Hollywood’s Jewish New Wave
Presented by FilmShul
Film history teaches us of the “waves” or movements that shook up the traditional, cinematic status quo. There is the French New Wave. New Hollywood. New German Cinema. And then there is the Jewish New Wave, a period of increased Jewish visibility in American cinema. The late 1960s into the mid-70s were formative years for critical and commercial hit films with a notably Jewish touch, a period that includes such classics like The Graduate (1967), Funny Girl (1968), The Heartbreak Kid (1972), and so many more.
In this exclusive presentation, FilmShul, led by film historians and “movie mensches” Laurence Lerman and Irv Slifkin, discusses the impact of Hollywood’s Jewish New Wave and how that flourishing time paved the way for the Jewish actors, comedians, and filmmakers we know and love today.
FilmShul, curated by Lerman and Slifkin, is all about movies, movies, movies—not to mention TV, literature, comedy and theater! This duo hosts fun, interactive, and highly engaging presentations on Hollywood and the Jewish American Experience, with curated discussions on topics like the early history of Jewish cinema, acclaimed Jewish directors, the history of Jewish humor across the entertainment spectrum, and a number of other topics.
About FilmShul
Laurence Lerman saw Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest when he was 13 years old, and that’s all it took. Over the years, he has worked with such major and independent studios as MGM, Sony, Music Box Films, Cohen Media, Sterling Productions and Kino International, where he helped launch the home entertainment division. He has been writing about film and video for more than 30 years for such outlets as Variety, Entertainment Weekly, The Morning Call, and Video Business Magazine, where he served as a Senior Editor for 15 years. He is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of DiscDish.com, a popular Blu-ray and DVD website offering reviews, news, and interviews.
Irv Slifkin has had a lifelong love for movies and popular culture. A native Philadelphian, he teaches film and journalism classes at Temple University and Rowan College. He is the author of the books Filmadelphia: A Celebration of a City’s Movies and Groovy Movies: Far-Out Films of the Psychedelic Era. In addition to writing for such publications as the Philadelphia Inquirer, Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, Irv has lectured on film and popular culture, in person and on Zoom, for libraries, organizations, and Jewish institutions throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania.