2022 Kit Noir Film Festival
MARCH 23–27, 2022
The Third Annual Dr. Saul and Dorothy Kit Film Noir Festival
Film Noir and the Jewish Experience: From WWII to the Blacklist
Programmed by Ann Douglas, Department of English & Comparative Literature
Managed by Rob King, Film & Media Studies and Soheil Rezayazdi, Columbia Film
The 2022 edition of the Kit Noir Festival pays homage to the role Jewish filmmakers played in the creation of film noir, and will showcase films that speak to the Jewish experience during a time of extreme political turmoil.
The festival will include films by émigré directors (Edgar G. Ulmer, Billy Wilder), films that address anti-Semitism (Crossfire) and World War II (Act of Violence, The Stranger), and films on the blacklist and the media (Scandal Sheet, Sweet Smell of Success). This year’s festival is guest-programmed by Ann Douglas, Professor Emerita of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. The lineup features 11 films released between 1945 and 1957, with a majority of titles screening on 35mm film.
Screenings will be accompanied by discussions featuring film scholars Ann Douglas, Noah Isenberg, Vincent Brook, and Steven J. Ross. All talks will be livestreamed for those who cannot attend in person. Proof of vaccination and indoor masking will be required for all in-person screenings and lectures.
The series will include a free pre-festival virtual screening on March 19–20 of Odds Against Tomorrow.
This festival is funded by a generous gift from alumnus Gordon Kit ’76 (Columbia College), in honor of his parents.
Co-presented by the Film Program and Office of Public Programs and Engagement at Columbia University School of the Arts; and Columbia Global Centers.
For more information, contact [email protected].