Heather Joan Graham is an American actress. After appearing in television commercials, her first starring role in a feature film came with the teen comedy License to Drive (1988), followed by the critically acclaimed film Drugstore Cowboy (1989). She then played supporting roles on the television series Twin Peaks (1991), and in films such as Six Degrees of Separation (1993) and Swingers (1996). She gained critical praise for her role as "Rollergirl" in the film Boogie Nights (1997). This led to major roles in the comedy films Bowfinger and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
The Shidduch is a system of matchmaking in which Jewish singles are introduced to one another in Orthodox Jewish communities for the purpose of marriage.
New York Stories is a 1989 American anthology film consisting of three segments with the central theme being New York City.
Bad Lieutenant is a 1992 American neo-noir crime film directed by Abel Ferrara. The film stars Harvey Keitel as the titular "bad lieutenant" as well as Victor Argo and Paul Calderón. The screenplay was co-written by Ferrara with actress-model Zoë Lund, both of whom appear in the film in minor roles. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.
The Man Who Cried is a 2000 drama film written and directed by Sally Potter, and starring Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp, Harry Dean Stanton and John Turturro. The film tells the story of a young Jewish girl who, after being separated from her father in Soviet Russia, grows up in England and moves to Paris as a young adult, shortly before the beginning of World War II. It is the last film worked on by the French cinematographer Sacha Vierny.
Free Zone is a 2005 film directed by Amos Gitai. Shot in Israel and Jordan, the Israeli-Belgian-French-Spanish production stars Israeli Jewish actress Hanna Laslo, Palestinian actress Hiam Abbass, and Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman. It is the second film of Gitai's "Border" or "Frontier" trilogy.
Trembling Before G-d is a 2001 American documentary film about gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews trying to reconcile their sexuality with their faith. It was directed by Sandi Simcha DuBowski, an American who wanted to compare Orthodox Jewish attitudes to homosexuality with his own upbringing as a gay Conservative Jew.
Zoe Lister-Jones is an American actress and filmmaker who co-starred as Jen Collins Short in the CBS sitcom Life in Pieces from 2015 to 2019. She is also known for her roles in the television shows Delocated (2009–2010), Whitney (2011–2013), and New Girl (2015). Lister-Jones made her directorial debut with the 2017 comedy-drama film Band Aid. In 2020, she wrote and directed the horror film The Craft: Legacy. During the Covid-19 pandemic she co-wrote and co-directed the comedy-drama film How It Ends (2021) with Daryl Wein. In 2023 she produced, wrote, directed, and starred in the comedy series Slip for The Roku Channel, with Dakota Johnson as executive producer under her TeaTime Pictures banner. On December 5, 2023, it was announced that Slip was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards.
Holy Rollers is a 2010 American independent crime drama film directed by Kevin Asch and written by Antonio Macia. It stars Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Bartha, Ari Graynor, Danny A. Abeckaser and Q-Tip. The film is inspired by a true story of a young Hasidic man who was lured into the world of international drug trafficking in the late 90s.
The Chosen is a 1981 American drama film directed by Jeremy Kagan, based on the best-selling book of the same name by Chaim Potok, published in 1967. It stars Robby Benson, Barry Miller, Maximilian Schell and Rod Steiger. At the 1981 Montréal World Film Festival, the film won Grand Prix of the Americas, and Steiger won best actor. Analysis Film Releasing Corp and 20th Century Fox released it in the US in April 1982.
Breaking Upwards is a 2009 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Daryl Wein, starring Zoe Lister-Jones, Wein, Julie White, Peter Friedman, Andrea Martin, and Pablo Schreiber. It explores a 20-something, real-life New York couple battling codependency who intricately strategize their own break-up. Cited as an example of independent film industry sweat equity, the film was shot in Manhattan and Brooklyn on a $15,000 budget. It premiered at the SXSW Film Festival on March 14, 2009, and was released simultaneously at New York City's IFC Center and via video on demand on April 2, 2010.
Fill the Void is a 2012 Israeli drama film written and directed by Rama Burshtein. It focuses on life among the Haredi Jewish community in Tel Aviv, Israel. Hadas Yaron stars as Shira Mendelman, an 18-year-old girl who is pressured to marry her older sister's husband, following the death of her sister in childbirth.
Brooklyn is a 2015 romantic period drama film directed by John Crowley and written by Nick Hornby, based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Colm Tóibín. A co-production between the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada, it stars Saoirse Ronan in the lead role, with Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, and Julie Walters in supporting roles. The plot follows Eilis Lacey, a young Irishwoman who immigrates to Brooklyn in the early 1950s to find employment. After building a life there, she is drawn back to her home town of Enniscorthy and has to choose where she wants to forge her future. Principal photography began in April 2014 with three weeks of filming in Ireland, which were followed by four weeks in Montreal, Quebec; only two days of filming took place in Brooklyn, one of which was spent at the beach in Coney Island.
5 Flights Up is a 2014 American comedy-drama film directed by Richard Loncraine, written by Charlie Peters, and starring Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton. The film is based on the novel Heroic Measures by Jill Ciment. It was released on May 8, 2015 by Focus World.
Dope is a 2015 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Rick Famuyiwa and produced by Forest Whitaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi. It stars Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Kimberly Elise, Chanel Iman, Tyga, Blake Anderson, Zoë Kravitz, ASAP Rocky and Vince Staples. The film was also executive produced by Pharrell Williams and co-executive produced by Sean Combs.
A Majority of One is a 1961 American comedy film directed by Mervyn LeRoy, starring Rosalind Russell and Alec Guinness. It was adapted from the play of the same name by Leonard Spigelgass, which was a Broadway hit in the 1959-1960 season, starring Gertrude Berg and Cedric Hardwicke.
Day Out of Days is a 2015 American drama film directed by Zoe Cassavetes and co-written by Cassavetes and Alexia Landeau, who also starred in the film. In addition to Landeau the film also starred Bellamy Young, Eddie Izzard and Alessandro Nivola. It premiered at the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival to mixed reviews.
The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch is a 2018 Swiss comedy-drama film directed by Michael Steiner. It was selected as the Swiss entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. It is based on Swiss author Thomas Meyer's debut novel, also called Wolkenbruch's Wondrous Journey into the Arms of a Shiksa.
What's Love Got to Do with It? is a 2022 British romantic comedy film directed by Shekhar Kapur, from a screenplay by Jemima Khan. The film stars Lily James, Shazad Latif, Shabana Azmi, Emma Thompson, Sajal Ali, Oliver Chris, Asim Chaudhry, Jeff Mirza, Alice Orr-Ewing and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
Francis Benhamou is an American actress. She received Lucille Lortel Award and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in the 2022 off-Broadway play Prayer for the French Republic.
