Multiple locations
Most events free
Through April 21
www.nyc.gov/immigrants
The seventh annual Immigrant Heritage Week continues through April 21 with numerous, mostly free events across the city. Art exhibitions include “Our Heritage Through Fashion: A Showcase of NYC’s Russian-Speaking Designers” at the Russian American Foundation, “Photographs of the Mexican Immigrant Community of Staten Island” at Snug Harbor, “Art Without Borders” at El Taller Latino Americano, “Immigrant Women United in Art” at Centro Civico Cultural Dominicano, “Impractical Hats: Indie Crafts Reinvent Everyday Gear” at the Bronx Council on the Arts, “LibertyNeighborhoodStory” at the A.I.R. Gallery, “Immigrant Trail Painting” at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, and a photo exhibit of “Non-Native New Yorkers” at the Statue of Liberty. On April 20 at 6:00 at the International Center in New York, a group of Tibetan immigrants will discuss their work in “Ancient Art in a Modern City,” while on April 21 at 6:00, the Greek Museum will host “In Search of the American Dream: The Greeks of New York.” Also on Wednesday, “Voices of Liberty” at the Museum of Jewish Heritage invites visitors to share their own personal stories. In addition, there will be family programs at several branches of the New York Public Library.
At NYU’s King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, the Havana Film Festival will feature New York and U.S. premieres (April 19-20), DCTV will present the Oscar-nominated documentary THE BETRAYAL (April 19), and the Turkish Cultural Center will celebrate “New York Sufi Night with Rumi” through film, performance, and poetry readings (April 20). There will also be film screenings and/or theatrical productions at the YMCA, the Maysles Cinema, the Alwan Foundation, and the CUNY Graduate Center and live dance and/or music at Michael Mao Dance, the American Composers Orchestra’s Langston Hughes Branch, and the Djoniba Dance and Drum Centre as well as a host of walking tours.
Iranian writer-director Bahman Ghobadi (A TIME FOR DRUNKEN HORSES) goes underground in NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT PERSIAN CATS, following the plight of Negar (Negar Shaghaghi) and Ashkan (Ashkan Koshanejad) as they attempt to put together an indie band for a gig in London. Inspired by their dedication—and always out to make a buck himself—fast-talking wheeler-dealer Nadar (Hamed Behdad) takes them to get illegal passports, then introduces them to a series of bands who play in secretive underground spaces where the government and the police don’t bother them, even though it is against the law to play Western-style music. Their quest for musicians leads them to such real groups as Take It Easy Hospital and the Yellow Dogs, who regularly risk their freedom and safety by playing to excited young fans desperate to hear live, modern music. Ghobadi throws in just about every genre imaginable, from heavy metal and punk to classic rock and jazz in a stirring musical journey, turning each song into a video depicting everyday life in Tehran. The film does lapse into overheated and unnecessary heavy-handed melodrama in its final scenes, but it’s still a compelling story of the intrinsic power of music and the desperate need to make connections.