Writer/director Sophie Lellouche’s debut feature [pictured] to open the festival at the BFI Southbank in London and at Manchester’s Parrs Wood Cineworld.

The UK Jewish Film Festival (UKJFF), which runs Nov 1-18, will open with the UK premiere of Sophie Lellouche’s Paris-Manhattan, a film about a young woman whose choices in life and love are shaped by the philosophies of her favourite filmmaker, Woody Allen.

This year’s UKJFF will show more than 50 feature films, documentaries, short films and TV specials from all over the world at venues across London. In a first for the festival, simultaneous screenings will take place in Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and Glasgow.

The festival was founded in 1997 and has since provided an unrivalled showcase for works on Jewish themes by filmmakers from all over the world. This year’s edition will host more than 40 UK premieres of films from countries including Israel, the UK, France, Holland, the US, Croatia, Portugal, Austria, Sweden and Brazil.

Films screening include Toronto entries Eran Riklis’ Zaytoun and Cate Shortland’s Lore, the Croatian feature Lea and Daria, the true story of two 13 year old girls who were singing stars in Zagreb before the Nazis arrived, and Eytan Fox’s Yossi, the sequel to Fox’s 2003 film Yossi & Jagger which won Tribeca’s best actor award for Ohad Knoller.

Documentary Roman Polanski – A Film Memoir, a full-length interview with Polanski himself about his extraordinary life and the effect it’s had on his film, will also screen during the Festival.  

“The UKJFF provides great entertainment for a wide audience in conjunction with showing work that promotes international communication and cultural knowledge,” commented UKJF executive director Judy Ironside. “I’m very proud of all the films and am confident we have selected the world’s best cinema for our audiences.”

For the full lineup, visit the festival’s website.

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