DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. Foreign: 2007 Washington Jewish Film Festival The Washington D.C. Jewish Community Center’s annual film festival has become one of the largest and longest running of the local festivals. This year’s program encompasses over 40 films, from 11 countries. Nearly half of the selections are films from Israel, in recognition of the nation’s 60th year. The event... more ›

>> No Reservations star Anthony Bourdain was reportedly at Ben's Chili Bowl last night, so if you're heading to his reading at GW's Lisner Auditorium tonight, be sure to try to ask him what he thinks of the chili half-smoke. For more information & to check on ticket availability (it's nearly sold-out), call Smithsonian Associates at 202-633-3030. $28, $14 for GW students at the Lisner box office. 7 p.m. >> Philadelphia quintet Dr. Dog... more ›

MONDAY >> We've made no secret of our love for Benjy Ferree, and judging from the amount he seems to be playing around town, everyone else must be enjoying him as well. He's headed out into the great wide open for some of the summer touring season though, so better get over to the Black Cat backstage tonight before he hits the road. With Chicago's The 1900s. $8, 9 p.m. >> Nü metal may be... more ›

This is another one of those weeks, when devoted classical listeners could be in one hall or another every night of the week. Enjoy it while you can, as the summer is almost here and with it far fewer concerts to hear. ESSENTIAL: >> A concert by French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard is an event to be cherished, and this week he will play twice in Washington. The first occasion is a solo recital at the... more ›

Things are a little slow this week in classical music, because of Easter and all that. There are still a few good things to be heard, but the list is shorter than normal. Besides, it's hard to tolerate being indoors when those trees are doing their whole pink thing. more ›

>> The gallery at Flashpoint opens a new show tonight with works by Christopher Saah. Nightscenes includes 25 photographs that turn back alleys and gritty streets into noir-influenced nostalgia. Check them out during the opening reception tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. >> The Nevin Kelly Gallery also has an opening tonight, celebrating their first photography show in the four years its been open. Yanina Manolova and Mark Parascandola's images will contrast formal studio work... more ›

A trip out to Rockville is no minor undertaking for a committed city dweller, but the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington hosts a concert series that offers regular enticement. For the Sunday evening recital by Bejun Mehta (his first ever in the Washington area), rain did not prevent an impressive crowd from filling the center's small auditorium. The celebrated American countertenor has been in town this month, for the Washington Concert Opera's performance of Handel's opera Orlando. more ›

MONDAY When it comes to examining the state of contemporary theatre, Robert Brustein has few peers. Expect a stimulating discussion when Brustein comes to the J to offer his viewpoint on how the post-9/11 years have played out on stage — issues he takes on in Millennial Stages: Essays and Reviews 2001—2005. District of Columbia Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th St. NW., at 7:30 p.m. $8. Also, from the McSweeney’s camp of writers come Kevin... more ›

For citizens with a literary bent, this week’s major highlight is the Hyman S. and Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival, running all week long, mainly at the Jewish Community Center at 1529 16th Street, NW. Highlights include Peter Beinart and Rebecca Goldstein, plenty of panel discussions, a poetry reading, and an appearance by Madeleine Albright, who makes some time while planning her forthcoming libel suit against ABC. A full schedule of this week’s Festival highlights follows below. more ›

TUESDAY Dreckifying The Shop Around the Corner notwithstanding, Nora Ephron has a solid track record of bringing the funny. Why so wistful, then, Nora? Find out tonight at Politics and Prose as she discusses I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW., 7 p.m. If you can’t make it, she’ll be making another D.C. stop Wednesday at the District of Columbia Jewish Community Center, 16th &... more ›

MONDAY The troubled Americans of the McSweeney’s empire have built their legacy on ironic footnote deployments, mock mawkishness, and the transformation of the esoteric into the sublime. Plus some funny-ass lists and stuff. Tonight, join Evany Thomas and Dustin Long as they read from The Secret Language of Sleep and Icelander, respectively. It will be like staring into the face of God. Olsson’s Dupont Circle, 1307 19th St. NW, 7 p.m. TUESDAY Ariel Dorfman comes... more ›

Dybbuk, the term for a spirit that enters the body of someone who is living, is derived from the Hebrew word "to cling". Appropriately, the Washington DC Jewish Community Center's (DCJCC) production of S. Anski's classic Jewish text, The Dybbuk, focuses on characters who cling to things a little too tightly. Leah's father Sender (Irakli Kavsadze), for example, clings to the idea that a marriage full of material riches, in contrast to one formed by love, is best for his daughter. Leah's (Irinia Tsikurishvili) love interest, Chonnon (Andrew Zox), clings to his scholarly works and becomes entranced by the mysticism of Kabbalah as a way to seek explanation for that which cannot be explained. more ›

FRIDAY: Anyone in need of a little funk infusion tonight would do well to check out Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings at Black Cat. The DCist staff list today was full of sentiments like "I've heard great things about these guys," and Jones' background suggests she probably has more than a passing understanding of the world of soul: She was born in Augusta, Georgia (hometown of James Brown) and spent her teens in Brooklyn, NY.... more ›

Good morning, Washington. Either you're in the throes of a long weekend courtesy of the holidays, or toiling away at work. We at DCist are glad to be back -- albeit at a slower pace this week -- bringing you the news and events one post at a time. And while Christmas has come and gone, both Hanukkah and Kwanzaa kick off today, extending the celebration for the week to come. more ›

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Shalom, readers. The Washington, D.C. area welcomes competing Jewish Literature Festivals to town: The Hyman S. and Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival at the DCJCC and the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington’s 36th Annual Book Festival. Both festivals offer exciting programs. On 16th Street, the DCJCC kicks things off Monday with Nick Olcott, one of the leading lights in the local theater scene, paying special tribute to Arthur Miller and Saul Bellow. It continues... more ›

We have to admit it: we're a sucker for the Sox. And we'll be staying in tonight with a bottle or four of beer to watch the game. But if baseball's not your bag, there are plenty of events to keep you occupied this rainy fall evening: It's the sixth anniversary of Mothertonuge, a spoken poetry event, and they're having a happy birthday at the Black Cat. 8:30 p.m., $7. The first of the monthly... more ›

Film enthusiasts depressed over the end of the APA film festival last week can take heart, as one busy week remains in another festival. Washington D.C.'s Fourteenth International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Reel Affirmations 14 ends this Saturday, and dozens of of screenings of GLBT films are scheduled this week at the Jewish Community Center Theater and the Lincoln Theater. DCist thinks Brother to Brother, a film scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday sounds particularly... more ›

DC's 2004 Asian Pacific American Film Festival is well under way. The festival features screenings of a wide variety of films at venues across the District - from the Smithsonian Castle to the Goethe-Institut. The festival runs through the 16th, when it closes with a blowout party at Panache off Connecticut. (See a Washingtonian review.) Bex Blog is attending the screening tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Goethe-Institut of a series of women's short films... more ›

Though the weekend is going to be absolutely-freaking-gorgeous, DCist can't help but feel a twinge of bitterness. First, we've got to run 22 miles tomorrow for our seemingly never-ending Marine Corps Marathon training. And then we don't even get Monday off! The gods are against us. Anyway, no reason everyone else shouldn't have some fun! Grumble ... FRIDAY: Beastie Boys bring their show to the Patriot Center. Need a ticket? Check craigslist. Lots of last-minute... more ›

The 2004 D.C. Labor Film Festival starts tomorrow and ends Monday. The festival is sponsored by the DC Metro Council AFL-CIO, Debs-Jones-Douglass Institute, and the American Film Institute, and all films are shown at the AFI's Silver Theater in Silver Spring. The concluding film will be shown in the District at the D.C. Jewish Community Center at 1529 16th St. NW. All of the films are $8.50, the final film $9. more ›