'JewCE: The Jewish Comics Experience' To Air At Made In Huntington Film & TV Festival

HUNTINGTON, NY — "JewCE: The Jewish Comics Experience," a short documentary on the real-life origin story of comic books and superheroes, is set to screen at the Made In Huntington Film & TV Festival in early April.

The film is set to screen at 5 p.m. April 3 at the Cinema Arts Centre, at 423 Park Ave., Huntington, as part of the Shorts Program: Documentary time block. "JewCE: The Jewish Comics Experience," is set to show alongside three other films. It was written by Roy Schwartz and Tony Kim, and directed by Kim.

Tickets can be purchased here.

The 23-minute documentary uncovers the real-life origin story of comic books and superheroes, created by pioneering Jewish Americans from World War II to the present day. The creators' stories are "as colorful and thrilling as the comics themselves!" Schwartz said.

The film is based on a 2023–2024 exhibit titled "JewCE: The Jewish Comics Experience" at the Center for Jewish History in New York, a Smithsonian affiliate, Schwartz said. The exhibit has been traveling internationally since and is currently at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.

Schwartz co-curated the exhibit together with then-academic director of the Center for Jewish History in New York, Miriam Mora, as well as Danny Fingeroth, a renowned pop culture historian, biographer, and former Spider-Man group editor at Marvel. Mora and Fingeroth are both executive producers of the documentary and were interviewed for it.

Schwartz said the exhibit was a "huge success" and was the most-attended exhibit in CJH's history — until the current Anne Frank one.

"We saw that the subject really appealed to people, and wanted to bring these amazing stories to a wider audience," Schwartz told Patch. "Turning it into a documentary also allowed us to include all the rich visuals that we couldn't fit in the exhibit."

Schwartz reached out to Kim, his friend. Kim is a fashion photographer making his foray into film.

"He loved the idea so much that he not only directed the documentary, he had his production company TurnKey Pictures finance it," Schwartz said. "The result is something we're all very happy with and proud of, and hope that audiences will enjoy."

The comic book medium and the superhero genre were created by Jewish immigrants and their children in New York during the 1930s and 1940s.

"They overcame hardship and persecution to create something that would go on to inspire generations of people the word over," Schwartz said. "It's similar to the origin of jazz with Black Americans in New York and New Orleans. It's the quintessential all-American story of coming over and fulfilling potential. The documentary is meant for everyone, whether you like comic books, American history, Jewish culture, or just an interesting fun story."

Schwartz, a child at heart, said he is "still working on growing up." His favorite superhero comic has always been Captain America.

"He's my guy, my role model — I still remember that when I was a kid, half the people I mentioned him to would respond with 'who?' How times have changed" Schwartz said.

Schwartz, originally from Tel Aviv, Israel, first came upon comics in the magazine and bookstore outside the hair salon his mother would go to.

"It was love at first sight," he said. "I taught myself English from comics, which is why you'll sometimes catch me saying things like 'swell!'"

Schwartz called the documentary a "true labor of love."

"The amount of research and work that went into it is just insane, and I think you can see the result on screen," Schwartz said. "It's fast-paced and colorful and fun, which is what a documentary about comics should be. Now that festival and award season is starting, we're looking forward to having it be recognized."

It is an honor, Schwartz said, that his film was selected for the Made In Huntington Film & TV Festival.

"[It is new and small but also curated and prestigious," he said. "And as a Huntington resident, it's great to be recognized by my own community!"

He invites everyone to check out the screening of "JewCE: The Jewish Comics Experience" and to follow him on social media for "exciting news coming soon," @RealRoySchwartz.