Screening & Discussion: “Meet Me at Brooklyn & Soto”

Screening & Discussion
Sunday, November 16, 2025
10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

“MEET ME AT BROOKLYN AND SOTO” (1995, 70 min) is a nostalgic celebration of the Jewish community that once thrived within the East L.A. neighborhood of Boyle Heights. The street then named Brooklyn Avenue (now Cesar Chavez Avenue) and its intersection with Soto was the heart of the largest Jewish community west of Chicago from the 1920s to the 1950s.

This documentary film, created by oral historian Ellie Kahn for the Jewish Historical Society of Southern California, began as an oral history project, with Ellie training 25 volunteers to interview 120 former residents of Boyle Hts and City Terrace. Ellie then produced “Meet Me at Brooklyn & Soto,” which utilizes archival film footage, vintage photos and her interviews with dozens of former residents of the neighborhood.

The fascinating, moving and often amusing recollections shared by those who were interviewed make it clear that it was a unique, hamish, active community, rich in Yiddish culture and leftist organizing.

“One of the most heart-warming documentaries you will find.” — the Barrio Boychik

Producer/Director Ellie Kahn will be present for discussion following the film.

>>> To reserve your seat(s),
RSVP to regan@sholem.org <<<

10:00 a.m. Check-in, Bagels & Coffee
10:30 a.m. Screening and Q&A
Short Avenue Elementary School
12814 Maxella Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90066

Presented by the Sholem Community and Ellie Kahn/Living Legacies Productions, in cooperation with the SoCal Arbeter Ring/Workers Circle and Kultur Mercado.

All are welcome | Free to attend