Jewiswood: The Jewish Contribution to the Birth of Hollywood

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

The Cinema Museum has collaborated by providing all the original images and materials on display.

The Jewish History Museum opened the exhibition “Jewiswood: The Jewish Contribution to the Birth of Hollywood” on 23 May 2025. The exhibition will be open until 1 February 2026. This display highlights the fundamental importance of Jewish pioneers in the creation and development of the film industry in Hollywood, the largest and most influential in the world.

The Cinema Museum has contributed by providing all the images and an original Pathé camera. The production has been managed by the Jewish History Museum and the Patronat Call de Girona, and it has been curated by Jordi Dorca Costa, programmer and communications manager at the Cinema Museum. The images and objects on display come from the Cinema Museum – Tomàs Mallol Collection and the Vicenç Arroyo Collection. The documentation of the collections was carried out by Montse Puigdevall Noguer, curator at the Cinema Museum, and Júlia Jordan Sánchez, a student intern at the same museum.

The Jewish pioneers, many of them children of Ashkenazi immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe, were the true founders of the industrial production system that shaped Hollywood. Figures such as Carl Laemmle, William Fox, Marcus Loew, the Warner brothers and Adolf Zukor started from humble backgrounds, often working in modest trades, before becoming the architects of an industry that has profoundly influenced popular culture worldwide. Their vision and effort established the foundations of a model that still defines the film industry today.

Admission is free. Don’t miss it!