By Tracy Zwick
January 16th through 19th
Jewish Film Festival: Film at Lincoln Center, 165 and 144 West 65th Street; January 14th to 28th; films, showtimes, and tickets here
The Jewish Film Festival is underway at Film at Lincoln Center, screening documentary, narrative and short films from around the world that explore the Jewish experience. On this weekend’s schedule are three U.S. premieres, several NYC premieres, and three Q&As with cast members, directors and film experts. On Saturday, “Mazel Tov”– Argentinian actor and director Adrian Suar’s drama about the fragility of family ties and the importance of tradition – makes its NYC premiere. The Festival is a partnership between Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum.
“To Save and Project” Film Series at the Museum of Modern Art: MoMA, 11 West 53rd Street, running through February 2nd, tickets and schedule here
If newly preserved classics and rediscovered gems are more your thing, MoMA is offering its 22nd annual International Festival of Film Preservation. This weekend, the festival’s showing Russ Meyer’s lurid 1968 sex romp “Vixen!” (Friday at 2 p.m.) along with Roger Corman’s 1970 “Bloody Mama” starring Bruce Dern and Robert DeNiro (Friday at 7 p.m.). There’s animation, funk, vampires and more on the schedule for the remainder of the long weekend.
Origami Folding Fun Sessions at ANMH: American Museum of Natural History, 200 Central Park West, Sunday, Jan. 18th, times and tickets here ($20/class)
OrigamiUSA holds classes at AMNH twice a year, including this Sunday. Each class is offered in a morning or afternoon session, during which students will explore the magic of origami with expert teachers. No experience is necessary. Learn precision folding and go home with a gorgeous cockatiel, a spiky cube, or your own original origami design. Please be prepared to stay for the full two-hour class. Make it a day at the museum with “Life at the Limits: Nature’s Superheroes,” an immersive exhibition that looks at how species have survived and adapted on Earth. Last chance – it closes Sunday!
Honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday the 19th
There are plenty of ways to honor the spirit of the day by giving back, and plenty of community events commemorating the holiday this Monday. Congressman Jerry Nadler of the 12th District, which includes the UWS, will be at New Plaza Cinema for a Q&A following a 12:15 p.m. screening of “Selma” – the 2014 historical drama based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches.
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine will host a “Vigil for Conscience and Courage” from 4 to 5:30 on Monday. The Rev. Canon Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas will preach during this “prayerful vigil in a time of moral urgency.” The event will include song, readings and prayers for the city, the nation, and “all whose lives are touched by fear, violence, or loss.” The vigil will be in person, with livestream also available.
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