Jerusalem Cinematheque
cinema in Jerusalem, Israel
The Jerusalem Cinematheque is a cinematheque and film archive in Jerusalem.
History
The Jerusalem Cinematheque was founded in 1973 by Lia van Leer. It was originally located in Beit Agron in the center of Jerusalem. A new building overlooking the walls of the Old City, close to the Hinnom Valley, was opened in 1981 with the financial support of the Ostrovsky Family Foundation, the Jerusalem Foundation, the Van Leer Foundation, and private donors.
In addition to screening halls, the Cinematheque houses the Israel Film Archive, an archive of films from the 1920s to today, The Nathan Axelrod Newsreel Collection, the Joan Sourasky-Constantiner Holocaust Multimedia Research Center, the Department for Film and Media Education, and the Lew and Edie Wasserman Film Library.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Jerusalem Cinematheque” is cinema in Jerusalem, Israel. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Jerusalem, Cinematheque and cinema, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “cinema in Jerusalem, Israel” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2916137. VIAF identifies the subject as 135414285. The Library of Congress control number is n85228359. Authority coordinates are 31.770, 35.226. 2 of 8 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1973 and 1981.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Jerusalem Cinematheque”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Jerusalem Cinematheque primary sources, Jerusalem Cinematheque archive and Jerusalem research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Jerusalem Cinematheque”?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Jerusalem Cinematheque” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.