Hartford Jewish Film Fest Presents Silent Films With Love Music

The almost-lost art of presenting live music performed with silent classic films returns to the Mandell Jewish Community Center, West Hartford, on Tuesday March 23, 2010, 7:00 PM when The Hartt School of the University of Hartford and the Mandell JCC Hartford Jewish Film Festival present Hungry Hearts, a nostalgic evening of movies and music. Seventy student musicians will perform an original score ‘live to picture' composed by Hartt School students under the instruction of award-winning composer Joseph Turrin and the direction of Glen Adsit, Associate Director, Instrumental Studies Division, and Director of Bands at The Hartt School.

The film and concert, a first for the 14 year-old Hartford Jewish Film Festival, is the Closing Night event and includes a post-concert reception. Hungry Hearts, a classic 1922 black and white Jewish silent film described as a ‘three hanky melodrama', was directed by E. Mason Hopper. It was restored in 2006 by the National Center for Jewish Film at Brandeis University. The silent film with English inter-titles is a Hollywood adaptation of the short stories of Anzia Yezierska, the first writer to bring stories of American Jewish women to a mainstream audience. Hungry Hearts is the bittersweet immigrant tale of the Levin family, filmed on New York's Lower East Side, and stars many of the leading box office names of the early 20th century. The concert and reception are sponsored by the Ellen JeAnne Goldfarb Memorial Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Hartford, Irma and Mort Handel, and Jane and Franklin Hurwitz.

"Anzia Yeizierska had the courage to become a writer during a time when women were relegated to lesser occupations," said Mr. Turrin, whose music has been commissioned and performed by some of the world's leading orchestras, chamber ensembles, and soloists. "Its universal theme about immigrants and the hardships they endure in a new and often hostile world make a rich and interesting story and a delight to score." The original compositions of six Hartt School students - Emsook Baek, Jonathan Dostou, Matthew Ferrandino, Joshua Hummel, Daniel Morel, and Sean Pallatroni - will be performed by 70 members of The Ensemble of The Hartt School Symphony Band. Rehearsals have been underway since January in preparation for the March 23 premiere of this collaborative work. Hartt's Matthew Aubin, Associate Director of Bands, and Dr. Robert Carl, Chairman and Professor of Composition, share production credits.

The March 23 Hungry Hearts film and concert culminate a ten day cinematic feast which begins on Saturday, March 13, 2010, at 8:00 PM. This year's festival, presented by the Mandell JCC with the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, the Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies, and The Hartt School, includes 30 acclaimed Jewish-themed films of comedy, romance, family, action, history, and sports, plus live music, dance, a children's film and opera, Reel Talk panels, and receptions. Almost all of the films - from Argentina, Canada, France, Israel, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States - are Hartford or Connecticut premieres and will be screened in seven Greater-Hartford theatres.

TICKETS AND INFORMATION

Tickets for the Tuesday, March 23, 2010 Hungry Hearts Film and Closing Night Concert are $25 per person including a dessert reception and are on sale at the Mandell JCC in person, via phone and by mail. Seating is limited, and advanced purchase is recommended to avoid being wait-listing. Tickets will be sold at the door subject based on availability. All seating is general admission and the program is subject to change. All events are under Hartford Kashrut Commission supervision. For tickets, more information, directions, and a brochure, please contact the Hartford Jewish Film Festival Box Office, Mandell JCC, Zachs Campus, 335 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117, at 860.231.6316, visit the official Festival website at www.hjff.org, or contact the Member Services Center, 860-236-4571.

The Hartt School is the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford that offers innovative degree programs in music, dance, and theatre. With more than 400 concerts, recitals, plays, master classes, dance performances, and musical theatre productions a year, performance is central to Hartt's curriculum. For more information on The Hartt School, visit www.hartford.edu/hartt.

Pictured: Glen Adsit and Joseph Turrin

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