Israeli Filmmaker Haim Tabakman's Feature Film EYES WIDE OPEN, about a Taboo Love Affair Between Two Religious Men in Tel Aviv, wins the Best New Feature Award at this year’s Palm Springs Film Festival.

OPENS FRIDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2010 at New York’s Cinema Village, additional screenings at the NY Jewish Film Festival on January 19-24, 2010

A group of very lucky Russian filmmakers will have the double opportunity of impressing North American audiences and industry professionals via a unique program sponsored by CEC ArtsLink. The not-for-profit organization has partnered with the Sundance Film Festival to co-host a group of four independent Russian filmmakers in the US from January 20 to February 2. Their award-winning short films will have a North American premiere screening in New York. The filmmakers will then continue on to Park City, Utah for a program of industry networking events at the Sundance Film Festival.

It is often said that everyone in New York, no matter what your religion or ethnicity, is just a little bit Jewish. The Jewish influence in culture, art, politics and in every stratum of society gives all New Yorkers a kind of common bond that no other group quite inspires. If you can recite the lines from a Woody Allen film, if you cannot imagine breakfast without a bagel, if you find yourself uttering the words "oy vey" with a heartfelt sigh, you are Jewish, if you are a Catholic priest, a Hindu taxi driver or a Moslem shopkeeper. So, boychicks, have I got a festival for you...

Top 10 for 09

2009 was an excellent year for movies. The theatrical box office set a record $10.6 Billion in the USA and there were a number of remarkable and entertaining films. I would rate the year as a whole one of the better in recent memory.

Here’s my list of the 10 best. If there is one on here you missed I suggest you check it out.