As a holiday treat, the Smith Rafael Film Center presents a selection of favorites by filmmaker Frank Capra (1897-1991), including five new restorations from Sony Pictures Repertory, the company that manages the Columbia Pictures library.

The man whom many consider the quintessential American director was born near Palermo in Sicily and came to the U.S. as a child. He began his movie career in San Francisco in 1922, but he soon moved to Los Angeles, writing for legendary comedy producers Hal Roach and Mack Sennett before working as a director for silent comic Harry Langdon. He joined “poverty row” studio Columbia Pictures in the late 1920s and directed several notable films before hitting the jackpot in 1934 with It Happened One Night, the multiple Oscar-winner that made him famous and established Columbia as a major Hollywood studio.

The American mythology developed by Capra with frequent screenwriter Robert Riskin was infused with populist sentiment, favoring small town values and the “common people” over the rich and powerful who try to manipulate them. While Frank Capra made many of his most celebrated films during the Great Depression, they have stood the test of time and continue to enchant us today.