The UK Jewish Film Festival is returning to Manchester from 7th to 20th November at venues across the city. We take a look at what you can expect to see on the silver screen.
A Real Pain | Cineworld Didsbury | 7th November | 7pm
Jesse Eisenberg’s funny and achingly wistful road-trip drama sees David (Eisenberg), and his cousin Benji (Kieran Culkin), hoping to repair their once close relationship by visiting the Polish birthplace of their beloved grandmother. Joined by an eclectic group of fellow Jewish travellers and an overly enthusiastic British tour guide (Will Sharpe), they quickly form an unusually close bond. What starts as a quick-witted and clever comedy blossoms into a nuanced and sometimes painful exploration of family relationships, love, and loss.
Home | Cineworld Didsbury | 9th November | 8pm
In this tense and powerful drama that’s based on a true story, an ambitious young husband abandons his life of Torah study to open a computer business in an ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem neighbourhood. While the new venture is a runaway success, it also attracts the attention and anger of the local rabbinical supervisory committee, who fear that new technology is in danger of corrupting their youth. Benny Fredman’s fast-paced and compelling film explores the sharper and darker edges of communal politics and control in ultra-Orthodox neighbourhoods.
Golda’s War Diaries | Cineworld Didsbury | 12th November | 7pm
Directed and scripted by Yariv Mozer and hosted by Journalist and News Anchor, Danny Kushmaro, Golda’s War Diaries challenges the prevailing and negative narrative concerning Golda Meir’s leadership and role in the Yom Kippur War. The documentary is based on newly declassified documents – released to mark the 50th anniversary of the war – as well as archival footage and commentary by many of those who were with her during wartime meetings, private conversations, and discussions. It reveals Meir’s resolute decision making and successful diplomacy, which led to an eventual peace agreement with Egypt. There’ll also be a post-screening discussion with Keren Misgav Ristvedt and Nicholas Martin, who wrote and produced the film Golda (2023).
All About the Levkoviches with Q&A | Cineworld Didsbury | 13th November | 7pm
An entertaining, multi-generational drama exploring the relationship between grown children and their elderly parents, different ways of processing grief, and finding faith. Following the sudden death of his beloved wife, Tamás, tries to reconcile with his estranged son, Ivan, who moved to Israel and became religious. During the shiva in Budapest, Tamás struggles to accept his son’s life choices while gradually getting to know his young grandson, Ariel, while Ivan searches for ways to finally forgive his harsh estranged father and let go of his anger and resentment. The Q&A after the screening will be with Producer Andrea Ausztrics.
Once Upon a Time in Algeria | Vue Bury | 7:30pm
A joyful and nostalgic love letter to the Algiers of Alexandre Arcady’s youth, this enchanting autobiographical family drama recreates the vibrant Mediterranean city of the early 60s. With an ex-French Foreign Legion father who harbours dubious claims to Hungarian nobility, a beautiful and long-suffering Algerian Jewish mother, and a close-knit if somewhat shady extended family, 15-year- old Antoine’s main concern is how to navigate his secret crush on Josette, the girl in the apartment upstairs. Meanwhile, Algerian nationalists are eager to rid themselves of their French colonial masters, and Algeria’s ancient Jewish community is finding itself on the losing side of an increasingly dangerous and violent struggle.
The Spoils | HOME | 17th November | 3:15pm
Ownership, history, and morality are the poignant themes tackled in this documentary in relation to the restitution of art looted by the Nazis and the ongoing crises in the art world. The director follows the disputes at the Dusseldorf City Museum where they struggled for over three years to organise an exhibition in honour of Jewish art dealer Max Stern. Expelled from the city following the forced liquidation of his gallery in 1937, Stern went on to become one of the largest art dealers in Canada, and his heirs are now among the most successful dealers in art restitution in the world. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Founder and Co-chair of the Commission for Looted Art in Europe, Anne Webber CBE.
Unspoken | HOME | 17th November | 6pm
Shortly after the passing of his beloved grandfather Heinrich, and just before his sister’s wedding, high school student Noam Stein finds a letter and an old photograph that suggest Heinrich was
in fact gay. Struggling with his own closeted gay identity, Noah, together with his classmate Jonah – who he is slowly falling for – decide to uncover the truth about the life his grandfather led in Germany before immigrating to the US.
British-Jewish Life on Film | HOME | 20th November | 6pm
This event will see a collection of short film screenings that explore and celebrate a diverse range of lives in Jewish communities around the country. There’ll be eight films shown throughout the evening, such as The Adeni of Stamford Hill – a rare snapshot of the little-known community of Jews from Aden, Yemen, who live in the midst of the ultra-Orthodox Ashkenazi community of Stamford Hill – and Our Neighbour’s Ass, where a widow left with the responsibility of caring for her late husband’s donkey, comes up against her neighbours’ frustrations as the donkey becomes a local nuisance.
The Performance | HOME | 20th November | 6:15pm
Adapted from an Arthur Miller short story, Shira Piven’s stylish and darkly beguiling film follows an American tap-dancing troupe who are struggling to make ends meet, on a tour of Europe in 1937. The leader, Harold May (Jeremy Piven), accepts a lucrative invitation for the group to perform in Nazi Berlin. It turns out that the star guest in the audience is Adolf Hitler, who loves the show and insists they should stay in Germany. At first, May tries to conceal his Jewishness, but eventually reveals his identity in an effort to escape an even worse fate. This event closes the festival followed by an awards ceremony where the best film and best documentary will be announced.