The two sons of a poor Jewish pushcart peddler on New York’s Lower East Side are both causing their father grief. One, a selfish and ambitious student, wants to become a lawyer, and in doing so tries to hide his background from his friends. The other gets a job to help pay his brother’s college education and, to his father’s horror, becomes a prizefighter and plans to marry an Irish girl. As Morris and Sammy stray from traditions cherished by their parents, each generation learns to accept change in order to preserve the family as a source of love and respect.

Director Edward Sloman’s images of New York’s Lower East Side are so evocative that the viewer can almost hear the hustle and bustle of that thriving neighborhood during the 1920s. This silent classic will be accompanied by local Jewish singing group Haverim, with music by Donald Sosin and Joanna Seaton.

Screening with His People is West Bank Story, a 22-minute musical comedy set in the fast-paced, fast-food world of competing falafel stands in the West Bank. David, an Israeli soldier, falls in love with the beautiful Palestinian cashier, Fatima, despite the animosity between their families’ dueling restaurants. Can the couple’s love withstand a 2000 year old conflict and their families’ desire to control the future of the chickpea in the Middle East? Director Ari Sendel sends up West Side Story with dancing, singing, and finger-snapping Israelis and Palestinians, demonstrating how laughter can lead us away from anger.