Newton Cultural Alliance

West Newton Cinema presents Behind the Screen: ANORA
2024-11-10 12:30 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | 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

Film Screening of An Uncommon Education: The Allen School
2025-10-14 18:30 - 21:00 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
Historic Newton, West Newton Cinema, and Newton Cultural Alliance are excited to present a showing and panel discussion of the film “An Uncommon Education: The Allen School”! Join us on Tuesday, October 14 to view the original film (released in 2023) followed by a panel discussion and Q&A with the filmmakers. Tickets are $20 and equally benefit all three non-profit organizations.

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.
