Brighton Beach

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35mm

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Brighton Beach

Followed by a Q&A with Co-Director Susan Wittenberg

1980. 60 m. Susan Wittenberg/Carol Stein. Independent. US. English. Rated NR.

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Rediscovered and restored only recently by IndieCollect, Brighton Beach is a priceless and beautifully filmed portrait of the Brooklyn neighborhood that includes Coney Island and came to be known as “Little Odessa” for its substantial population of Russian-speaking Jewish immigrants. Capturing the diversity and charm of an enclave that hasn’t yet been homogenized by gentrification, Brighton Beach is a precious time capsule that combines wonderful archival footage and new photography to observe the quirks, charms (and occasional tensions between the Jewish and Puerto Rican communities), of this unique slice of New York City.

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“The filmmakers interviewed locals of various ethnic persuasions (with a particular focus on the recent influx of Soviet Jews), interspersing everything with stock footage of Coney Island in the ’30s and moody shots of the boardwalk at dawn. A cameo by the Barry Sisters makes the film a must for connoisseurs of Yiddish kitsch.”
J. Hoberman, The Village Voice

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Q&A with Co-Director Susan Wittenberg

Sunday, Apr. 27 2025, 5:15

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Susan Wittenberg, alongside Carol Stein and their company Ace Pictures Inc., creates productions that focus on music, dance, arts, and culture including PBS films' Women Who Rock a co-production of the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nashville 2.0 about Americana music and filmed on location in Nashville and SXSW, and Hitmakers: The Changing Face of The Music Business, co-produced with ZDF Arte. Ace Pictures recently completed Two Roads, a performance documentary co-produced with the Irish Repertory Theatre in NYC that explores the rich cross-cultural influences of Irish Americans and African Americans. Brighton Beach, produced in 1980, was recently restored to 4K by IndieCollect. It has been shown at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Anthology Film Archives, the Miami Jewish Film Festival, and continues to be shown at film festivals and art house cinemas throughout the country.