The UK Jewish Film Festival 2022
Our definitive guide to what to watch
Louisa Walters is Features Editor at the Jewish News and specialises in food and travel writing
The UK Jewish Film Festival 2022 runs from Thursday 10 November to Sunday 20 November 2022, in cinemas across the UK and online. There are nearly 40 films and documentaries from around the world, exploring Jewish and Israeli life and culture, plus more than 30 shorts. To see the full programme visit ukjewishfilm.org.
Jewish News has picked 10 must-watch films and three do-not-miss documentaries.
Romantic comedy: One More Story (pictured above)
Encouraged by her unscrupulous boss, who is also her secret lover, a newspaper journalist convinces her best friend – a hopelessly romantic, geeky, single man – to star in her new reality TV-inspired article, the one where he finds his soul mate and gets married within a month. Setting him up to fail, she is shocked to find out that he has completed the mission successfully, without her help. Now all that is left is for her to find her own true love.
Spellbinding feature film: Shttl
Shttl beautifully captures the life and loves of a Yiddish-speaking village on the eve of the Nazi invasion of Soviet Ukraine. Mendele, who is living a modern, secular life in Kyiv, finds himself drawn back to the familiar and comforting world of the shtetl. Unravelling the simmering tensions between tradition and modernity, director Ady Walter’s debut masterpiece, which is filmed in one extraordinary long shot, recreates a world on the precipice of disaster.
Thought-provoking drama: The Accusation
French-British actress Charlotte Gainsbourg stars alongside her son Ben Attal in this #MeToo drama. Alexandre (Attal), a bright 22-year-old student, is accused of raping Mila, the daughter of his mother’s (Gainsbourg) boyfriend. Alexandre is determined to prove his innocence while Mila fights to be heard. The conflict between his sense of being treated unfairly and hers complex feelings about sex, influenced by her Orthodox Jewish upbringing, makes it near impossible to reach a clear verdict. Based on a best-selling novel of the same name.
Suspenseful true story: The Forger
Berlin, early 1940s. Cioma Schönhaus, a 20-something gregarious charmer, is living life to the full: dining out at exclusive restaurants, dating a beautiful girl and exploring all that the big city has to offer. His youthful exuberance, however, is a facade: Schönhaus is a Jew hiding in plain sight, defiantly dodging the destiny assigned to him by the Nazi regime by audaciously forging an Aryan identity and, using his graphic design skills, official documents for himself and fellow Jews. A riveting story based on Schönhaus’ 2004 memoir.
Romance and religion: Where Life begins
Twenty-six-year-old Esther, the daughter of a rabbi from Aix-les-Bains, joins her ultra-Orthodox family on their annual trip to a farm in southern Italy, where they perform the sacred task of harvesting etrogim. While Esther is expected to marry a man she does not yet know, her budding friendship with Elio, the farm owner, encourages her to follow her desire to leave religion behind and live life on her own terms.
Psychological thriller: Farewell Mr Haffman
French screen legend Daniel Auteuil stars as Joseph Haffmann, a Polish-born Jewish jeweller who sells his shop to his employee Francois when the Nazis enter Paris. Staying in the city after his wife and children leave for southern France, Joseph realises it is too late for him to follow them and he hides in the basement of his old shop. As Francois befriends Nazi officers, he feels less inclined to help Joseph, whereas Blanche’s growing affection towards him changes the course of both their lives.
Drama and fashion: Haute Couture
Esther (veteran French film star Nathalie Baye) is nearing the end of her career as head seamstress at Dior. When her handbag gets stolen by two young women, she decides to take one of them, Jade, under her wing and teach her the trade. Esther is Jewish, Jade is Muslim – but the two find in one another what is missing in their lives: a sense of direction in Jade’s case, and much-needed human connection in Esther’s.
LGBTQ+: The Swimmer
Gifted swimmer Erez joins a group of athletes at an elite training camp, where they battle for the chance of a lifetime – a single place on the Israeli Olympic team. The workout routine is gruelling, but just as intense are the feelings Erez develops for his fellow swimmer and competitor Nevo. Challenged at first by the unwelcoming, hypermasculine environment of the camp, Erez realises he strives for much more than just athletic excellence, namely the right to be his true self. A bold exploration of male competitiveness and sexual desire.
Truth, lies and friendship: Perfect Strangers
Seven lifelong friends – three couples and a newly divorced man – meet for dinner and play a game in which every text message received is read out loud, and every incoming call is answered on speaker. Secrets and lies are exposed, leaving the once close-knit group completely shattered. Based on the Italian international hit film of the same name, Israeli actor Lior Ashkenazi’s deliciously toxic debut feature as director asks how well we really know those closest to us, and whether honesty is indeed the best policy.
Period drama: June Zero
On the eve of Adolf Eichmann’s execution in 1962, three Israelis – a 13-year-old boy, Eichmann’s guard, and an investigator for the prosecution – do not only witness history but take an active role in its making. Director Jake Paltrow (The Good Night), co-writer Tom Shoval (Youth) and some of Israel’s finest actors capture a profound event in the history of the young state, that dramatically changed the way in which the Holocaust is understood and remembered. Inspired by true events.
DOCUMENTARIES
Who’s Afraid of Jewish Humour
A self-deprecating, hilarious sense of humour is something all Jews can relate to. Filmmakers Jascha Hannover (Hollywood’s Second World War) and Arkadij Kahet (Masel Tov Cocktail) explore the origins of Jewish humour, tracing the use of irony and satire back to the Bible. With archive footage from around the globe and comedy experts from Europe and Israel it celebrates a long tradition of Jews being seriously funny.
Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen
With Norman Jewison, Hollywood’s most Jewish-ish non-Jewish director, at the helm, and Topol in the starring role, Fiddler on the Roof had a smooth transition from the Broadway and West End stages to the silver screen. The musical comedy film, which celebrated its 50th-anniversary last year, captivated millions of viewers around the world, Narrated by Jeff Goldblum, this documentary features behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Jewison and Topol, among others.
Disgraced
For over seven years, British filmmaker Jane Mingay followed Beth Alexander in her fight for custody of her two children. Born in Manchester, Alexander met Austrian Haredi doctor Michael Schlesinger while visiting Vienna in 2006. They fell in love and got married, but their relationship ended shortly after their wedding day, with Schlesinger fabricating stories about his wife’s mental health preventing her from seeing her children for over 10 years.
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