The Jewish Federation Connecting with Community series will screen the film, "When Comedy Went to School," written by Lawrence Richards and directed by Mevlut Akkaya & Ron Frank.

Why are there so many Jewish comedians?  This film approaches the answers to this question with an entertaining portrait of this country's greatest generation of comics - the generation that includes Jerry Lewis, Sid Caesar, Jackie Mason, Mort Sahl, and Jerry Stiller, all of whom make appearances in the film, telling jokes and telling their stories.

The answer is also found in upstate New York's Catskill Mountains, aka the Borscht Belt, where Jewish immigrants transformed lush farmland into the 20th century's largest resort complex.  Those Catskill hotels and bungalow colonies provided the setting for a remarkable group of young Jewish-American comedians who honed their craft and became worldwide legends.

PLEASE NOTE: The film will begin at 10:45am, break for lunch at noon, and continue at 12:45pm until its conclusion.

This free program is part of the Federation’s Connecting With Community Series and will be followed by a kosher hot lunch. Lunch is a $2 suggested donation for adults over 60 years of age or $7 for all others. Advance reservations are required for lunch and can be made by calling (413) 442-2200 before 9 a.m. on the day of the program.