Pierre Neney & Charlotte Gainsbourg in clip from “Promise at Dawn” (La Promesse de L’Aube), courtesy UKJFF
Judith Schrut previews the 22nd annual UK Jewish Film Festival, opening this week.
The hugely popular UK Jewish Film Festival returns this week for its 22nd season. This year’s Festival will feature 85 diverse films from 16 countries including 51 premieres, with screenings and live events at 21 cinemas around the UK.
But is it possible to say what makes a film ‘Jewish’? My personal take is that there’s no simple or single answer. It’s certainly not just a matter of religion or ritual, perhaps more about so-called ‘Jewish sensibility’, values or state of mind?
Whether there even is such a thing as a Jewish film, you can be sure that this year’s UKJFF, in time-honoured Jewish tradition, will provoke discussion, opinion and as many views as there are viewers on such matters. Says Festival CEO Michael Etherton:
Being a Jewish film festival, we bring you both laughter and sadness, as well as films that will provoke lively debate, as reflected in our new strapline, “positively provoking”!
Festival Highlights
UK Jewish Film has long championed female filmmakers and women’s stories, and this year 38% of Festival films will be from women filmmakers. This includes the timely and powerful Opening Night Gala film, Working Woman, and the award winning closing night movie, Promise at Dawn.
There will be films from Israel covering the full range of political and social issues– the UKJFF prides itself on not shying away from showing controversial Israeli films. You can also view several fascinating films exploring the past, present and future of Britain’s Jewish community including the quirky and heartwarming 100 Faces. If you like live music with your movie, don’t miss the screening of the Cohens and the Kellys, a 1926 silent film accompanied by world class musicians playing rousing Irish and Jewish traditional music.
The Festival’s documentary stream is exceptionally strong this year, with a mix of cinematic gems that you are only likely to see at a Festival like this one. Sammy Davis Jr: I’ve Gotta Be Me explores one of the Jewish entertainment icons of the 20th century; #work_in_progress throws together, reality TV style, characters from completely opposing sections of Israeli society, and Three Identical Strangers follows the astonishing story of identical triplets adopted and raised separately, then brought together by chance at the age of 19. Films such as The Patriot, the Accountant of Auschwitz and The Waldheim Waltz shine a light on serious contemporary issues, in particular the resurgence of antisemitism in the UK, Europe and the United States.
Stay tuned, as we’ll be turning the tikichris spotlight on selected films from this year’s UKJFF.
Eddy, David and Bobby, subjects of award-winning documentary, “Three Identical Strangers”, clip courtesy UKJFF
UK Jewish Film Festival, 8-22 November 2018 with films and events in London, Brighton, Manchester, Glasgow, Nottingham and Leeds. Tickets from £5. Full info at the UKJFF Festival website and @UKJewishFilm.
