Film: Menache

Filmmaker Joshua Z. Weinstein filmed his feature with Yiddish speaking nonprofessional actors in Brooklyn who are members of the Hasidic Jewish community, many of whom are reluctant to participate in such endeavors. The film focuses on the real man, Menashe Lustig and is a comedy loosely based on his life. Lustig is a store clerk in the film who is going against traditional norms in Hasidic society in trying to regain custody of his son following the death of his wife. Since Hasidic society does not permit household with children to lack a mother, his son is forced to reside in the home of his deceased wife’s family members until he remarries. Themes of family, tradition, and community are intertwined in this Yiddish language film.

Free admission, but you must reserve your ticket here.