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Films made in Yiddish documented the essence of Jewish life in Eastern Europe as well as difficulties associated with immigration to the United States. Yiddish cinema had two centers: one in Poland and the other in the United States. Dozens of films were made in both centers, some of which became classics.
Many Jewish filmmakers also became involved in avant-garde cinema that developed in Germany and the Soviet Union. Additionally, Jews were prominent in making films that targeted wider audiences. The directors Fritz Lang, Ernst Lubitsch and Sergei Eisenstein, coupled with hundreds of Jewish producers, screenwriters and photographers, created a new cinematic language in the first half of the 20th century and gave the world films that are still regarded as masterpieces.
