History of Movie Music with Leonard Slatkin and Elliott Forrest
Friday, March 28, 8:00pm, Nyack Center, 58 Depew Ave, Nyack
ArtsRock and Rivertown Film present a very special evening with six-time Grammy Award-winning conductor Leonard Slatkin. Elliott Forrest and Maestro Slatkin will present 30 film clips as they chronicle the history of movie music, from silent films (that were never silent) to today. Composers include: John Williams, Bernard Herrmann, Elmer Bernstein, Danny Elfman, and Terence Blanchard, among others.
Leonard Slatkin was the long-time Music Director of the St. Louis and Detroit Symphonies. Slatkin was born in Los Angeles, where both his parents played in orchestras for famous film scores. He will share his personal story, as well his vast knowledge of the history of movie music. Mr. Forrest is the Midday Host on WQXR where he plays movie music on weekdays during his “Score at 4.”
This event will also feature a live performance of “The Wizard of Oz Fantasy,” an arrangement of the beloved songs from the classic film. The piano duo will be performed live by Donna Weng Friedman and Yukimi Song to celebrate the 120th Anniversary of the birth of the film’s composer, Harold Arlen.
Tickets at ArtsRock.org.
13th Annual Nyack International Film Festival
Sunday, March 30 – Saturday, April 5, Hotel Nyack, 400 High Ave, Nyack
The 12th Annual Nyack International Film Festival (NIFF) is a gold rated festival and biggest 7 day event in Rockland County. NIFF prides itself on bringing the village of Nyack one of the most eclectic collections of films ever seen in the area.
Click here to visit the box office.
22nd Annual JCC Jewish Film Festival presents Bad Shabbos
Wednesday, April 2, 1:00-2:00pm, JCC Rockland, 450 W Nyack Rd, West Nyack
Daniel Robbins is NYC-based director. In his films, he takes exciting concepts and grounds them with authentic performances, surprising humor, and propulsive energy. His breakout film PLEDGE was a hit at Fantasia Film Festival and sold to IFC Midnight as well as a streaming deal with Hulu. He also won “Best Director” at Screamfest. His Borat-style comedy feature CITIZEN WEINER debuted in 2024 and is currently available on Tubi. And his film BAD SHABBOS won the Audience Award at Tribeca and is currently in theaters.
Click here for tickets.
Click here to visit the 22nd Annual JCC Jewish Film Festival Guide.
Michael Ian Black and Pete Dominick in Conversation for Indivisible Rockland Fundraiser
Thursday, April 3, doors open at 5:45pm, event 6:00-8:00pm, Hotel Nyack, 400 High Ave, Nyack
Indivisible Rockland presents an evening of comedy with Michael Ian Black (Mike Lawler’s ex-best friend), Pete Dominick, and special guests.
Click here for tickets.
22nd Annual JCC Jewish Film Festival Social Justice Film, Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round Screening
Thursday, April 3, 7:00pm, Regal Nanuet, 6201 Fashion Dr, Nanuet
The 22nd annual JCC Rockland International Jewish Film Festival presents
their 2025 Social Action Film Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round, an untold civil rights story, before the march on Washington, there was Glen Echo.
The documentary tells the story of how five Black students rode a segregated carousel in Glen Echo Park in Maryland in 1960, igniting one of the earliest organized interracial civil rights protest in US history, the Jews they marched with, Nazis they provoked, Congressmen they inspired, and Civil Rights leaders they became.
A panel discussion following the film includes:
Wilbur T. Aldridge, Mid-Hudson Regional Director, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Bill Batson, Moderator, Artist, writer, activist, 2021 inductee to the Rockland Civil Rights Hall of Fame. Peter Geffen Educator, civil rights worker for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC),. Dr. Frances Pratt, President of the Nyack Branch of the NAACP for 41 years. Rev. Carl L. Washington, III, Pastor, Pilgrim Baptist church Nyack celebrating the 150th year. Barbara Williams, witness of bus burning in Anniston Alabama in 1965, featured What Happened to Jackson Avenue, a 2023 documentary on the Urban Renewal debacle in Nyack.
Click here for tickets.
Click here to visit the 22nd Annual JCC Jewish Film Festival Guide.
Classical Candlelight Concert Series presents Sean Lee
Saturday, April 5, 7:00pm, First Reformed Church of Nyack, 18 South Broadway, Nyack
American violinist Sean Lee is one of few violinists who dare to perform the complete 24 Caprices of Niccolò Paganini in concert, which he’ll do in Nyack. A recipient of Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Career Grant, Lee has captured the attention of audiences worldwide, with performances described by The New York Times as “breathtakingly beautiful”.
A long-time violinist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Lee has also collaborated in performances with Itzhak Perlman, Sir James Galway, Deborah Voigt, and members of the Emerson and Guarneri String Quartets.
Lee was born in Los Angeles then moved to New York City at age 17, where he studied at the Juilliard School with Itzhak Perlman earning both Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees, and received the William Schuman Prize upon graduation.
Tickets at ArtsRock.org.
No Other Land Screening
Wednesday, April 9, 8:00pm, Nyack Center, 58 Depew Ave, Nyack
Made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective, the film shows the destruction of the occupied West Bank’s Masafer Yatta and the alliance which develops between the Palestinian activist Basel and Israeli journalist Yuval.
Directed by Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor, No Other Land won Best Documentary Feature Film, 2025 Academy Award Winner
“Audacious and devastating. Its subject — the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — couldn’t be more consequential, and its approach, which includes a directorial team of two Israelis and two Palestinians, feels genuinely daring and bold.” – The New York Times
“Superb. Not to be missed. A riveting and humane experience pulled out of the rubble of a never-ending war.” – The Chicago Tribune
Purchasing tickets, here, in advance is recommended.
