Ghosts, courtroom drama, pathos to highlight Sonoma Jewish films

"Judgment at Nuremberg" will be presented Thursday, Nov. 20. The 1961 U.S. film, directed by Stanley Kramer, stars Spencer Tracy, Judy Garland, Burt Lancaster, Marlene Dietrich and others. It dramatizes the proceedings of the second Nuremberg trials during which German judges were tried for their roles in upholding laws involving human rights abuses.

"Like a Bride," a 1993 film shot in Mexico and directed by Guita Schyfter, will finish the series on Dec. 18. It tells of Oshinica, the daughter of Turkish-Jewish immigrants living in Mexico, who agrees with her tradition-bound family that a woman's role is to be married. Then she meets Rifke, another young woman who introduces Oshinica to the Zionist Socialist Youth Movement. A story unfolds of women straddling tradition and modernity within the ethnic complexity of Mexico.

All films will screen at 7:30 p.m. at Lakeside Cinemas, 551 Summerfield Road, Santa Rosa. A discussion will follow each show. Tickets are $7.50 each, $26 for the series. Discounts for seniors, students and children are available. The series is sponsored by the Jewish Community Agency of Sonoma County to benefit its programs and services. For information, call (707) 528-4222.