Spring '22 Programming

Spring Arrives with a Scintillating Slate of Films and Events at the Jacob Burns Film Center

The Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) announced today a variety of unique, compelling, and one-of-a-kind events, series, and screenings for spring 2022. With special events and thought-provoking Q&As featuring filmmakers, politicians, activists, and more, there’s something for everyone to see this spring at the JBFC.

Special Events with In-Person Guests and Limited Engagements Include:

• March 24 at 7:00: Six by Sondheim, followed by a Q&A with filmmaker James Lapine & JBFC Board Member Dori Berinstein
  Life on the Stage: Conversation and Film gives audiences a peek behind the curtain of live performances, and offers insight into the process of adapting a film into a Broadway show. This series is presented in partnership with The Actors Fund.

• March 30 at 7:00: Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America, followed by a Q&A with Westchester Deputy County Executive Ken Jenkins, moderated by Westchester County Attorney and JBFC Board Member John Nonna
  Who We Are screens as part of Global Watch: Crisis & Social Action, which is sponsored by The Louis & Anne Abrons Foundation and The Theodore & Renee Weiler Foundation, with generous support from National Endowment for the Arts.

• March 18—24: A new 4k restoration of The Godfather screens for one week only, in celebration of the film’s 50^th anniversary
  Retro Revival represents the JBFC’s ongoing commitment to the world of repertory cinema, presenting remastered or re-released versions of great films from all points of cinema history that are best experienced together with a crowd of film fans. Retro Revival is presented with generous support from ArtsWestchester.

Highly Anticipated New Releases Include:

• March 18: The Outfit
  From the Academy Award-winning writer of The Imitation Game comes The Outfit, a gripping and masterful thriller. Leonard (Academy Award winner Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies) is an expert tailor who has left his world-famous job in London following a personal tragedy. He finds himself in a rough Chicago neighborhood, where the only people who can afford his beautiful suits are a family of vicious gangsters. One fateful night, he faces a dangerous group of mobsters and must find a way to outwit them to survive.

• March 18: X
  In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas, but when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast soon find themselves in a desperate fight for their lives.

• March 25: The Automat
  The Automat recounts the lost history of the iconic restaurant chain Horn & Hardart, which served affordable-priced food to millions of New Yorkers and Philadelphians and revolutionized the nation’s restaurant scene with comfortable interiors, quality food, and state-of-the-art technology for the early 20th century. The chain welcomed American diners who had long been ignored, including those who were immigrants, working-class, Black, and women—all of whom were often not welcome in restaurants. The Automat illustrates how the company both served the public with great food, and at the same time treated its employees with fairness and integrity.

• April 1: Compartment No. 6
  A young Finnish woman escapes an enigmatic love affair in Moscow by boarding a train to the arctic port of Murmansk. Forced to share the long ride—and a tiny sleeping car—with a larger-than-life Russian miner, the unexpected encounter leads the occupants of Compartment No. 6 to face major truths about human connection. Read JBFC Preview Club Curator Karen Goodman’s take on this exciting new film via the JBFC Blog.

• April 1: You Won’t Be Alone
  Set in an isolated mountain village in 19th century Macedonia, You Won’t Be Alone follows a young girl who is kidnapped and then transformed into a witch by an ancient spirit. Curious about life as a human, the young witch accidentally kills a peasant in the nearby village, then takes her victim’s shape to live life in her skin. Her curiosity ignited, she continues to wield this horrific power in order to understand what it means to be human.

• March 8: On the Divide
  On the Divide follows the story of three Latinx people living in McAllen, Texas, who—despite their views—are connected by the most unexpected of places: the last abortion clinic on the U.S./Mexico border. As threats to the clinic and their personal safety mount, these three are forced to make decisions they never could have previously imagined. Directed by Creative Culture fellowship alums Maya Cueva and Leah Galant, “On the Divide tells a vital story, so important to where we are today as a nation” (Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Hammer to Nail).

• May 6—12: Memoria
  From the extraordinary mind of Palme d’Or winning director and former JBFC Artist-in-Residence Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives), and starring Academy Award-winner Tilda Swinton (The French Dispatch, We Need to Talk About Kevin), comes a bewildering drama about a Scottish woman, who, after hearing a loud ‘bang’ at daybreak, begins experiencing a mysterious sensory syndrome while traversing the jungles of Colombia.

Other Highlights of the Spring Schedule Include:

• March 27: The Return of the JBFC’s Oscars Watch Party!
  With the Olympics in our rearview, the only thing left to win is gold—Oscar gold! Celebrate the Movies’ biggest night at the JBFC this year with the return of our Oscar Watch Party! Be sure to get to the theater early—doors will open at 7:15 so you can watch some of the arrivals—and our concession stand will be open all night to satisfy your watch party snacking needs!
• April 8: ReelAbilities Film Festival Screening of No Bone: Scars of Survival
  With a long career promoting street art, music and film as well as pioneering online marketing through social media, Marc Schiller was well regarded as a communications expert. But in 2015, he suffered a stroke on both sides of his brain, leaving him with a language impairment known as aphasia and with some cognitive deficits. No Bone: Scars of Survival is the culmination of Marc’s own chronicles of his path towards healing, his relationships with friends and colleagues, and the love that continues to surround him. This screening is presented in partnership with the ReelAbilities Film Festival.

Returning this Spring are the Following Fan Favorites:

• World Stage on Screen Mar. 30—June 9
  Films Include: Sutton Foster in Anything Goes (Mar. 30), The Book of Dust/La Belle Sauvage (Apr. 12), Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein (May 3), and Game of Thrones star Kit Harrison as Henry V (June 9). This series brings the best of international theater and fine arts programming to the silver screen. World Stage on Screen is sponsored by The Knolls—A Bethel Community.

• Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema – Virtual Edition Mar. 25—31
  Making Waves returns this March with an extended online showcase after last December’s in-person event at the Jacob Burns Film Center, replaying two of its previous offerings (Poppy Field and Unidentified) while adding several fiction works plus plenty of documentaries and shorts, including several U.S. premieres.
  Films Include: Holy Father, Mikado, No Rest for the Old Lady, Otto the Barbarian, Us Against Us, Wild Romania, You Are Ceaușescu to Me, and two shorts programs (Streaming Mar. 25—31).

• JBFC Kids Apr. 16
  Films Include: New York Children’s International Film Festival: Kid Flicks One (Apr. 16)
  JBFC Kids is designed to deepen the experience of viewers ages 3–13 (and their families) and welcome a new generation of cinema-lovers and media-makers into our community. JBFC Kids is presented in partnership with the Westchester Library System.  

To view or download the press release pdf, click here.