With two weeks into social distancing and the city’s new stay at home order, we wanted to share some entertainment you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home. We know it doesn’t compare to being together in the theatre – greeting friends, catching up, and giving hugs, but we hope it helps provide a distraction in this challenging time.
Until we can reconvene in person, we hope you enjoy these suggestions for books, movies, TV shows, and other ways to enjoy the arts all through a Jewish or Israeli lens.
We’re also excited to share that the Houston Jewish Film Festival’s closing night film, Standing Up, Falling Down starring Billy Crystal, will be coming to your homes for free for 24 hours starting Wednesday, April 1 at 6:00 PM. Get all the details.
Film Databases/Streaming Services
Films & TV Series - Video on Demand
Books
Author Events
Theatre
Podcasts
Museums
Comedy
Film Databases/Streaming Services
- Chai Flicks: a streaming service of Jewish themed films from Menemsha Films, including some past Houston Jewish Film Festival favorites (Dough, Run Boy Run, and Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel), along with some films we haven’t screened. They are currently offering a 30-day free trial
- Israeli Film Center Films: films available to stream for a fee through Israeli Films. You’ll recognize some past Houston Jewish Film Festival films (Magic Men and Apples from the Desert).
- Jewish Film Institute: film database that compiles Jewish films that are available through different Video on Demand platforms.
- Five Yiddish films you can stream for free
Films & TV Series Available to Stream on Video on Demand
Thanks to our friends at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center for this list.
- The Angel, Docudrama/Thriller, Netflix
- The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch, Dramedy, Netflix
- False Flag, Adventure, Hulu
- Fauda, Spy Thriller, Netflix
- Hashoter Hatov - "The Good Cop", TV Comedy, Netflix
- Maktub, Action-Comedy, Netflix
- Mossad 101, Action Drama, Netflix
- The Operative, Mystery/Spy Thriller, Amazon Prime, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play
- Our Boys, Docudrama, HBO
- Red Sea Diving Resort, Drama, Netflix
- Shtisel, TV Drama, Netflix
- The Spider in the Web, Mystery/Spy Thriller, Amazon Prime, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play
- The Spy, Action Thriller, Netflix
- Srugim, TV Dramedy, Amazon Prime
- When Heroes Fly, TV Drama, Netflix
Books
- All this Could be Yours by Jami Attenberg
- And the Bride Closed the Door by Ronit Matalon
- Apeirogon by Colum McCann
- Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman by Abby Stein
- The Best People: A Tale of Trials and Errors by Marc Grossberg
- The Body Politic by Brian Platzer
- The Book Rescuer: How a Mensch from Massachusetts Saved Yiddish Literature for Generations to Come by Sue Macy and Stacy Innerst
- Conversation with RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsberg on Life, Love, Liberty, and Law by Jeffrey Rosen
- The Dairy Restaurant by Ben Katchor
- Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
- Fly Already by Etgar Keret
- Further Up the Path by Daniel Oz
- Grandparenting: Renew, Relive, Rejoice by Pam Siegel and Leslie Zinberg
- House of Trelawny by Hannah Rothschild
- House on Endless Waters by Emuna Elon
- Inheritance by Dani Shapiro
- Irving Berlin: New York Genius by James Kaplan
- Listening for America: Inside the Great American Songbook by Rob Kaplow
- Nice Try: Stories of Best Intentions and Mixed Results by Josh Gondelman
- On Division: A Novel by Goldie Goldbloom
- Poisoner in Chief-Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control by Stephen Kinzer
- Red Sea Spies: The True Story of Mossad’s Fake Holiday Resort by Raffi Berg
- Smacked: A Story of White-Collar Ambition, Addiction, and Tragedy by Eileen Zimmerman
- The Survivors: A Story of War, Inheritance and Healing by Adam Frankel
- The Teacher by Michal Ben-Naftali
- The Topeka School: A Novel by Ben Lerner
- This Terrible Beauty: A Novel by Katrin Schumann
Author Events
- Previous author talks recorded from the Stroum Jewish Community Center, including Ehud Barak and Yotam Ottolenghi
- Unpacking the Book event presented by the Jewish Book Council with Rebecca Dinnerstein Knight, "Hex" and Josh Gondelman "Nice Try," in a conversation with Stephanie Butnick, Table Magazine on Thursday, March 26 at 7PM (EST).
Theatre
Podcasts
- Tablet Magazine’s Unorthodox Podcast - the world’s leading Jewish podcast
- Israel Story – has been called the Israeli ‘This American Life’
- Take One - Daf Yomi (daily page of Talmud) podcast hosted by Liel Leibovitz
Museums
Comedy
Dive into a new book, explore some films or take a virtual museum tour. Stay safe and be well, and we hope to all be able to gather soon to enjoy the arts in person.
