Editor’s note: Due to the current security situation, events listed below may be postponed or canceled. Check before booking, and stay safe.
FRIDAY, MAY 17
Watch the film American Fiction, directed by Cord Jefferson, a comedy that follows Thelonious Ellison (Jeffrey Wright), a Black American author, as he releases a spoof fictional work that depicts Black life in America in a highly sordid manner. The book becomes a best-seller. The film was lauded for its wise depiction of how racial tensions are sometimes badly served under the guise of progress.
8 p.m. at the Jerusalem Cinematheque, 11 Hebron Rd. NIS 41 per ticket. Call (02) 565-4333 to book.
SATURDAY, MAY 18
Watch the 2016 British BBC documentary HyperNormalisation in which director Adam Curtis shows how various world leaders had, since the 1970s, given up on changing reality and opted instead to create a so-called fake world and control it via media and large firms. The title of the film is a nod to anthropology professor Alexei Yurchak, who coined the term in relation to the USSR, a society in which everything was allegedly super-fine until it collapsed.
The film contains nine episodes, from the 1975 financial crisis in New York, to Syria, and former president Donald Trump. 8:30 p.m. Film in English with Hebrew subtitles. NIS 30 per ticket. Cinema By Sam Spiegel. 3 Menora St. Visit cinema.jsfs.co.il for more.
SUNDAY, MAY 19
Attend the Yarden, Didi and Roni Symphony at the Jerusalem Theatre. Conductor Roni Porat will lead the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra as radio hosts Yarden Bar-Kochva and Didi Shachar share musical stories during the performance of Benjamin Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. 5 p.m. Henry Crown Symphony Hall. 5 Chopin St. NIS 100 per ticket. Hebrew only. One hour. To book, call (02) 561-1498.
✱ Attend “Mozart & Hayden: Between Two Cities.” The two cities are Prague and Oxford, offered by the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra at the International YMCA Auditorium. Conductor Andrew Parrott will lead bassoonist Eyal Streett in this concert, played on period instruments, while music by these two composers is performed. NIS 130 per ticket. 26 King David St. Call (02) 671-4888 to book.
MONDAY, MAY 20
Visit the group exhibition “Evil Root,” curated by Sally Haftel Naveh, now shown at Jerusalem Artists’ House. The exhibition includes works by Yaron Attar, Ron Asulin, Lihi Nidiz, and others, all dealing with human evil and our understandable instinct to ignore it.
12 Shmuel Hanagid St. Free admission. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Thursday. On Saturday, the exhibition will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. On display until Saturday, August 3.
TUESDAY, MAY 21
Meet NUNU, the singer behind such hits as “Oh My God” and “Cute Boy,” as part of an encounter offered by A Place for Poetry. Meant to help process the experience of loss, this series will offer a small audience the opportunity to discuss the relationship between loss and artistic efforts.
In this session, Naomi Aharoni-Gal (aka NUNU) will share some of the history behind her pop songs. Gathering begins at 6:30 p.m. over coffee; the session will begin at 7 p.m. NIS 30 per person. 9 Ha’aravim St. Call (02) 652-4601 or visit www.coing.co/JLM_Barutina/143287 for more. Hebrew-only event.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 22
Attend “From Lipno to Lodz to Israel,” a discussion by the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. Gila Michlovski, retired head of the Weiner Library of the Holocaust at Tel Aviv University, will be speaking to the Na’amat Sophie Udin Club, continuing the conversations of Zichronot Basalon (Memories in the Living Room) begun on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
An entrance fee of NIS 20 will go toward Na’amat Emergency Projects, as well as ongoing support for Jerusalem daycare centers. Light refreshments will be served. The encounter will be in English. 11 a.m. at the Meshanot Center, Shalom Aleichem Street corner of Jabotinsky Street. For more details, call Anna Klein-Lerner at 055-662-4732.
THURSDAY, MAY 23
Watch Stempenyu, a recent theater adaptation offered by Beit Lessin of the 1888 Yiddish novel by Sholem Aleichem. Stempenyu (Iosif Druker) was a violin virtuoso who was a klezmer master in 19th-century Ukraine. The novel is a fictional account of his life, while the theater production is a loose adaptation of the novel done by playwright Edna Mazia.
Directed by Ronnie Brodetzky, the play deals with what happens when the violin master falls in love with a married woman, and his wife doesn’t take it well.
9 p.m. 100 minutes long, no intermission. Hebrew only. NIS 110 to 220. Jerusalem Theatre, 20 Marcus St. To book, call (02) 560-5755.
Throwing a special party? Opening an art exhibition or a new bar? Bringing in a guest speaker to introduce a fascinating topic? Drop a line at hagay_hacohen@yahoo.com and let In Jerusalem know about it. Send emails with “Jerusalem Highlights” in the subject line. Although all information is welcome, we cannot guarantee it will be featured in the column.
