Must-sees at The UK Jewish Film Festival next month

From 95-year-old June Squibb making us laugh to Jodie Foster delivering her lines in pitch-perfect French to a moving documentary about the twin brothers taken hostage on October 7 and an insight into Jerusalem’s Haredi community, this year’s festival, which features more than 60 full-length and short movies has much to keep us stimulated, intrigued and entertained.

Eleanor The Great (drama)

Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut brings Jewish family life to the screen with warmth and charm. When Eleanor Morgenstein’s best friend unexpectedly passes away, she packs up and moves back to New York to live with her daughter. While strolling through Manhattan she stumbles into a Holocaust survivors’ group and ends up giving a speech that sends her life in a completely new direction. Johansson weaves a touching tale of grief and intergenerational friendship.

Bad Shabbos (comedy)

In a highly relatable scenario David and his soon-to-be-converted fiancée, Meg, dread Shabbat dinner at the Upper West Side home of David’s parents. Meg’s Catholic parents have been invited, David’s neurotic mother is known for her passive aggressiveness, and his siblings are constantly bickering. As anxious as they are, they can’t imagine just how bad the night will turn out to be. Directed by Daniel Robbins, this is Meet the Parents meets Woody Allen – it’s crazy, funny and unmistakably Jewish.

A Letter to David (documentary, Hebrew with English subtitles)

In 2012, acclaimed Israeli filmmaker Tom Shoval cast twin brothers David and Eitan Cunio, members of Kibbutz Nir Oz, in his debut film, Youth. Eleven years later, on 7 October 2023, the kibbutz was infiltrated by Hamas terrorists and they were taken hostage. Joyously they were released this week. In this personal film Shoval tries to make sense of the catastrophe that befell the charismatic brothers, their family and community, and Israeli society at large.

A Private Life (drama, French and English with English subtitles)

Jodie Foster stars as psychiatrist Lilian Steiner in this intriguing, tongue-in-cheek French detective thriller from multi-award-winning director Rebecca Zlotowski. When Lilian’s patient Paula Cohen commits suicide, the widower accuses Lilian of overprescribing antidepressants. She tries to uncover the truth, assisted by a hypnotist whose methods she despises, and her charming ophthalmologist ex-husband who is eager for a rapprochement.

Hold on to your Music (documentary)

Lisa and her daughter Mona are brilliant concert pianists. In this heartfelt documentary, Mona Golabek tells the story of her mother and her escape from Vienna on a Kindertransport. Lisa’s father had won one ticket whilst gambling and he and his wife had to make the terrible choice of which of their three daughters would be saved. With rarely-seen archive of wartime Vienna and London, and moving voice interviews and piano recordings from Lisa, the documentary focuses on music’s power to restore new life.

Mariana’s Room (drama, Ukrainian, German, Russian with English subtitles)

In wartime Ukraine, 11-year-old Hugo is taken in by his mother’s friend, Mariana, a sex worker at a brothel frequented by German soldiers. Suspicious of one another at first, the two develop a strong and intimate bond. Based on a novel by the late Israeli author Aharon Appelfeld this multilayered and powerful coming-of-age drama explores the liminal spaces between life and death, good and evil, and parental and sexual love.

Once Upon My Mother (drama, French with English subtitles)

In France in 1963, Esther Perez’s sixth child is born with a clubfoot. She refuses to accept his disability, looking for alternative methods — as well as praying for a miracle — that would cure him. Esther remains devoted to her son even after her prayers have been answered, and well into Roland’s adulthood. A soundtrack of French pop classics — including some by Jewish icon Sylvie Vartan (who also appears) – adds a touch of nostalgia.

Cuz You’re Ugly (drama, Hebrew, with English subtitles)

Trainee naval officer Avigail returns from service to her cramped flat, living with an unstable mother and naïve younger sister. On a mission to lose her virginity, Avigail’s plan is upended when her sister announces that she is pregnant. The film tackles the internal battle to find beauty within yourself, whilst existing in a larger body and the digital age.

Pink Lady (drama, Hebrew with English subtitles)

In Jerusalem’s strictly Orthodox Haredi community Bati discovers that her husband Lazer is being blackmailed with photographs of him with another man. The couple navigates the community’s attempts to ‘cure’ Lazer of his homosexuality with religious conversion therapy. Seen primarily from Bati’s point of view, as she attempts to save their marriage despite her family being ostracised, this fascinating film directed by Nir Bergman draws us into the lives of the central characters.

Mazel Tov (Comedy, Spanish with English subtitles)

In this Argentinian family comedy Dario Roitman returns to Buenos Aires for the wedding and batmitzvah of the decade. Just a few hours before his flight, his father unexpectedly passes away, and the Roitmans’ long-planned family reunion is instead held at a funeral. When Dario decides to support his beloved sister in breaking the shloshim mourning period to marry her non-Jewish fiancé, sibling rivalries bubble to the surface.

The UK Jewish Film Festival runs at cinemas in London 6-16 November, nationwide 16 November – 4 December and online 19-27 November. ukjewishfilm.org