Program Description: This is a new 4K restoration from the original negative of Joan Micklin Silver’s theatrical feature debut. Among the great cinematic portraits of Jewish life in America, Silver’s triumphant 1975 feature is anchored by her own screenplay and an unforgettable Oscar-nominated performance by Carol Kane. Hester Street is a vivid portrayal of 19th-century immigration with a feminist twist. As Yiddish-speaking Gitl arrives in New York to reunite with her husband, she discovers he has shed the customs of the Old World, sparking Gitl’s journey of identity as a new American.

Please join us for a talkback after the screening with special guest author Julia Wagner. Wagner is a lecturer and writer specializing in Jewish-interest film and television and Italian cinema. She holds a PhD in film studies and is the author of the book Hester Street (Bloomsbury, 2025).