Yiddish Cinema

Join us this Summer as we present a selection of rarely seen, historic Yiddish films. Filmed within both the Yiddish speaking community in New York, as well as the heartland of historical European Judaism, these films represent the pinnacle of Yiddish film created during the Golden Age of Yiddish Cinema in the 1930s – before the outbreak of the Holocaust and Second World War.

With cinematic influences ranging from German Expressionism, to Soviet films of the 1920s, to mainstream musical comedy, Yiddish cinema is a gem that is finally being rediscovered. While their original audience was naturally Yiddish speakers, in their 1930s heyday these movies ran in theaters throughout New York and beyond and were reviewed not just in the Yiddish press but in major newspapers like the New York Times.