$12 General Admission, $9 Member, $7 child age 14 or younger

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From Schubert to Strauss, Bach to Brahms, Mozart to…Billy Joel, Itzhak Perlman’s violin playing transcends mere performance to evoke the celebrations and struggles of real life; “praying with the violin,” says renowned Tel Aviv violinmaker Amnon Weinstein. Alison Chernick’s enchanting documentary looks beyond the sublime musician to see the polio survivor whose parents emigrated from Poland to Israel and the young man who struggled to be taken seriously as a music student when schools saw only his disability. Itzhak himself is funny, irreverent and self-deprecating, and here his life story unspools in conversations with masterful musicians, family and friends, and most endearingly his devoted wife of 50 years, Toby. Itzhak and Toby’s lives are dedicated to their large, loving, Jewish family in NYC and their continued support of young musicians. As charming and entrancing as the famous violinist himself, ITZHAK is a portrait of musical virtuosity seamlessly enclosed in warmth, humor, and above all, love.

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Alison Chernick bio

Creating a bridge between contemporary art and film, Chernick has succeeded in capturing the thoughts and processes of many prolific artists. Her first feature entitled The Jeff Koons Show has been screened at various museums, including the five Guggenheims, Smithsonian, SFMOMA, and The Walker.  She completed her second feature Matthew Barney: No Restraint which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. The Tate Modern commissioned her to do a film on Roy Lichtenstein. The Artist Is Absent, a film on artist/designer Martin Margiela premiered at the TriBeCa Film Festival in 2015. Her most recent and third feature film, Itzhak, is currently in 150 theaters nationwide and will be released internationally, followed by a broadcast premiere on American Masters/PBS in October 2018. Her writing credits include Showtime, Sundance, Sci-Fi, MTV, VH1, History Channel, and National Geographic Television. Chernick is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, a New York Women in Film & TV grant, and a Loreen Arbus grant.

“We get to know the man: the jovial grandfather, the joke teller, the dedicated husband, the patient teacher and loyal friend…” — Gayle MacDonald, Globe and Mail

“”Itzhak” is ideal for Perlman fans, but it’s also persuasive enough to create new fans. It’s just impossible not to like this guy.” — Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle