UK Jewish Film Festival 2020 - The Jewish Chronicle

The 24th UK Jewish Film Festival runs until November 19, 2020 – entirely online. With 73 films, reflecting Jewish life, culture and experience and which are not available elsewhere, it provides an ideal opportunity to immerse yourself in Jewish film from the comfort of your own home. From powerful international dramas to outrageous Jewish comedy to real life stories, this is one of the best line-ups ever from the dedicated team at UK Jewish Film.

Festival comprises over 70 feature-length and short films
All three gala films are directed by women
Includes 46 UK premieres
Films come from 16 countries on five continents and are in ten languages including Japanese, Russian, Hebrew and Arabic
Access to the entire festival for just £35
Q&As, discussions and how-to tutorials with directors, actors, technicians and journalist

Tickets available at ukjewishfilm.org.

Festival pass: £35

TV series: £15

Single gala films: £15

Single films: £7.99

Short film programmes: 99p each

Members’ discount: 20 per cent.

Online Festival

Following the festival’s first national tour in 2019, when UK Jewish Film screened in 23 towns and cities, often reaching those in smaller Jewish communities for the first time, the 2020 online festival aims to capture both Jewish and non-Jewish communities, wherever they are.

UK Jewish Film is inviting audiences to enjoy the entire festival for £35 – the same cost as three physical cinema tickets. UK Jewish Film has also partnered Curzon Home Cinema this year, offering a specially curated collection of six films on Curzon Home Cinema, which are not included in the festival pass.

Films can be viewed on UK Jewish Film’s secure streaming platform and watched in a variety of ways on TV, using Apple TV, Amazon Fire stick, Chromecast or the Roku app. To ensure the best cinema-at-home experience, films will be premiered at specific times and dates during the fortnight, followed by Q&As, discussions and tutorials, and will remain available for a set time (mostly 48 hours).

Galas

The opening night gala was the UK premiere of When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit. Based on Judith Kerr’s beloved semi-autobiographical book, it superbly captured both the growing Nazi threat and the magic of childhood.

The closing night gala is the UK premiere of Israeli film, Honeymood. Arriving at a deluxe hotel suite after their wedding, Noam and Elinor expect an unforgettable night. What comes next is indeed memorable, but for all the wrong reasons. A lovers’ fight leads to a late-night wandering and a series of bizarre encounters on the streets of Jerusalem. Romantic and funny, Honeymood is director Tayla Lavie’s follow-up to her smash hit Zero Motivation.

The centrepiece gala is the UK premiere of The End of Love, a sensitive and compelling drama about a young married couple. Having fallen in love with Julie, Yuval moves from Israel to Paris to be with her and the two get married. When his visa expires, Yuval returns to Israel, communicating with his wife and baby via Skype. But instead of bringing them together, this new form of interaction only reveals the doubts they harbour about the future of their relationship. Starring Judith Chelma, who festival goers will remember from her memorable performance in last year’s Opening Night Gala Film, My Polish Honeymoon.

Programme Highlights

Films at the UK Jewish Film Festival 2020 reflect the diversity of the Jewish experience.

Black Mercedes is a film-noire-esque detective story set against the backdrop of Warsaw in 1941
An Irrepressible Woman, set in France in 1940, tells the true story of a Jewish woman who is willing to sacrifice everything for the man she loves.
Bruno Ganz stars in Danish/German film, Winter Journey, dealing with a Jewish man’s escape from Germany
A Call To Spy tells the inspiring story of female spies during the conflict.
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, widely recognised as one of the most important Italian films of all time, focuses on a Jewish family in Ferrara, Italy, as they try, unsuccessfully, to insulate themselves from the slow build of fascism. UK Jewish Film is proud to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this classic film.
Holy Silence documents the Catholic Church’s response (or lack of) to the Holocaust and features Oscar-nominated actor David Strathairn as the voice of President Roosevelt.
Mossad is set to be by far the most hilarious Israeli parody ever made.

Visit www.ukjewishfilm.org or follow @UKJewishFilm / #UKJewishFilm to learn more about the online festival and to buy a festival pass.

Michael Etherton, chief executive of UK Jewish Film says, “A closed box office and a silent auditorium is a sorry sight for any passionate cinephile, but for an organisation championing independent films, it is especially painful. That’s why we are determined to make this year’s UK Jewish Film Festival one which brings people together through our first ever fully-online festival. Although we are delivering the festival entirely online this year, the quality of films is stronger than ever and we are excited to offer an astounding programme of international films which cover Jewish life and stories.”

Judy Ironside MBE, founder and president says, “We are enormously proud of UK Jewish Film and this year's festival, which is presented in adversity and with huge elements of change. The films are internationally acclaimed and once again, our guest speakers join us to enhance and illuminate the films, the topics and their star qualities. When I think about ‘rising to the challenge’, I could not ask for more, and I would like to add a huge thank you to the filmmakers, celebrities and to our incredible UK Jewish Film Festival team, loyal supporters, our chairman and boards.”

Among our sponsors, UK Jewish Film is delighted to have the support, in this difficult year, of the BFI audience award.