It’s hard to be choosy, but here are eight movies that will screen at the Maine Jewish Film Festival that look interesting:

* “Itzhak,” a 2017 documentary about violinist Itzhak Perlman and his overcoming polio to become a superstar. It was nominated for a 2019 Grammy Award for best musical documentary. 11:30 a.m. March 14, Portland Museum of Art; 11:30 a.m. March 17, Bangor

“Budapest Noir”

* “Budapest Noir” and “Echo,” showing back-to-back, create a tense double-bill date night. Up first is a drama-mystery about a girl found dead in Budapest in 1936 and a reporter who dares to ask the hard questions, followed by a drama about a man who seems to have everything, until a camera-generated traffic ticket shows up in the mail showing his wife in the car with another man. “Budapest Noir,” 6 p.m. March 15, PMA, and “Echo” at 8 p.m. March 15 at PMA

“It Must Be Schwing: The Blue Note Story”

* “It Must Be Schwing: The Blue Note Story” tells the story of Blue Note Records, founded after World War II by two Jewish emigrees. 4 p.m. Sunday, March 10, Evening Star, Brunswick; 6 p.m. March 16, PMA

* “Who Will Write Our History,” a 2018 documentary about the journalists, scholars and community leaders who helped preserve the history of the Warsaw Ghetto, which had been sealed by the Nazis in November 1940. Noon Sunday, March 10, Bates College; noon March 11, Nickelodeon, Portland

* “Unsettling” is an honest, poignant and often funny documentary about life in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Director Iris Zaki will attend the screening and talk about the film afterward. 3 p.m. March 16, PMA

* “Satan and Adam” tells the story of the musical partnership between Sterling “Satan” McGee and Adam Gussow, an unlikely street-musician duo from New York. The movie covers more than two decades of their odyssey. Filmmaker Scott Balcharek will attend. 6 p.m. March 14, PMA

* “The Last Suit” is the festival’s opening movie, a drama from 2017 about an elderly man from Buenos Aires who isn’t ready to move into the nursing home that his daughters have arranged for him. It’s a touching movie about an elderly man and his daughters, told in Spanish with English subtitles. 11 a.m. Saturday, Evening Star, Brunswick; 7 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. March 11, Nickelodeon, Portland; 7 p.m. March 16, Bangor. The Portland screening at the Nickelodeon is preceded by an opening-night party at Portland House of Music.

 


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