2026 FESTIVAL PROGRAM

Friday, November 6, 3:00 PM
Doors Open at 2:15 PM
Location: SHADOWLAND STAGES
157 Canal Street, Ellenville

We Met at Grossinger's is a warmly nostalgic journey through the Jewish Catskills, traced through the rise and fall of its most beloved resort. Grossinger's Resort and Hotel was the real life inspiration for Dirty Dancing, and its story is the heart of this film.

Documentary / 2026 / TIME TBD
Director: Paula Eiselt

Thank you to the sponsors of this event: TBD

Friday, November 6
Reception: 5:00 to 7:00 PM
Location: BORSCHT BELT MUSEUM
90 Canal Street, Ellenville
Movie: 7:00 PM
Location: SHADOWLAND STAGES THEATER
157 Canal Street, Ellenville

The “Mensch Award" trophy was crafted by the Borscht Belt Museum artist-in-residence, Robin Schwartz.

Thank you to the sponsors of this event: TBD and Tuthilltown Spirits.

Saturday, November 7, 10:00 - 11:00 AM
Location: THE COMMON GOOD BOOKSTORE
119 Canal Street, Ellenville
Doors open at 9 AM with coffee and breakfast available for purchase.

Thank you to the sponsors of this event:

Saturday, November 7, 11:00 AM

Location: BORSCHT BELT MUSEUM
90 Canal Street, Ellenville

Join TBD for a tour of the museum's latest exhibition, "Catskills Romance: Love and Desire in the Borscht Belt."

Saturday, November 7, 11:00 AM
Location: SHADOWLAND STAGES THEATER
157 Canal Street, Ellenville

Once upon a nickel, before fast food, one American restaurant empire was unstoppable. Experience the untold story of “The Automat,” starring Mel Brooks.

Documentary / 2021 / 79 minutes
Director: Lisa Hurwitz

A Conversation with Director Lisa Hurwitz, Moderator TBD and Steve Stollman, avid collector of the original, vintage Automats.

Thank you to the sponsors of this event:

Thank you to Steve Stollman for providing Automat’s in the lobby of Shadowland Stages.

Saturday, November 7, 1:00 PM

Location: SHADOWLAND STAGES THEATER
157 Canal Street, Ellenville

EGG CREAM
Documentary / TBD / TBD

Directors: TBD

PAIR OF JOKERS
Narrative Feature / 1990 / TBD
Director: Mark Manucci

It’s going to be a sold out show at The Pines’ Persian Room. But veteran comic Scully Wexler has a crisis - after a lifetime of making people laugh, he can’t do it anymore. He can’t find it in himself to take the stage and tell one more joke. Jerry Pinkowitz, a young counterman at the legendary Red Apple Rest who idolizes Scully, is the only hope. Pair of Jokers is about dreams, believing in oneself, and the undeniable gift of being able to make people laugh.

A conversation about both films with director Mark Manucci ….TBD.

Thank you to the sponsors of this event: TBD.

Saturday, November 7, 3:00 PM
Location: SHADOWLAND STAGES THEATER
157 Canal Street, Ellenville

A Conversation with Andrew Jacobs, Historian and Borscht Belt Museum Board Member, Peter Alan Chester, and Moderator Jewish Film Historian Isaac Zablocki.

Narrative Feature / 2026 / TBD min
Director: Rachel Israel

Thank you to our sponsors of this event: TBD

Saturday, November 7, 5:00 PM
Location: SHADOWLAND STAGES THEATER
157 Canal Street, Ellenville

A tender documentary tribute to comedy legends Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Drawing on decades of archival footage and home movies, the film traces their groundbreaking career as one of America's first husband and wife comedy teams and the six decade marriage behind it, offering an intimate look at family, partnership, and legacy.

1`Thank you to the sponsors of this event:

Saturday, November 7, 7:00 PM
Location: SHADOWLAND STAGES THEATER
157 Canal Street, Ellenville

A darkly comic Shabbos dinner in New York spirals into chaos when an unexpected death forces a Jewish family to hide the body and keep up appearances, all while their future in laws arrive to meet them for the first time.

Narrative Feature / 2024 / TIME TBD
Director: Daniel Robbins

A conversation with actor Josh Mostel (and son of Zero!) and moderator Jay Blocher, Borscht Belt Film Festival Programming Advisor.

Thank you to the sponsors of this event: .

Sunday, November 8, 9:30 - 11:00 AM
Location: THE COMMON GOOD BOOKSTORE
119 Canal Street, Ellenville
Doors open at 9 AM with coffee and breakfast available for purchase.

Join in a conversation with Paula Eiselt, director of We Met at Grossinger’s and TBD.

Thank you to the sponsors of this event:

Sunday, November 8, 10:00 AM

Walk with Elliott Auerbach, lifelong resident of Ellenville and Borscht Belt Museum Board Member.
Location: BORSCHT BELT MUSEUM
90 Canal Street, Ellenville

On day two of the Borscht Belt Film Fest, start your day with a walking tour of Ellenville by Elliott Auberbach– former mayor, village manager, and state deputy comptroller. He will take you on a walking tour of Ellenville, where you'll learn about hidden landmarks, striking architecture, and reveal things that only the locals know. Limited to 15 people. Must register in advance! Meet at the Borscht Belt Museum at 10 am, where the tour will start.

Cost: $25 Donation to the Borscht Belt Museum

Sunday, Nov. 8 at 10:00 AM 

Join Borscht Belt Museum archivist Allen Frishman for a private tour of his home, a veritable museum chockablock with ephemera saved from oblivion. An author, preservationist and former building inspector for the town of Fallsburg, Frishman rescued countless objects -- telephone switchboards, bungalow kitchens, swizzle sticks and hotel signs -- before the bulldozers arrived. Many of them make up the Borscht Belt Museum's core collection.

Location to be provided after purchase.
Duration 1 hour
Limited to 12!

Sunday, November 8, 11:00 AM

Location: SHADOWLAND STAGES
157 Canal Street, Ellenville

We Met at Grossinger's is a warmly nostalgic journey through the Jewish Catskills, traced through the rise and fall of its most beloved resort. Grossinger's Resort and Hotel was the real life inspiration for Dirty Dancing, and its story is the heart of this film.

Documentary / 2026 / TIME TBD
Director: Paula Eiselt

Thank you to our sponsors of this event: TBD.

Sunday, November 8, 1:00 PM

Location: BORSCHT BELT MUSEUM
90 Canal Street, Ellenville

Join TBD for a nostalgia-filled tour of the museum's latest exhibition, "Catskills Romance: Love & Desire in the Borscht Belt"

Sunday, November 8, 1:00 PM

Location: SHADOWLAND STAGES THEATER
157 Canal Street, Ellenville

For six decades, the hotels of the Borscht Belt doubled as hidden training camps for boxing icons Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, and Joe Frazier, forging champions in the Catskill mountains long before they became legends

Documentary / 2025 / TBD min

Director: Evan Haiman

A Conversation with director Evan Haiman,  TBD

Thank you to the sponsors of this event:

Sunday, November 8, 3:00 PM
Location: SHADOWLAND STAGES THEATER
157 Canal Street, Ellenville

Traces the comedian's remarkable life and career, from his Borscht Belt roots to genre defining films like The Producers and Blazing Saddles. Featuring the final on screen interviews with David Lynch and Rob Reiner, it's both a celebration of his comic genius and an intimate portrait of the man behind six decades of laughter.

Documentary / 2025 / TBD min
Director: Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio

Thank you to the sponsors of this event: