Newton Cultural Alliance

The Hyde Community Center presents Summer in the Highlands
2023-07-15 18:00 - 22:00, 2023-07-21 18:00 - 22:00, 2023-07-22 18:00 - 22:00, 2023-07-28 18:00 - 22:00, 2023-07-29 18:00 - 22:00, 2023-08-04 18:00 - 22:00, 2023-08-05 18:00 - 22:00, 2023-08-11 18:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) and 9 more dates | Hyde Community Center, 90 Lincoln St, Newton Highlands, MA, 02461, United States
The Hyde Community Center
2023 Summer in the Highlands
All Movies and Concerts are free and take place on Hyde Bandstand at Hyde Playground.
Sponsor for all activities on Hyde Bandstand this summer: The Village Bank.
In partnership with the Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council.
For more information 617-201-7088 or director@hydecenter.org or www.hydecenter.org
Hyde on Twitter @hydehighlands. Hyde on Instagram hydehighlands.
The Hyde Community Center is a nonprofit corporation.
Full Schedule available here.

Scandinavian Cultural Center presents Kim Cannon Arm
2023-09-23 13:00 - 16:00 | Scandinavian Cultural Center, 206 Waltham St, Newton, MA, 02465, United States
Kim Cannon Arm is a true legend of arcade games. He and his friends from Bip Bip Bar set out to break the world record of his favorite game Gyruss, which is known as one of the most intense arcade games ever invented. He is planning to play nonstop for 100 hours – that is four days in a row. Kim obviously needs to be in good physical shape before he tries to break the record, and the game needs to be specifically planned so that Kim can once in a while get a 15-minute break on a mattress in the corner.
https://scandicenter.org/event/screening-cannon-arm-and-the-arcade-quest-denmark/

NewTV Members Meet-Up
2024-01-10 11:00 - 12:30 | NewTV, 23 Needham St, Newton, MA, 02461, United States
NewTV Members Meet-Up
Saturday, January 20, 11:00 am
Meet and connect with fellow NewTV members at a Members Network Meet – Up. Attend in person or remotely to hear about new projects and opportunities, exchange helpful ideas and resources, and build a network of crew members for your next production.

West Newton Cinema presents Gen X series: The Breakfast Club
2024-11-08 18:30 - 21:00 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
This Friday, we invite you to step back, reconnect, and share a laugh together at our first Gen X Series film, THE BREAKFAST CLUB—the iconic story of five teens who, despite their differences, learn to find common ground.
Brad Abraham, seasoned screenwriter and creator of the comic series Mixtape, together with Susannah Gora, pop culture expert and author of “You Couldn’t Ignore Me If You Tried: The Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a Generation”, will discuss the Brat Pack’s legacy and how these films shaped the Gen X view of friendship, romance, and success.
** Screening and Post-Film Discussion **
THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985)
97 minutes | R | Comedy
A film by John Hughes
Starring: Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy, and Emilio Estevez

West Newton Cinema presents Behind the Screen: ANORA
2024-11-10 12:30 - 15:30 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
Join us at West Newton Cinema for a special screening of Sean Baker’s critically acclaimed film “Anora” followed by a panel discussion featuring Lisa Goldblatt Grace, Malcolm Turvey, and Ty Burr.
Anora* is a comedy-drama about a New York exotic dancer (Mikey Madison) whose involvement with the son of a Russian oligarch (Paul Weissman) leads to a farcical odyssey across Brooklyn and a hard reckoning. The film won the top prize at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and is already being hailed as one of the year’s best movies—but is its portrait of sex work empathetic or exploitive, a clear-eyed acknowledgment of the realities or just another Hollywood fairy tale?
Panelists will include Lisa Goldblatt Grace, Co-Executive Director of My Life My Choice, a national organization fighting the commercial sexual exploitation of women and children, and Professor Malcolm Turvey, founding Director of Tufts University’s Film and Media Studies Program and a distinguished scholar of film theory and aesthetics. The event will be moderated by Ty Burr, the Boston Globe’s film critic from 2002 to 2021 and currently reviewing movies for The Washington Post and in the subscription newsletter Ty Burr’s Watch List.
*Content Note: Anora is an R-rated film, with rough language and scenes of nudity and graphic sexuality.

West Newton Cinema presents Ty Burr's Movie Club: "It's Always Fair Weather"
2024-11-14 18:00 - 20:30 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
If “Singin’ in the Rain” is regarded as the high-water mark of the MGM musical, (and one of the great all-time movies), this reunion of star Gene Kelly and director Stanley Donen is the studio’s brilliant best-kept secret. Kelly, Dan Dailey and Michael Kidd play three ex-GI pals who meet up ten years after WWII and discover they can’t stand each other — until a “This Is Your Life” TV producer (Cyd Charisse) gets them on national television. A delightful discovery with some of the most eye popping song-and-dance number you’ll ever see. (Gene Kelly tap-dancing on roller skates — enough said.)
Ty Burr, former Boston Globe film critic and Pulitzer Prize finalist, presents this handpicked film screening at West Newton Cinema followed by an interactive group discussion.

Behind The Screen: A Real Pain (Film & Discussion)
2024-11-24 12:30 - 15:00 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
Screening & Post-Film Discussion with Michelle Ephraim, Jonathan Wilson and Tim Miller!
Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain is a sharp, thoughtful take on family and the weight of inherited history. In it, cousins David and Benji—played by Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin—travel to Poland to connect with their Jewish roots and honor their late grandmother, a Holocaust survivor. The two cousins couldn’t be more different: David is responsible and tightly wound, while Benji is a free spirit, creating a humorous and heartfelt dynamic between the two as they confront their past and the unresolved tensions in their relationship.
Panelists:
Michelle Ephraim, Professor of English at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and author of the memoir Green World: A Tragicomic Memoir of Love & Shakespeare, weaves together her life, the lives of her Holocaust-survivor parents, and the writings of Shakespeare.
Jonathan Wilson, Professor of Rhetoric and Debate Emeritus at Tufts, with interests in creative writing and contemporary Jewish literature, is the author of nine books including The Red Balcony.
Moderated by Tim Miller, co-president of the Boston Society of Film Critics.

Behind The Screen: WICKED with author Gregory Maguire
2024-11-28 08:00 - 17:00 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, joins us for a screening and discussion of the new musical film WICKED (2024), the world within his books, and all things Oz!
WICKED brings the untold origin story of the witches of Oz to life, based on Maguire’s bestselling novel and the beloved Broadway musical. Directed by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians), this visually stunning adaptation stars Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum.
Gregory Maguire is a New York Times bestselling author of numerous novels for adults and children in addition to Wicked, including Son of a Witch, After Alice, and A Wild Winter Swan. A former professor and co-director at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, Maguire continues to enchant readers with his inventive storytelling and masterful prose.
Movie Screening followed by Discussion.
160 minutes | PG | Musical

Historic Newton Presents Newton History Series: A Pressing Matter - 18th Century Media Literacy and Bias
2024-12-17 08:00 - 17:00 | Newton Free Library, 330 Homer St, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
Media and information literacy are essential 21st-century skills in order to be an informed citizen. These are also skills that, when applied in a historical context, help us become better historians. In this discussion, we will analyze perspective, language, and bias in 18th-century newspapers, with a critical lens on how news was consumed in colonial America.
About the speaker: Michele Gabrielson is a local history teacher and historic interpreter of the 18th century. When she is not teaching in the classroom, Michele can be found leading tours, lectures, and demonstrations at historic sites in the greater Boston area. She specializes in interpreting the history of colonial women printers, the stories of loyalist refugees, and of 18th century chocolate makers! Most recently, she has taken on building a first-person impression of the revolutionary playwright and poet Mercy Otis Warren. Michele additionally serves on several historical committees dedicated to helping preserve the history of colonial America, is a member of the Authenticity Standards Committee for Minuteman National Historic Park, and is the coordinator for the Battle Road Guides for the annual reenactment of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. She was recently awarded a 2024 Rising Star Award for Public History by the Massachusetts History Alliance for her programming titled, “The Revolutionary Classroom,” and named a finalist for the 2024 Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year.
This program is part of the Newton History Series, co-sponsored by Historic Newton and the Newton Free Library. Look out for lectures in both February and March 2025.
Thursday, January 16, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Newton Free Library, Druker Auditorium
Free, registration not required

Behind the Screen: SECRET MALL APARTMENT with Director Jeremy Workman and Artist/Resident Michael Townsend
2025-04-13 12:30 - 15:00 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
Directed by Jeremy Workman
Starring Michael Townsend, Colin Bliss, Adriana Valdez-Young, Andrew Oesch, James J.A. Mercer
Film and Post-Screening Discussion with:
Jeremy Workman, Director
Michael Townsend, Artist and onetime mall resident
Nate Harrison, Dean of Academic Affairs, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University
In 2003, eight young Rhode Islanders created a secret apartment in a hidden space inside the Providence Place Mall and lived in it for four years, filming everything along the way. They snuck in furniture, tapped into the mall’s electricity, and even secretly constructed a brick wall with a locking door, smuggling in over 2 tons of cinderblock. Far more than just a wild prank, the secret apartment became a deeply meaningful place for all its inhabitants – a personal expression of defiance against local gentrification, a boundary-pushing work of public/private art, a clubhouse to coordinate their artistic charity, and finally, a 750 square foot space that sticks it to the man.
JEREMY WORKMAN
Emmy-nominated director of the documentaries SECRET MALL APARTMENT (Executive Produced by Jesse Eisenberg), LILY TOPPLES THE WORLD (Discovery), DECIDING VOTE (Oscar-shortlisted Best Documentary Short), THE WORLD BEFORE YOUR FEET (Greenwich Entertainment / Kino Lorber), and MAGICAL UNIVERSE (IFC Films). Jeremy’s documentaries have played at prestigious film festivals and been released in theaters and on TV across the globe. He has been praised for creating his own genre of uniquely cinematic character portraits that bring viewers deep inside extraordinary worlds.
MICHAEL TOWNSEND
Providence, RI artist known as “that guy that lived in a mall” and “that guy who invented Tape Art.” He has made over 500 temporary tape art murals on buildings all over the world, has taught collaborative drawing to over 60,000 students, and still sneaks in the time to make large secret artworks that no one will ever see.
NATE HARRISON
Dean of Academic Affairs, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University and a Professor of the Practice. An artist and writer working at the intersection of intellectual property, cultural production and the formation of creative processes in modern media, Nate’s work has been exhibited at the American Museum of Natural History, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Centre Pompidou, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Kunstverein in Hamburg, among others.

West Newton Cinema presents Sabbath Queen
2025-07-31 08:00 - 17:00 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
West Newton Cinema will show the documentary Sabbath Queen, followed by a Q&A discussion with the director, Sandi DuBowski. Sabbath Queen is a feature documentary filmed over 21 years, follows Rabbi Amichai Lau Lavie’s epic journey as the dynastic heir of 38 generations of Orthodox rabbis, including the Chief Rabbis of Israel. Torn between rejecting and embracing his destiny, Amichai becomes a drag-queen rebel, a queer bio-dad, and the founder of Lab/Shul—an everybody-friendly, God-optional, artist-driven, pop-up experimental congregation.

New TV presents Future Forward Gala
2025-09-30 18:00 - 21:00 | Boston Marriott Newton, 2345 Commonwealth Avenue, Newton, MA, 02466, United States
NewTV is pleased to announce their inaugural Future Forward Gala on September 30, 2025 beginning at 6:00PM. The Gala will take place at the Boston Marriott Newton, located at 2345 Commonwealth Avenue.
Like most community media centers, NewTV is funded primarily by a surcharge on the cable bill of local cable subscribers. With more and more people “cutting the cord” in favor of streaming services and apps, NewTV is rapidly losing a major source of funding needed to serve the Newton community. Supporting the Future Forward Gala helps to finance NewTV’s annual fundraising campaign, ensuring that NewTV remains the best community media center in the nation.
The gala features an immersive journey through NewTV’s history: Learn what NewTV has accomplished and discover some of the most meaningful content they have created over the past three decades. NewTV will also define their vision for the future – how they will continue to protect your First Amendment right to free speech, and how they will continue to provide you with transparent local government coverage and journalistic integrity.
The evening also includes cocktail hour and hors d’oeuvres, a sit-down dinner, a live performance by Boston music legend Livingston Taylor, and a tribute to outgoing Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller.

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.

Ty Burr's Movie Club: I Know Where I've Been!
2025-10-09 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
I’m always a little surprised when someone says they haven’t heard of I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING!, the 1945 Michael Powell-Emeric Pressburger romance set in the rugged, mystical Scottish Hebrides. It was my mother’s all-time favorite movie, so, for me, it’s always been around — she would have been 22 when it came out, and for her generation I think it held some of the same eldritch appeal as a show like “Outlander” does today (albeit with rather less bodice-ripping).
More to the point, I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! has within it the genetic material of so many romantic comedies and dramas that have followed, then and now and the day after tomorrow: The Proud Heroine, all set to marry the wrong man; the Right Man right there by her side, annoying her while she annoys him until they just say the hell with it and kiss; a Forest of Arden setting whose magic bends the laws of attraction; a wry best friend or two and a gallery of eccentrics to remind the Proud Heroine she’s part of the human race. Plenty of movies before I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! had some or all of those ingredients, but few filmmakers have been able to suggest the wildness of life bursting through repressed British decorum like Powell, here and in films like “The Red Shoes,” “Black Narcissus,” and many others.
–Ty Burr
