Celebrated Jazz Pianist & Composer Antonio Ciacca Joins Bar On Fifth at The Setai Fifth Avenue as Artist in Residence

New York, NY, March 2011- Jazz aficionados will be delighted at the debut of world-renowned jazz pianist and composer Antonio Ciacca as Artist in Residence at Bar on Fifth at The Setai Fifth Avenue, a Capella managed hotel, beginning April 1, 2011. Ciacca has made quite the name for himself in the jazz arena and abound.  Under the guise of the Antonio Ciacca Quartet, he has released six albums and has contributed as a pianist to countless other records.  After a career chocked full of musical success, it is evident that Ciacca’s passion is immanent. He still takes great pride and joy in serenading listeners in jazz clubs around the city, but it is his extensive experience in the jazz industry that has lead him to great acclaim and a venerable following.

The Korean American Film Festival New York (KAFFNY) is running March 17-20, 2011 at several venues around Manhattan in New York City. Programs at White Box are being live streamed to the Big Screen Project in the public plaza behind the Eventi Hotel at 30th Street and 6th Avenue.

Now in its fifth year, KAFFNY is the only New York based independent film festival showcasing Korean American and Korean diasporic perspectives in film. Since 2006, KAFFNY has broadened its programming to include international films and videos by Korean and as well as non-Korean filmmakers.

For the fourth year the Jacob Javits Convention Center hosts the New York Wine Expo, one of the largest events of its kind, from February 25-27, 2011.

Here are some quick tips from Leslie Sbrooco, who will be leading seminars at the New York Wine Expo, will turn you into a wine pro in no time. She’ll also have a large "Thirsty Girl" Pavilion at the Expo.

There are different types and styles of wine, myriad producers of wine from many countries, and countless bottles on store shelves so it can be overwhelming to choose. The beautiful thing is that learning about wine, however, is fun. And, bargains abound so it doesn't cost a fortune to sip, swirl and savor.

Why is the New York Jewish Film Festival (January 12 to 27, 2011) different from all other Jewish film festivals? Lenny Bruce's Talmudic commentary, "Even if you are Catholic, if you live in New York you're Jewish," hints at an answer. Back for its 20th whirl, NYJFF once again presents movies exploring the Jewish experience but that any restless, ironic, brow-beating Manhattanite might identify with in spirit.

The Festival brings together two of the City's cultural shrines, The Jewish Museum and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, in this annual ritual at the Film Society's Walter Reade Theater. Its 2011 slate spans 37 features and shorts from 14 countries.

For the 10th consecutive year, New Yorkers can see some of the best in modern Russian movies through The Russian Film Week which takes place in Manhattan and Brooklyn from December 3rd through December 9th, 2010. From screenings to meet-and-greets with casts and directors of the 15 films being presented.

Throughout its decade-long run, the Russian Film Week has become a unique celebration of culture and artistic expression from the Great Bear of Europe. The event’s diverse audience  – ranging from foreign cinema fans to Russian expats to students looking for a thought-provoking experience -- is a testament to the value of crossing cultural and language boundaries.

The premature death of Toru Takemitsu in 1996 robbed us of the most prominent Japanese composer, easily combining Eastern and Western sounds in his works: he was also one of the greatest movie composers of all time. Straddling the line between classicism and modernism, sometimes within the same work, Takemitsu’s music continues to be performed and recorded, proof of his brilliance and influence.

This month brings his movie to the screen and concert music to the stage. Film Forum‘s retrospective Takemitsu presents 19 films that contain his expansive and eclectic scores, while Carnegie Hall’s Japan NYC Festival (which begins in December and continues in the spring) includes a trio of concerts (two on Carnegie stages) that feature his music.

The Romanian Cultural Institute in New York presents the 5th Annual Romanian Film Festival in NYC from December 3-5 2010 at Tribeca Cinemas. Each year, the festival presents the best and most recent films from Romania’s unique and critically exalted national body of contemporary cinema to New York audiences.

This year’s edition entitled A New Beginning, features new works from filmmakers who were at the forefront of the “Romanian New Wave,” such as Cristi Puiu, Radu Muntean and Razvan Radulescu, as well as debut features from Constantin Popescu and Bobby Paunescu. The highly-anticipated new work from Andrei Ujica (Videograms of a Revolution) -- The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu -- is the opening night film.

Back in the ancient days of the 1980s, the CMJ Music Marathon was a New York arts fest whose primary purpose was to get unsigned bands hooked up with the major record labels. Over the years, even before the internet co-opted a great deal of the recording industry, the major labels seemed to lose interest in this fest as a farm-league styled source for new talent.

For CMJ's 30th anniversary (October 19 to 23, 2010), these majors -- Columbia, Atlantic and Warner Brothers among others -- were hardly a blip on anyone’s mind at the New York University (at the NYU Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square South) and other downtown venues.There were panels, mixers, workshops etc. One panel was titled Major Label Dilemma: Get In or Get Out of the Way which certainly reflected the dilemma of this year's event.

Don’t expect to find WASP (White Ashkenazi Sabra with “protekzia”) characters dominating the screens of the Other Israel Film Festival (November 11 to 21, 2010) at the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan. Now in its fourth year, the Festival seeks to amplify the more muted voices of Israeli society, especially those of the Arab Christians, Muslims, Beduins and Druze who represent 20% of that country’s citizenry.

The Opening Night film, Another Way, gives literal expression to this mandate. The documentary by Yariv Mozer tracks Arab-Israeli Mira Awad and Jewish-Israeli Noa as both singers represent Israel at the 2009 Eurovision song contest, against the backdrop of the Gaza War and criticism from left and right.

Anthropologist Margaret Mead is rumored to have said, “Always remember that you are absolutely unique…just like everyone else,” and judging by the distinctive stories on offer at the Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival (November 11 to 14, 2010), the programmers indeed remembered.

Not that you won’t find shared themes amidst all that diversity.

Marking its 34th year, the Mead will once again spotlight global documentaries under the auspices of Manhattan’s American Museum of Natural History. According to Artistic and Festival Director Ariella Ben-Dov, many of this year’s selections show communities coalescing around a critical challenge, even one that threatens their way of life.

The Opening night film is Plug & Pray/Von Computern und anderen Menschen, directed by Judith Malek-Mahdavi and Jens Schanze. The film advances Joseph Weizenbaum, a pioneer of artificial intelligence who questions the scientific assumptions that technology can trump biology.