A Soldier’s Passage: Conversations from the Last Mile of the Long Walk Home is the first feature-length film from New Mexico filmmaker Paul Ingles. The film relates the story of a 93-year-old World War II veteran nearing the end of his long life in a retirement home who tries to impart some powerful life lessons to his visiting son. The film is a partially fictionalized account based on the final months of Ingles’ own father, John S. Ingles. The film was shot almost completely in Albuquerque, using more than 80 local actors and extras. A Soldier’s Passage screens at Guild Cinema (3405 Central Ave. NE) on Saturday, July 13 at noon. Admission to this special event is free, although donations are gratefully accepted to help offset the cost of the theater rental. The screening is followed by a 30-minute Q&A with Paul Ingles and various members of the cast and crew.
Reel World: Movie Mitzvah Movie Mitzvah
The Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque’s annual Jewish Film Festival returns for its sixth year this July 14 through 28. All told, six acclaimed films from the US, Israel, Mexico and Poland get their Albuquerque premiere over the course of the festival. The festival’s opening event happens this Sunday, July 14, from 2 to 5pm inside the JCC Auditorium (5520 Wyoming Blvd. NE). It starts with a wine and cheese reception featuring Aimee Ginsburg Bikel. Bikel is on hand to introduce the documentary Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem and to speak about the legacy of her late husband, the noted singer, actor, linguist and social activist. The festival picks up again on Thursday, July 18 with a screening of the documentary 93Queen—about a group of tenacious Hasidic women in Brooklyn trying to organize the first all-female volunteer ambulance corps. That takes place at Regal High Ridge Theater (12921 Indian School Rd. NE) at 7pm. On Saturday, July 20 the Mexican drama Leona screens at the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Bank of America Theatre (1701 Fourth Street SW) starting at 7pm. Other dates include Sunday, July 21 (The Unorthodox at High Ridge), Thursday, July 25 (Who Will Write Our History at High Ridge) and Sunday, July 28 (The Mamboniks at NHCC). Tickets are $10 per film in advance or $12 at the door. A full-festival pass will get you into everything for $55. For a complete schedule of events and descriptions of all the films, go to abqjewishfilmfest.com.
Reel World: Reading Space Reading Space
The ABQ-BernCo Library continues its Summer Reading Program Film Series this coming Wednesday, July 17, at the KiMo Theatre (423 Central Ave. NW). Starting at 2pm, children and families can watch a free screening of Steven Spielberg’s 1982 sci-fi classic E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Later on that day, at 7pm, audiences can also check out Mel Brook’s 1987 Star Wars spoof Spaceballs. It’s also free. Although neither film is based on a book, per se, they do tie in with this year’s Summer Reading theme of “A Universe of Stories.” For a complete list of Summer Reading events, go to abqlibrary.org/summerreading.
