Newton Cultural Alliance

Newton Theatre Company Presents: DRACULA
2025-02-01 14:00 - 16:00, 2025-02-01 20:00 - 22:00, 2025-02-07 20:00 - 22:00, 2025-02-08 14:00 - 16:00, 2025-02-08 20:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | Saint John’s Episcopal Church, 96 Otis Street, Newton, MA, 02460, United States
Step into the shadows and prepare for a thrilling twist on the classic gothic tale with NTC’s production of Dracula, featuring Linda Goetz in the starring role. This reinterpretation breathes new life into Bram Stoker’s timeless story of Count Dracula and his insatiable need for human blood. Blending sensuality, darkness and humor, Dracula explores themes of desire and dominance through unconventional casting and intimate staging. Join us for an unforgettable evening where legend meets innovation, and experience Dracula like never before.
We are doing three weekends of Dracula!
Tickets:
Friday, January 24th at 8pm
Saturday, January 25th at 2pm
Saturday, January 25th at 8pm
and
Friday, January 31st at 8pm
Saturday, February 1st at 2pm
Saturday, February 1st at 8pm
and
Friday, February 7th at 8pm
Saturday, February 8th at 2pm
Saturday, February 8th at 8pm

Lunar New Year
2025-02-02 12:00 - 16:00 | New Art Center, 61 Washington Park, Newton, MA, 02460, United States
Join the New Art Center in Newtonville for the fourth annual Lunar New Year event. The event will take place on Sunday, February 2 from 12:00pm – 4:00pm at 61 Washington Park and is part of New Art’s Cultural Access Program, a robust Community Outreach program providing free and inclusive art experiences.
The Lunar New Year event will feature a series of art-making and performance activities centered on the celebrations associated with Lunar New Year. Lunar New Year is an important time for celebration in the majority of East and Southeast Asian cultures. We welcome the New Year by spending time with family making food, playing games, telling stories, and cleaning our homes! This is a family-friendly event, free and open to the public.
This year is the year of the Blue Snake in the Korean calendar, or Wood Snake in the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Blue Snake is a year for wisdom, intuition, creativity, and personal growth! The Snake zodiac symbolizes wisdom and carefulness, and the Blue element, or Wood, is associated with movement and growth, as well as cooperation and idealism. This year, we should encourage ourselves to focus on self-growth and planning long-term goals for the future. Focus on your personal relationships, and find stability in reflection and mindful practices!
Ren Li Song will present on the art of calligraphy. Performers include the GBCCA Chinese Music Ensemble, members of the Boston Korean Dance Academy, and a Global String Band JUL.

All Over Newton presents Valentine's Day Craft Crawl
2025-02-08 13:00 - 16:00 | New Art Center, 61 Washington Park, Newton, MA, 02460, United States
Saturday, February 8th · Time: 1:00-4:00 pm EST
The event is organized by All Over Newton
Come to New Art Center to create your own faux stained glass sun catcher in the shape of a heart to celebrate Valentine’s Day!
Each participant will create their own sun catcher and be able to use their own colors and inspiration. All suncatchers will include a string so you can hang it in your window!”
$5 per participant (meaning a family of four would have to pay $20)
Classroom: ELVAS (not handicap accessible)
We will be able to take cash or tap pay card systems.
ATTENDANCE
We will be photographing this event and by registering, you agree that there is a possibility you may be photographed and the resulting images used for marketing purposes (in email, social media, print, and on our website).
For more information, contact New Art Center Senior Education Manager, Seline Smith at Seline@newartcenter.org, or call (617) 964-3424.

Sensory Garden Exhibition: A Guided Tour
2025-02-12 18:00 - 19:30 | The New Art Corridor (Trio), 245 Walnut St, Newton, Massachusetts, 02460, United States
The New Art 2025 Sensory Garden Exhibition is your chance to Support our Local Artists.
Artists offer a wintertime oasis amidst political, social, and cultural transition. Fostering a connection with nature, art, and ourselves through all our senses, grounds and preserves us. We invite sight and smell and touch and taste (indicated by signage) in this self-contained terrarium or sanctuary. We honor and prompt your experience as a lodestar for self-awareness and emotional healing.
Join the New Art Center in celebrating the opening of the 2025 Sensory Garden Exhibition. Mingle with some of this year’s 23 participating artists, while exploring over 54 pieces in this year’s sale.

New Art Center presents Brigham House Tea party
2025-02-16 14:00 - 16:00 | Brigham House, 341 Mt Auburn St, Watertown, Massachusetts, 02472, United States
Join us for the Brigham House Tea Party on Sunday, February 16th, from 2–4 PM to engage with and admire the artwork created by the participants while brewing your own tea.

Holi Festival of Colors
2025-03-30 12:00 - 16:00 | New Art Center, 61 Washington Park, Newton, MA, 02460, United States
The New Art Center invites you to join the Holi Festival of Colors.
We will have art-making, performances, food, dancing, and music throughout the day.
The event includes outdoor color play where you become the canvas for artmaking!
You have the opportunity to participate in the very fun (and messy) tradition of throwing organic color powder at each other.
Please wear white clothes you do not mind getting stained, protective eyewear or sunglasses, and bring towels for clean up afterward.
Guests are welcome to bring their color powder from home. There is no re-admittance to the New Art Center building after color play.

New Art Center presents Plates with Purpose: Form & Function in Clay
2025-05-01 17:30 - 19:30 | New Art Center, 61 Washington Park, Newton, MA, 02460, United States
Join the New Art Center in celebrating the opening of the New Art’s Adult Ceramics Student Exhibition, “Plates with Purpose: Form & Function in Clay”- A Special Exhibition by the New Art Center’s Adult Ceramics Students From the Winter Term, 2025.
Open and Free to the Public: Join us for the opening reception on Thursday, May, 1st, 5:30 – 7:30 PM At 61 Washington Park, Newton, MA 02460
Mingle with some of our student artists while exploring over 25 plates (some are for sale), enjoy this Thursday night out, and enjoy the wine and appetizers.
Immerse yourself in a world of creativity and expression with CERAMICS that serve.
-Over 25 Plates by New Art’s Adult Ceramics Student
*The pictured plate in the banner created by the student artist Lala O’Neil
——————————————————————————————————
The “Plates with Purpose: Form & Function in Clay” exhibition” is open from May 1st, 2025 through June 13th, 2025.

Suzuki School presents Multicultural Festival 2025!
2025-05-17 14:00 - 18:00 | Suzuki School of Newton, 1615 Beacon St, Waban, MA, 02468, United States
Suzuki Newton’s Multicultural Festival 2025
Join us for an afternoon of music, art, food, and community at the Suzuki School of Newton on Saturday, May 17, 2025!
📍 Location: 1615 Beacon St., Waban, MA 02468
🕑 Time: Festivities kick off at 2:00 PM and continue throughout the afternoon.
🎶 Music Performances:
The afternoon begins with Folk Baroque at 2:00 PM, followed by the dance rhythms of Salsa y Control, and performances by the talented Suzuki Violin Students.
🖼️ Intergenerational Art Show:
Celebrate creativity across ages with an exhibit featuring artwork from Suzuki Preschoolers alongside local Newton artists from the Newton Art Association and Newton Watercolor Society!
🏫 Preschool Open House:
Families with young children are invited to tour the classrooms, meet our teachers and director, and learn about our Suzuki Preschool community.
🍽️ International Potluck:
Bring a favorite family dish to share and experience the world through food. Please include a card listing ingredients and possible allergens to ensure everyone can enjoy safely.
🌟 Admission:
This event is free and open to the public! Kids and adults of all ages are welcome to come celebrate our Newton Community! Bring a blanket or lawn chair and spend the afternoon making memories with us.
#SuzukiSchoolofNewton #MulticulturalFestival

New Art pARTy 2025
2025-05-17 19:00 - 22:00 | Garage B, 1420 Soldiers Field Rd, Brighton, Massachusetts, 02135, United States
Join us for a celebration of art, culture, and community.
The New Art Center’s Gala is more than a celebration—it’s an opportunity to directly support local artists and ensure that art continues to thrive in our community.
At the heart of this event is our exclusive art auction, featuring an incredible selection of works from talented local and regional artists. Whether you’re an avid collector or simply passionate about the arts, this is your chance to acquire unique pieces while making a meaningful impact. Every bid helps sustain our mission to provide accessible arts education and creative programming for all.
Your support makes a difference! Purchase your ticket to join us for an unforgettable evening, or take your commitment a step further by becoming a sponsor—a powerful way to champion the arts and gain meaningful visibility in our vibrant community.

Historic Newton presents the Newton House Tour
2025-05-18 12:00 - 17:00 | Durant-Kenrick House and Grounds, 286 Waverley Ave,, Newton, MA, 02458
Welcome to Historic Newton’s Newton House Tour! Each year, Historic Newton presents the Newton House Tour to showcase historic homes in the city. Each private residence is carefully selected by a committee to exhibit how homeowners have made creative renovations and interesting interior design choices that add to the life of a historic structure. You’ll come away with a greater appreciation for historic homes and inspiration for your own projects!
This is the 42nd annual Newton House Tour, and all proceeds benefit Historic Newton’s mission.
Event begins at 12 noon, but in-person ticket sales and wristband pick-up begins at 10AM.

Behind the Screen: Jane Austen Wrecked My Life
2025-10-05 16:00 - 18:30 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
Agathe (Camille Rutherford) works in the legendary Shakespeare & Co. bookshop in Paris, where she dreams of becoming a successful writer and of experiencing love akin to a Jane Austen novel. Instead, she finds herself desperately single and plagued by writer’s block. When Agathe’s best friend (Pablo Pauly) helps secure her a spot at the Jane Austen Writers’ Residency in England, Agathe finally has her Jane Austen moment . . . and is caught in a very unexpected romantic triangle. In the end, Agathe must let go of her insecurities to decide what she really wants for herself and to achieve her romantic and professional dreams.
POST SCREENING PANEL DISCUSSION
Jane Austen’s novels have inspired countless adaptations in film, literature, television, and theater. Our distinguished panel will dive deep into the author’s unparalleled influence on the arts and her enduring appeal, tracing themes of class, gender, and marriage in her work and their resonance in today’s world.
SONIA HOFKOSH, Ph.D.
Associate Professor & Chair of English at Tufts University
Sonia Hofkosh is the author of Sexual Politics and the Romantic Author and coeditor of Romanticism, Race, and Imperial Culture, 1780–1834. She has published essays on Jane Austen and among her favorite courses to teach is one that considers Austen’s marriage plots in relation to Mary Shelley’s speculative fiction.
DEIDRE LYNCH, Ph.D.
Ernest Bernbaum Professor of English Literature at Harvard University
Deidre Lynch is the editor of Janeites: Austen’s Disciples and Devotees and has prepared editions of Austen’s Persuasion for Oxford University Press and Mansfield Park for Harvard University Press. She is also the author of Loving Literature: A Cultural History and has written for the Los Angeles Review of Books and Public Books.
TARA MENON, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of English at Harvard University
Tara Menon’s debut novel, Under Water, will be published by Riverhead Books in
March, and her first monograph, Speaking Parts: Conversation, Character, and Social
Worlds, is forthcoming from Princeton University Press in the fall of 2026.
Moderator:
MARY COTTON
Mary has owned and operated Newtonville Books with her husband, the writer and editor Jaime Clarke, for nearly twenty years.

West Newton Cinema Reads: The Bostonians
2025-10-16 18:30 - 20:30 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
In Boston, in the aftermath of the Civil War, Verena Tarrant (Madeleine Potter), a gifted young orator, has attracted the attention of Olive Chancellor (Vanessa Redgrave), who wishes to nurture Verena as an inspirational force for the Women’s Movement. Ranged against her is Basil Ransom (Christopher Reeve), a handsome male chauvinist, who wants Verena as his wife. Against a backdrop of luminous New England landscapes, battle is joined, and for Olive, the struggle will prove an odyssey that forces her to acknowledge her true nature. Merchant Ivory Productions’ acclaimed screen adaptation of Henry James’s The Bostonians (1886), set in Cambridge and Boston, charts the struggle between two charismatic forces to gain control over the destiny of a spirited young woman.
Join us for a special screening of The Bostonians, now in stunning 4K restoration, with an opening discussion of both the film and the novel led by Sierra Eckert and David Kurnick and moderated by John Plotz. This screening opens the Brandeis Novel Symposium set for Friday, October 17, a free event drawing scholars from across the country that audience members are encouraged to attend.
THE BRANDEIS NOVEL SYMPOSIUM is a one-day conference that chooses a single novel as a point of focus for salient theoretical, historical, political, and narratological questions about the novel as a genre. This year’s symposium on Henry James’s The Bostonians will be held on Friday, October 17, in Brandeis University’s Women’s Studies Research Center, and speakers will include Louis Menand (Harvard University) and Holly Jackson (University of Massachusetts, Boston).
SIERRA ECKERT is Assistant Professor of English at Wesleyan University. She specializes in nineteenth-century British and Anglophone literature, disciplinary history, critical and social theory, and the digital humanities. Her work has appeared in Victorian Studies and Studies in the Novel.
DAVID KURNICK is Professor of English at Rutgers University at New Brunswick. He is the author of The Savage Detectives Reread and Empty Houses: Theatrical Failure and the Novel, and his writing has appeared in Bookforum, Public Books, and Chronicle of Higher Education.
JOHN PLOTZ is Mandel Professor of Humanities at Brandeis University. He co-hosts two podcasts: Novel Dialogue and Recall This Book, and oversees the annual Brandeis Novel Symposium.
Registered attendees of the Brandeis Novel Symposium are entitled to a ticket discount. To receive the discount, tickets must be purchased ONLINE with code. To receive your code, register for the Brandeis Novel Symposium for free at the following link:
www.brandeis.edu/english/events/brandeis-novel-symposium/

Best of Fests: Remaining Native
2025-10-19 13:00 - 15:00 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
Best of Fests: REMAINING NATIVE
Co-Presented by Salem Film Fest
ABOUT THE FILM
REMAINING NATIVE is a coming-of-age documentary told from the perspective of Kutoven (Ku) Stevens, a 17-year-old Native American runner, struggling to navigate his dream of becoming a collegiate athlete as the memory of his great-grandfather’s escape from an Indian boarding school begins to connect past, present, and future.
Learn more about the Salem Film Fest: www.salemfilmfest.com
ABOUT BEST OF FESTS
Best of Fests is a new curated series showcasing standout films from national and international festivals, spanning experimental nonfiction and documentary to fiction cinema and animation. The series aims to connect Newton’s audiences with the most exciting work on the global festival circuit and bring those conversations home. Curated by Homa Sarabi, in partnership with the West Newton Cinema Foundation, Best of Fests connects our community-run nonprofit cinema—saved and purchased for the community in 2024— to the best of contemporary films around the world.
Rooted in the Foundation’s mission to “foster joy and deepen community connections through innovative, engaging film and arts programming,” the series invites viewers to discover new voices, connect with global stories, and experience the power of cinema together in a historic neighborhood theater.
Curator’s Note:
“It is simple. I believe in the power of cinema to bring us together. I’ve seen how films ignite revolutions, energize movements, resist authorities, grow empathy, spread love, and remind us that life is expansive, multidimensional, and luminous. This world is made of collective struggles, and we are in it together—inside and outside the theater.” — Homa Sarabi

Jack Lemmon: A Centennial Tribute!
2025-10-24 08:00 - 2025-10-26 17:00 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
Our hottest event of the season, West Newton Cinema will present the Jack Lemmon 100th Anniversary Celebration from October 24–26, 2025, marking the centenary of the birth of one of Hollywood’s most celebrated actors and Newton’s own native son.
One of the most beloved actors in movie history, Jack Lemmon (1925–2001) was born John Uhler Lemmon III, in Newton, Massachusetts. He grew up in Newton Center and attended Ward Elementary, the Rivers School, and Andover. After Harvard University, where he was president of the Hasty Pudding Club, and a brief stint in the Navy, Lemmon moved to New York City and made his start in radio and early television before transitioning to film roles. Over five decades and more than sixty films, Lemmon built a career as one of Hollywood’s most versatile actors, known for his witty, relatable “everyman” persona.
The three-day program will feature screenings of Jack Lemmon’s most acclaimed films, a commemorative reception, and a special conversation with members of the Lemmon family. Courtney Lemmon, Chris Lemmon, and Sydney Lemmon will take part in the event, celebrating their father and grandfather’s enduring legacy.

West Newton Cinema presents There Was, There Was Not
2025-11-07 19:00 - 21:00 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
In THERE WAS, THERE WAS NOT, myth and reality intertwine to reveal the lives of four
Armenian women facing the loss of their homeland. What began as a quiet observation
of their daily lives became, after the war in Artsakh, an urgent chronicle of survival — a
cinematic act of memory and resistance.
The film has been hailed by critics as:
“A bold act of narrative resistance”-The Moveable Fest
“A fiery, feminist wartime fable”- Hammer to Nail
“A powerful tribute to a former country” – RogerEbert.com
Filmmaker Atom Egoyan praised it as “a deeply felt and beautifully made film.”
The documentary has toured festivals worldwide following its world premiere at True/False
Film Festival, winning multiple awards, including the Audience Award and First Honorable Mention Jury Award at Argentina’s Mar del Plata International Film Festival and the FIPRESCI International Film Critics Award at the Golden Apricot Film Festival.
Q&A:
Following the screening, filmmaker Emily Mkrtichian will join a Q&A discussion moderated by Paul Boghosian, President of Harbor Side Films, producer of documentaries (PBS), public affairs programming as well as major television and cable
and streaming projects for networks and private clients.

West Newton Cinema presents Behind the Screen: Nouvelle Vague
2025-11-09 13:00 - 15:00 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
NOUVELLE VAGUE is Richard Linklater’s love letter to the magic of French New Wave cinema, as he reimagines the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless (1960), the film that established Godard’s signature place in the history of cinema. The film is about a young and impulsive criminal in Paris and his American girlfriend. In Nouvelle Vague we are transported back to the streets of 1959 Paris for a delightful and vibrant recreation of one of cinema’s most groundbreaking productions. It is an ode to the transformative power of cinema.
POST SCREENING PANEL DISCUSSION
Our distinguished panel will delve into how this film pays tribute to one of the world’s most beloved and influential example of French New Wave cinema. We will go deeper into why this film brought international attention to new ways of French film-making and the impact of French New Wave on how movies are made.
PANELISTS:
TY BURR
Ty Burr, nationally renowned film critic, who reviews films for The Washington Post and writes the film and popular culture newsletter, “Ty Burr’s Watchlist”. Burr worked as a film critic at The Boston Globe from 2002 until 2021.
JULIE LEVINSON, Ph.D.
William R. Dill Governance Professor, Film Studies, Babson College. Levinson’s scholarship has focused on a wide range of topics including genre and gender, documentary film, narrative theory, and metafiction.
MALCOLM TURVEY, Ph.D.
Sol Gittleman Professor, Film and Media Studies, Tufts University. Turvey’s research is in the areas of film theory, the philosophy and aesthetics of film, avant-garde film, and film and modernism.
MODERATOR:
ERICKA KNUDSON, Ph.D.
Visiting Professor, French Studies, Northeastern University.

Ty Burr's Movie Club: Children of Men
2025-11-13 18:30 - 20:30 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
TY BURR’S MOVIE CLUB is hosted by the nationally recognized film critic Ty Burr.
Each month Ty presents and discusses one of his favorite films with the audience. His selections span the spectrum from classics that have stood the test of time to contemporary films that merit a second viewing.
ABOUT THE FILM
In 2027, in a chaotic world in which women have become somehow infertile, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea.

Sy Montgomery & E.B. Bartels: A Turtle Celebration
2025-11-15 11:00 - 13:30 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
West Newton Cinema Reads and Newtonville Books present:
Famed naturalist Sy Montgomery, author of THE TRUE AND LUCKY LIFE OF A TURTLE, and E. B. Bartels, author of GOOD GRIEF, together for a talk and book signing to benefit the Turtle Survival Alliance!
Our day begins with a turtle meet and greet. Sy and E.B. will then share big-screen stories and more from their animal adventures, followed by a Q&A. Guests are invited to stay for a screening of THE SLOWEST STAMPEDE ON EARTH and join Sy and E.B. for a book signing in our lobby.
And don’t forget to bid on items—like turtle quilts—in the silent auction!
The day’s events:
11am-11:30:
Turtle meet & greet; mingle in the lobby to browse books & turtle merch & bid on the silent auction items
11:30-12:30:
Authors talk books & turtles, followed by a Q&A, in the theater
12:30-1:30:
Join us for a screening of THE SLOWEST STAMPEDE ON EARTH (20 mins, in the theater) & a book signing (in the lobby)
National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestseller SY MONTGOMERY is the author of thirty-nine books for both adults and children, including Soul of an Octopus and Of Time and Turtles, and has been honored with a Sibert Medal, three Sibert Honors, two Science Book and Film Prizes from the National Association for the Advancement of Science, four honorary degrees, and many other awards. She lives in Hancock, New Hampshire, with her husband, Howard Mansfield, and their border collie, Thurber.
E.B. BARTELS is a nonfiction writer, a teacher, an editor, and a former bookseller with an MFA from Columbia. She is the author of Good Grief: On Loving Pets, Here and Hereafter (out in paperback from Mariner Books/HarperCollins on 11/11/25), a narrative nonfiction book about loving and losing animals, which has received positive press from many media outlets including The Associated Press, NPR, The Boston Globe, WBUR, Kinship, Psychology Today, and the American Kennel Club, and which has been translated into Korean. Her essays and interviews have appeared in Salon, Slate, WBUR, Literary Hub, Catapult, Electric Literature, The Believer, and The Rumpus, among others. E.B. lives in Arlington, Massachusetts, with her husband (Richie), her son (Luca), and a pair of red-footed tortoises (Terrence and Twyla).

Behind the Screen: It Was Just an Accident
2025-11-16 14:00 - 16:00 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT marks another remarkable act of defiance by Jafar Panahi, one of the most courageous filmmakers of our time. Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, the film is a tense, darkly humorous thriller about Vahid, a mechanic who believes he has reencountered Eghbal, the intelligence officer who once tortured him. As Vahid gathers others whose lives were also scarred by Eghbal, a dangerous plan for revenge takes shape. Panahi crafts a powerful meditation on justice, morality, and resistance under repression. A NEON release and a NYFF63 Main Slate selection.
POST SCREENING PANEL DISCUSSION
Our distinguished panel will discuss IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT in the context of Iranian cinema, political expression, and the role of art as resistance under authoritarian rule.
ALI BANUAZIZI, Ph.D.
Research Professor of Political Science at Boston College and Faculty Affiliate at the Center for International Studies at M.I.T.
Ali Banuazizi’s research focuses on the political cultures of the Middle East and the comparative study of religion, civil society, and politics. His work includes Iran’s social history and its contemporary domestic and foreign relations. A past president of both the Middle East Studies Association and the International Society for Iranian Studies, he has held visiting appointments at Princeton, Harvard, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, MIT, and Oxford University.
RASHIN FAHANDEJ
Multimedia Artist and Filmmaker; Research Fellow, MIT Open Documentary Lab
Rashin Fahandej’s multimedia projects center on marginalized voices and the use of media and technology for social change. Her multi-platform project A Father’s Lullaby explores the role of men in raising children and the impact of racial disparities in the criminal justice system. A 2019 James and Audrey Foster Prize recipient, she has been a Boston Artist-in-Residence and a visiting faculty member at MassArt. She is also a recipient of the Mass Cultural Council Artist Fellowship Grant.
KAMRAN RASTEGAR, Ph.D.
Professor of Comparative Literature, Tufts University
Kamran Rastegar’s scholarship focuses on modern Middle Eastern literature and film, with attention to representation, cultural memory, and transnational identity. He is a founding faculty member of the Department for Studies in Race, Colonialism and Diaspora and an affiliate of the Film and Media Studies Program. He served as Director of the Center for the Humanities at Tufts from 2018 to 2022. His work bridges cultural studies and the political dimensions of art in the Middle East.

West Newton Cinema presents Producers Circle: Nine
2025-12-04 18:30 - 20:30 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
Join us for a special evening with filmmakers Jeremy S. Levine and Rachael DeCruz as they share a rough cut and discuss the making of their documentary, “Nine”.
In this contemplative, immersive documentary, we see two men’s parallel lives unfold, separated by generations and bound together by experience. In Act I, Nine interweaves the lives of Gerald and Henry. They are both stuck. Henry’s life in prison is on loop; he works as a janitor, calls his wife Juanita—who stayed with him during his decades of incarceration—and mentors the younger men while playing dominos before starting it all over again the next day. Gerald frantically juggles his day job, his activism, and at night, he digs into the archives of Henry’s case, looking for something—anything—that will help bring his Pops home. Act II centers on Gerald’s campaign to free Henry. Gerald and his team of formerly incarcerated activists strategize on ways to bring Henry home. They work to pass a bill Gerald wrote while still in prison that would radically transform the clemency board. Gerald records emotional video testimonies from men whose lives Henry transformed. He’s worried it’s not enough and that he’s failing Henry. Things come to a head in Act III, leading to Henry’s clemency hearing and his unexpected freedom after 45 years of incarceration.
With quiet attention to details, Nine feels like a cinematic poem. In moments small and large, the film builds a beautiful, lyrical world that explores the resilience and joy that can be found in our most cherished relationships.
Jeremy S. Levine, Director/Producer
Levine’s work explores race, class, and the power of parental bonds through cinematic, formally rigorous films.
Rachael DeCruz, Director/Producer
DeCruz’s work centers on how familial and community bonds fortify people to push back against racist systems.
Producer’s Circle is an opportunity to:
Experience excerpts of a filmmaker’s past work to understand their vision and craftsmanship.
-Engage directly with in-progress productions that need your support.
-Participate in shaping the final stages of a film’s journey, through discussion and financial contributions.
-Foster a Vibrant Film Community. Beyond supporting a single documentary, your participation helps strengthen Boston’s larger documentary scene. By investing in these works-in-progress, you become part of a community pushing the boundaries of independent storytelling, inspiring future filmmakers, and expanding the city’s creative horizons.

West Newton Cinema presents Behind the Screen: Hamnet
2025-12-07 14:00 - 17:00 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
HAMNET is a historical drama directed by the Academy Award winning writer/director Chloé Zhao and based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell. The film follows the arc in the relationship between William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes in the wake of the death of their 11-year-old son Hamnet. It tells a powerful story of love and loss, and one that is believed to have inspired the creation of Shakespeare’s masterpiece, Hamlet.
POST SCREENING DISCUSSION
Our distinguished panelists will explore the film’s cultural and historical context and discuss more broadly the influence of Shakespeare on the arts, having inspired countless works across different mediums and periods. Artists have continually drawn on Shakespeare’s work for inspiration, an enduring legacy that has shaped modern art and culture.
FEATURING:
STEPHEN GREENBLATT, Ph.D.
John Cogan University Professor of Humanities, Harvard University
Greenblatt is the author of fifteen books, including Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics; The Swerve: How the World Became Modern; Shakespeare’s Freedom; Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare; Hamlet in Purgatory; and most recently Dark Renaissance. He is General Editor of The Norton Anthology of English Literature and of The Norton Shakespeare. His honors include the 2016 Holberg Prize from the Norwegian Parliament, the 2012 Pulitzer Prize and the 2011 National Book Award for The Swerve, and two Guggenheim Fellowships. He has been elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Philosophical Society, the Italian literary academy Accademia degli Arcadi, and is a fellow of the British Academy.
IN CONVERSATION WITH:
MICHELLE EPHRAIM, Ph.D.
Professor of English at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Ephraim, a Shakespeare scholar, is the author of Green World: A Tragicomic Memoir of Love & Shakespeare, which was awarded the 2023 Juniper Prize for Creative Nonfiction; Reading the Jewish Woman on the Elizabethan Stage; and the co-author of the literary humor book Shakespeare, Not Stirred: Cocktails for Your Everyday Dramas. Her latest venture is the award-winning podcast, Everyday Shakespeare, which explores ways that Shakespeare sheds light on our modern problems.

West Newton Cinema presents Director's Spotlight: Drink and Be Merry
2025-12-18 19:00 - 20:30 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
ABOUT THE FILM
Set at a struggling New York dive bar in the days approaching Christmas, 2019, Chet (Jefferson White), a beleaguered bartender in a state of extended arrested development, must balance taking care of his difficult regulars, who have nowhere else to go, and rely on him for far more than pouring drinks, with his naive desire to muster some Christmas Spirit.
Q&A FOLLOWS THE SCREENING
ADAM VOLERICH
Filmmaker and Podcast Producer
The set is his natural habitat and the crew his family. His films have screened and been awarded at festivals worldwide. His latest short film, MISPRINT, premiered on Omeleto, and his feature directing debut, DRINK AND BE MERRY, is available to rent or buy.
Adam is also the co-creator of the hit film podcast EYE OF THE DUCK on the Morbid Podcast Network for SiriusXM. He also produced and developed the Signal Award Winning and Ambie and Webby Nominated narrative fiction podcasts AMERICAN HOSTAGE (Amazon Originals), starring Jon Hamm (soon to be a TV Show from Shawn Ryan and MGM+), and THE FOXES OF HYDESVILLE (QCODE), starring Carey Mulligan, for Criminal Content.
ETHAN WARREN
Author
Ethan Warren is the author of The Cinema of Paul Thomas Anderson: American Apocrypha, and the forthcoming When I Paint My Masterpiece: The Cinematic Dylan.

Newton Cemetery & Arboretum: Artist in Residence Program - Applications Now Open
2026-01-01 00:00 - 2026-02-14 23:59 | Newton Cemetery and Arboretum, 791 Walnut St, Newton, Massachusetts, 02459, United States
The Friends of Newton Cemetery & Arboretum is delighted to announce that the application period for the 2026-27 Artist in Residence (AiR) Program is now open.
This residency invites an artist to immerse themselves in the Cemetery’s historic landscape, its mission of remembrance, and its role as an accredited arboretum. The selected artist will have the unique opportunity to use the grounds as both inspiration and workspace, creating original work that reflects the beauty, memory, and community embodied in this garden cemetery.
The residency will conclude with a public program and exhibition, offering visitors a chance to experience Newton Cemetery & Arboretum through the artist’s creative lens.
Applications are being accepted through Feb. 14, 2026.
Artists interested in engaging with this meaningful environment are encouraged to apply.

West Newton Cinema presents Ty Burr's Movie Club: Her
2026-01-08 18:30 - 21:00 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
TY BURR’S MOVIE CLUB is hosted by the nationally recognized film critic Ty Burr.
Each month Ty presents and discusses one of his favorite films with the audience. His selections span the spectrum from classics that have stood the test of time to contemporary films that merit a second viewing.
ABOUT THE FILM
In the near future, a lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with an operating system designed to meet his every need.

Capella Clausura presents "'in tongues': Ruehr's "Cassandra"
2026-01-24 16:00 - 17:00 | Grace Episcopal Church, 76 Eldredge Street, Newton, MA, 02458, United States
Magic spells, prophecies, secrets, prayers; what happens when words mean more than what they say? Speech has the power to persuade, clarify, distort, and to move. It can even affect the way we remember things, the ways our minds encode memories. This program, centered around Elena Ruehr’s magnificent choral opera “Cassandra”, considers these questions. The figure of Cassandra, from Ancient Greek mythology, provides perspective for understanding these questions. In myth, Cassandra’s blessing is that she can see the future; her curse is that no one believes or understands her prophecies.
Featuring music by: Elena Ruehr, Julia Wolfe, Alissa Voth, and Isaac Roth Blumfield

West Newton presents Behind the Screen: Sinners
2026-02-08 13:00 - 15:30 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
SINNERS is a genre-defying period horror drama written and directed by Ryan Coogler, set in 1932 Mississippi during the Jim Crow era. The story follows twin brothers Elijah “Smoke” Moore and Elias “Stack” Moore, portrayed by Michael B. Jordan in dual roles, who return to their hometown to open a juke joint for the local Black community, only to find that an ancient, supernatural evil threatens their celebration and their lives. The film blends Southern Gothic, blues music, historical memory, and supernatural horror, creating a richly layered narrative about community, survival, and cultural expression.
POST SCREENING PANEL DISCUSSION
Our panel will explore the film’s fusion of music, history, and horror, considering how SINNERS engages with African-American cultural traditions, the symbolic role of blues music in confronting evil, and the artistic choices that make the film a singular cinematic experience.
JAKE BLOUNT, A.M.
Musician, Scholar, and Music Consultant on SINNERS;
Specialist in Traditional African-American Music and Afrofuturism
Jake Blount is an award-winning musician and scholar whose work bridges performance, research, and advocacy. He specializes in African-American traditional music and Afrofuturist approaches, and his recordings have appeared on best-of lists from NPR, The New Yorker, and Rolling Stone. Blount served as a music consultant on SINNERS and his work often interrogates the cultural and historical roots of American music.
JOEL LARUE SMITH, Ph.D.
Associate Teaching Professor, Tufts, Pianist, Composer, Arranger
Joel LaRue Smith has been the Director of the Tufts Jazz Orchestra (formerly the Big Band) and Jazz Activities at Tufts University since 1996. He is also a pianist and composer known for moving seamlessly between jazz, classical, gospel, and Afro-Cuban repertoire. He has performed globally at venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Royal Albert Hall, and has received numerous awards including ASCAP’s distinguished George and Ira Gershwin Award.
BILL LOWE, Ph.D.
Composer, Performer, Educator; Leader of Signifyin’ Natives
Bill Lowe is a distinguished bassist trombonist, tuba player, composer, and educator with decades of experience in creative music. His ensemble Signifyin’ Natives explores African-American musical traditions through improvisation and collaboration, and Lowe has performed and taught extensively throughout the United States and internationally.
