UK Jewish Film Festival

UK Jewish Film Festival 2012 logo

The UK Jewish Film Festival (UKJFF) is an annual film festival dedicated to world cinema that focuses on Jewish life, history and culture worldwide. UKJFF is organised by UK Jewish Film and takes place in November, in London as well as other cities in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1997. The 2012 festival featured the first simultaneous screenings in four other UK cities: Leeds, Liverpool, Glasgow and Manchester.

The festival is part of UK Jewish Film, a year-round organisation which also provides support and training to new and emerging filmmakers, and produces education events including exploring Holocaust, genocide, racism and interfaith themes with a variety of audiences including students and young people.

History

UKJFF was founded in 1997 as Brighton Jewish Film Festival by Judy Ironside, a former member of the British Association of Drama Therapists (working primarily with children and young people with special needs). Her major incentive to create UKJFF was to promote respect and understanding about Jewish cultures worldwide. The Festival became a national event in 2003 and was renamed the UK Jewish Film Festival. Over the years, the organisation developed a wide variety of film based activities and collaborations that were offered year round and in 2011 it was renamed UK Jewish Film to recognise its all year round activity.

The first President of the UKJFF was Sir Sydney Samuelson.

1997

The first UK Jewish Film Festival took place in Brighton (8–16 November), with tickets available for £4. Along with screening various films and documentaries, the Festival showcased a number of workshops and exhibitions, including an introduction to film-making, a photographic exhibition of Jewish weddings and a pre-Chanukah arts and craft class for children. Holocaust Day was also remembered on 10 November; the day of events was attended by over 180 children and included a screening of the film Understanding the Holocaust and a talk by a Holocaust survivor.

1998

In 1998, the second UKJFF ran from 14 to 22 November. The Festival was opened with an Israeli/Swiss co-production called The Dybbuk of the Holy Apple Field, a new version of the ancient tale of spirit possession. To mark Israel's 50th anniversary, the Festival included a selection of films reflecting some aspects of life in Israel. This selection was called "Israel at 50".

The Festival also screened its first gay film, Oy Gay (directed by Rosalind Haver), a documentary celebrating and examining gay Jewish life in the UK. The screening was followed by an impromptu cabaret by Dave Lynn, accompanied by John Bruzon.

The 1998 Festival was the first in UKJFF's Celebrity Interview series. On 22 November, Honorary President Sir Sydney Samuelson interviewed film director Lewis Gilbert (Shirley Valentine, Educating Rita, Alfie, The Spy Who Loved Me). Clips from Lewis Gilbert films were shown during the interview.

The Festival was attended by a special guest, film director Férid Boughedir.

1999

1999's Celebrity Interview was with Stephen Fry, again interviewed by Sydney Samuelson. The Festival opened with Comedian Harmonists (directed by Joseph Vilsmaier), which was introduced by journalist and author David Winner. The programme contained films from Canada, Holland, Israel, France and South Africa and many other countries. The South African film was Inside Out, a romantic coming-of-age tale directed by Neal Sundstrom.

A second Yiddish film was brought to the festival – Green Fields, made in 1937.

Other films screened included Didi Danquart's Jew Boy Levi, which was introduced by the film's producer Martin Hageman, and the UK premiere of Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl, an animated feature film produced by Stephane Dykman.

2000

The 4th UKJFF ran from 11 to 25 November in Brighton. The Celebrity Interview was with Chaim Topol, star of Fiddler on the Roof, one of the most famous Jewish films. Many wonderful film clips featuring Topol illustrated the interview.

The UKJFF also hosted the cinema premiere of Rabbi Lionel Blue's first film, a documentary looking at how spirituality can help people face old age. After the film, Rabbi Blue was interviewed by media personality Simon Fanshawe. The final film shown was All My Loved Ones (directed by Matej Minac), the film's story inspired by the real-life experiences of English stockbroker Nicholas Winton, who saved hundreds of Czech Jewish children from the Nazis. Minac attended the screening.

2001

In 2001, the festival screened Egyptian director Khaled El Hagar's controversial film The Gulf Between Us, about a relationship between an Egyptian man and a Jewish girl in Britain.

The Celebrity Interview was Miriam Margolyes (Harry Potter, Cold Comfort Farm). There was also an filmmakers event with Gary Synyor and Paul Morrison called "Writing Jewishly for the Screen". Synor and Morrisonl were interviewed by Judy Ironside. The first shorts programme was introduced, and included a collection of short films focusing on Israeli/Arabic relations. There was another collection of shorts introduced by Marc Isaacs, and a favourite was voted for by the audience. One of these films was a 10-minute short called The Worst Jewish Football Team in the World. Psychological thriller Time of Favour had its South Coast premiere at the Festival, and the screening was attended by Joseph Cedar, the film's director. Trembling Before God, an unprecedented feature documentary about faith, sexuality and religious fundamentalism, was also shown, and was followed by a panel discussion.

During the year, the UKJFF announced their first touring programme, which meant screenings were shown at the Curzon Soho and Cityscreen cinemas in Aberdeen, Cambridge, Oxford and York.

2002

The Festival took place from 12 to 14 October. A difficult time to be programming a Jewish Film Festival, UKJFF attempted to stimulate a dialogue of concern for the troubles in the Middle East, and create some space for reflection. On 17 October, the day's events were called 'Seeds of Reconciliation', and the films screened focused on the conflict in the Middle East.

On 19 October, a Burning Bush performance took place; a combination of Klezmer and exotic ballads of the Jewish ghetto, The Burning Bush was at the time hailed as 'the UK's most widely acclaimed Jewish music ensemble'.

Sydney Samuelson interviewed Maureen Lipman and her husband Jack Rosenthal as part of The Celebrity Interview feature.

2003

The UKJFF became a national film festival, changing its name from The Brighton Jewish Film Festival to the UK Jewish Film Festival. Paul Morrison's Wondrous Oblivion opened the Festival, Morrison attending the screening and participating in a Q&A after it. The screening was followed by a launch party at the Brighton Sea Life Centre and was attended by the Mayor of Brighton and Hove City among other MPs and celebrities.

Zoe Wanamaker was the UKJFF Celebrity Interviewee.

The first Limmud Fest took place in December of this year.

2004

In October 2004, the festival showcased 30 films at the Screen On The Hill in London before going on tour across the UK, including venues in Edinburgh, Manchester, and Belfast. The festival opened with Sam Gabarski's Rashevski's Tango. There was also a tribute to Jack Rosenthal introduced by Sydney Samuelson with Maureen Lipman and Bill Nighy was a special guest. The tributes were followed by a special screening of Bye Bye Baby. Forty films in total were shown during 2004's Festival.

The Festival also screened the UK premier of Le Grand Role. The screening was attended by the director, Steve Suissa, and lead actor Bérénice Bejo.

2005

The UK premiere of Live and Become opened 2005's Festival. The screening was at the Vue West End cinema in Leicester Square, with Lord Puttnam in attendance. The film was introduced by the director, Radu Mihaileanu.

2005 also saw the creation of the first Short Film Fund, which promoted film making on Jewish themes. The first winner of the award was Jes Benstock with his short film Holocaust Tourism: Whatever Happened to Never Again, which was premiered at the Festival. Other films in the 2005 UKJFF included Everything is Illuminated, starring Elijah Wood, In Her Shoes, starring Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette and Shirley Maclaine, and Bee Season, starring Richard Gere. Bee Season was introduced by Anthony Minghella. The Festival also hosted the UK premier of The First Time I Was Twenty, a tale of antisemitism in Paris.

Venues for the Festival included London's The Screen on the Hill, The Tricycle Theatre, Phoenix and the Curzon Soho. Films were also shown in Belfast, Brighton, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Southampton.

2006

2006's Festival ran from 4 to 16 November. The Annual Audience Award was introduced, where the audience could vote for their favourite film during the Festival either online or by ballot.

Sixty Six opened the Festival at the Curzon Mayfair, and was introduced by director Paul Weiland and attended by leading actors Eddie Marsan and Gregg Sulkin. Moroccan film Marock also had its UK premier during the Festival.

2007

In 2007, the Festival collaborated with Jewish Book Week, screening The Garden that Floated Away, a film about the acclaimed Polish-Israeli writer, Ida Fink. Israeli/French film The Band's Visit opened the Festival at the Vue West End. Alan Yentob was the guest of honour.

Other events included a Sing-A-Long-A Joseph production, an event looking at the future for independent cinema and promotion of the London Zagreb Jewish Film Festival.

2008

In November 2008, the festival opened with Eran Riklis' film Lemon Tree, which has proved highly controversial in Israel. The UKJFF tour was expanded to Sarajevo and Belgrade.

There was also a Sing-A-Long-A Hairspray event, the UK premiere of Sacred Language, Spoken Language (which included a Q&A with film director Nurit Aviv), and a special preview of award-winning animation Waltz with Bashir, which was followed by a Q&A with art director and illustrator David Polonsky.

2009

The Festival ran from 7 to 19 November. Ronit Elkabetz was the Celebrity Guest, who attended the UK premiere of Jaffa. To celebrate the 13th year of the Festival, a selection of films with barmitzvah themes were launched by Maureen Lipman, who introduced the iconic film The Barmitzvah Boy, directed by her late husband Jack Rosenthal.

The Coen Brothers' A Serious Man was also shown.

2010

In 2010, London venues included the Barbican Centre, the Everyman Hampstead, BFI Southbank and Vue West End. Tracy-Ann Oberman was welcomed as the first UKJFF Ambassador. The West End Gala was opened with French film Mensch. The Debt, starring Helen Mirren and Jessica Chastain, was also shown.

The closing night gala was in celebration of Sir Sydney Samuelson, who was given a tribute by special guest Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE DLA, member of the Board of Governors of the National Film and Television School.

UKJFF also focused on comedy that year, presenting a night of live comedy with Shazia Mirza and Josh Howie. The theme was comedy across cultures as the comedians challenged Jewish and Muslim stereotypes. An evening at the Everyman Hampstead also took place, where some of the UK's leading comedians including Tracy-Ann Oberman, David Baddiel and David Schneider came together to discuss whether comedy can or should be expected to make a difference in tacking racism and prejudice.

There was also a special event exploring LGBT activism through filmmaking, with a screening of the Israeli documentary Gay Days.

2011

The UKJFF became UK Jewish Film's Festival. UK Jewish Film was intended to promote awareness of international Jewish life and cultures for a diverse audience. The 15th Festival was to be one of many Jewish film festivals that would take place over the year.

The Festival in 2011 included films from 16 countries including Norway (Strictly Confidential), Russia (I Shall Remember) and Poland (Joanna, My Australia, The Moon is Jewish).

Special previews were This Must Be The Place starring Sean Penn, and Footnote, directed and written by Joseph Cedar. Other screenings included The Flood, 1981's Chariots of Fire, Barney's Version and The Rabbi's Cat. Episodes 1, 4 and 5 of the Israeli version of The Office were also screened.

Robert Popper, the writer and producer of Channel 4's Friday Night Dinner, was interviewed by Boyd Hilton, TV & reviews editor of Heat Magazine.

In 2011, the Geneva International Jewish Film Festival took place, running from 23 to 27 March, an event supported and promoted by UK Jewish Film.

2012

The 16th UK Jewish Film Festival opened at the NFT1, BFI Southbank with the UK Premiere of Sophie Lellouche’s debut feature film Paris Manhattan. The Opening Night Gala was attended by many VIPS including French film director Sophie Lellouche, Israeli actor Ohad Knoller, British actor Maureen Lipman, journalist and film critic Jason Solomons, playwright Amy Rosenthal as well as UKJF Honorary Life Patron Sir Sydney Samuelson.

The 16th UK Jewish Film Festival was celebrated as the strongest year to date. The attendance went up 16 per cent on the previous year and over 10,000 tickets were sold. It was the first year when the UK Tour had been incorporated to the main Festival where screenings took place in Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester. There were 58 screenings and events in London and 16 regional screenings in Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester. The festival featured 54 UK premieres and two world premieres from 23 different countries.

Highlights of the Festival included a screening of the 1925 Edward Sloman silent film, His People, which was accompanied by a life score by violinist Sophie Solomons. This was screened at Barbican as part of Baribican’s Silent Film & Live Music Series. Zaytoun, the first film produced by the Israel-British film co-production treaty, was screened twice during the Festival to full houses. The film, set in 1982 Lebanon, is directed by the leading Israeli filmmaker Eran Riklis, and produced by Gareth Unwin, the award-winning producer of The King's Speech.

A full day of professional workshops, training and a networking session took place at the new Film Museum in Covent Garden. The Emerging Filmmakers Day consisted of seven different sessions; two successful sessions were Life’s A Pitch and Tim Bevan in Conversation with Michael Kuhn. Life’s A Pitch was a session where top UK commissioners explained how to get a treatment, script or project green lit for production. Panelists included Jonny Persey – Chief Executive, Met Film; Cassian Harrison – BBC's Specialist Factual commissioning editor; Nick Mirsky – Channel 4's Deputy Head Of Factual; Anna Mohr-Pietsch – Head of Development, Met Film Production; Jamie Wolpert – Development Editor, BFI Film Fund. Tim Bevan in Conversation with Michael Kuhn was a session where two of the UK’s leading film producers where discussing their careers and the UK film industry.

2013

2013's Festival took place from 31 October to 17 November.

2014

The 2014 Festival is scheduled to run from 6 to 23 November.

In August 2014, the Tricycle Theatre informed UK Jewish Film that it could not host the festival in 2014 (as it had done for the previous eight years) if the festival continued to pursue a £1400 grant it had sought from the Israeli Embassy in London. The theatre offered to make up the loss itself but the festival's chief executive director Stephen Margolis dismissed this offer as a "publicity stunt", saying that the Tricycle's artistic director Indhu Rubasingham had also demanded to scrutinise the list of films to be shown. The decision led to accusations of anti-semitism and The Jewish Chronicle described the decision as "open racism". Rubasingham said "I would hate to have to feel the need to put it on record, given my work and my policy, but I am not anti-Semitic or anti-Israeli".

Nick Cohen, writing in The Spectator, accused the Tricycle of inconsistency, as other groups' or events' funding had not, he claimed, previously been examined in this way. Cohen also pointed out that the Tricycle itself accepted Arts Council funding during times that the UK was actively involved in military conflicts. The Tricycle's artistic director Indhu Rubasingham responded by saying, “I would hate to have to feel the need to put it on record, given my work and my policy, but I am not anti-Semitic or anti-Israeli”. In an editorial, The Guardian said that the Tricycle had made "a bad error of judgment". Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport was reported as saying that the theatre had been "misguided" in demanding the festival drop its sponsorship by the Israeli Embassy.

However, in a joint statement on 15 August, the UKJFF and Tricycle Theatre said: "Some weeks ago the UKJFF fell out, very publicly, with the Tricycle over a condition imposed by the Tricycle regarding funding. This provoked considerable public upset. Both organisations have come together to end that. Following lengthy discussions between the Tricycle and UKJFF, the Tricycle has now withdrawn its objection and invited back the UK Jewish Film Festival on the same terms as in previous years with no restrictions on funding from the Embassy of Israel in London."

The 2014 festival will not take place at the theatre, but the Tricycle may hold some UKJFF-related events later in the year. According to The Jewish Chronicle, The festival's films will now be screened at Arthouse Crouch End, the Barbican Centre, BFI Southbank, Cine Lumiere, Everyman, JW3, Odeon Swiss Cottage, Odeon South Woodford, Phoenix, East Finchley (all in London), and the Cornerhouse in Manchester and Broadway in Nottingham.

Pears Short Film Fund

Two film grants of up to £10,000 are made available by The Pears Foundation Short Film Fund at the UK Jewish Film Festival for the production of a short film or video – drama, animation or factual – with a Jewish theme of significance to both Jewish and general audiences and a maximum length of 10 minutes. The scheme is open to all filmmakers resident in the UK.

Currently sponsored by The Pears Foundation, the fund is now in its ninth year (as of 2013). It offers two grants of up to £10,000 to two filmmakers each year to make a short film with a Jewish theme. With up to 70 applications each year, although only two films are funded, numerous scripts go on to find alternative funding as the fund stimulates interest and creating more short films in the UK with Jewish themes.

Support

Sir Sydney Samuelson CBE was Honorary President of the 1997 Festival, and he remained in the role until 2005. As of 2014, he is currently the UKJFF Honorary Lifetime Patron.

Honorary Patrons include Tim Angel OBE, Helen Bamber OBE, Dame Hilary Blume, Lord Collins of Mapesbury, Simon Fanshawe, Vanessa Feltz, Sir Martin Gilbert, Michael Grabiner, Romaine Hart OBE, Sir Terry Heiser, Stephen Hermer, Lord Janner of Braunstone QC, Samir Joory, Lia van Leer, Maureen Lipman CBE, Paul Morrison, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Lord Puttnam of Queensgate CBE, Selwyn Remington, Ivor Richards, Jason Solomons and Chaim Topol.

Film submission criteria

UK Jewish Film Festival screens a selection of world cinema that focuses on Jewish life, history and culture. UKJF seeks to bring diversity of programming and to promote tolerance and understanding among people of different faiths and those of secular beliefs. Films submitted can be of any length and category (fiction, documentary, animation or short) and should be available on either DCP, 35mm print, Digibeta PAL, Beta SP PAL or Blu-ray with English subtitles (if in languages other than English). A UK Premiere is required (with the exception of BFI London Film Festival). Entry forms and DVD screeners should be submitted by the end of June for the films to be considered for the Festival in November. Successful films are notified by the end of August. Entry forms are available on UK Jewish Film website.

External links

• Official website