Live and Learn with Ira Weiss: The History of Yiddish Cinema, Part 2
05 Aug @ 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
The History of Yiddish Cinema, Part 2
Mondays, August 5, 12 & 19 | 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Instructor: Ira Weiss
Discover the vibrant world of Yiddish cinema—lost gems, bold storytelling, and the cultural resilience of a language and people brought to life on screen. From shtetls to the silver screen, journey through a forgotten golden age of Jewish film with retired neurophysiologist and lifelong cinephile, Ira Weiss.
Film Schedule:
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August 5 – Brivele Der Mamen (1939): The last Yiddish film made in Poland before WWII.
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August 12 – Overture to Glory (1940): A moving story about a Hazzan, starring Moishe Oysher.
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August 19 – The Jazz Singer (1927): The first feature-length film with synchronized dialogue—an American classic that launched the “talkie” era.
About the Presenter:
Ira Weiss grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where Yiddish once echoed through the streets. Educated in an Orthodox yeshiva, Stuyvesant High School, MIT, City College of New York, and Syracuse University, Ira retired from a career in neurophysiology. He now serves on the boards of the Jewish Islamic Dialogue Society and New Story Leadership. Over the past two decades, he has shared his passion for Jewish film—including his personal archive of over 200 Israeli and Yiddish films—with audiences across the Washington metro area.