator, she wisely instructs the guilt-ridden boy, endows us each at our birth with some common sense and an instruction manual, the Torah; it’s up to us to figure the rest of it out.
Wondrous Oblivion, DVD, 160 minutes, English.Lack of tolerance for Jews and Blacks in London in the 1960’s is the backdrop for a story of coming of age and friendship. Reggae, Calypso and Ska music is featured.

(The) ZigZag Kid, DVD, 95 minutes, Dutch & French with English subtitles.Nono wants to be like his father - the best police inspector in the world - but he constantly gets in trouble. Two days before his Bar Mitzvah, he is sent away to his uncle Sjmoel, who is supposed to get him back on track. However, during the train ride Nono gets one last chance to prove himself... Together with master-burglar Felix Glick - an old acquaintance of his father - he stops the train and enters a world of disguises, chases, French chansons and Zohara, a mysterious woman whose secrets will change Nono's life forever.

(The) Zookeeper’s wife, DVD, 2 hours 7 minutes, English.The Zookeeper's Wife tells the account of keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, Antonina and Jan Zabinski, who helped save hundreds of people and animals during the German invasion.