UK Premiere of Michal Aviad’s WORKING WOMAN Marks the Opening of the 22nd Annual UK Jewish Film Festival TONIGHT

Today marks the opening of the 22nd annual UK Jewish Film Festival with the gala screening and UK Premiere of Working Woman, directed by Michal Aviad at the BFI Southbank.

Running from 8th-22nd November 2018 the festival will be visiting cinemas across London, Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Brighton and Glasgow, with a plethora of screenings, panel discussions and Q&A’s across the festival’s run.

This year’s opening night film, Working Woman, sets a clear tone for the festival’s aim of inclusivity, where 38% of the films featured have been made by female filmmakers. This year launches a unique and dynamic programme with exciting new strands, Gala screenings, film premieres, special events and panel discussions with leading directors, producers, actors, journalists and academics.

A picture speaks a thousand words…and this year festival goers can discover a special trio of silent films to journey back to the 1920’s with beautifully restored classics from The Sound of Silence strand.

Other strands at the festival include: The Alan Howard International Documentary Strand, Israeli Cinema, Made in Britain, European Cinema and Across the World, ensuring there is something for everyone at this year’s festival.

Films in Competition for the Dorfman Best Film Award are: The Accountant of Auschwitz, Foxtrot, Promise At Dawn, Three Identical Strangers, The Waldheim Waltz and Working Woman. The jury this year comprises of Michael Kuhn as Head of Jury, Anita Land, Clare Binns, Andrew Pulver, Henry Goodman and Michael Rose.

Best Debut Feature Award contenders are: Closeness, Doubtful, Driver, Outdoors, Red Cow and Winter Hunt. The Awards Jury is chaired by Claudia Rosencrantz alongside Paul Morrison, Chris Auty, Dianne Nelmes, Ben Caplan and Carol Russell.

Up for Best Screenplay Award is: Budapest Noir, Death of a Poetess, Foxtrot, Promise At Dawn, To Dust and Winter Hunt with head of jury Nik Powell, with Amy Rosenthal, Josh Appignanesi, Georgia Slowe, Philippa Goslett and Derek Wax. The festival’s Awards Ceremony will take place with the Closing Night Gala on Thursday 22nd November.

Chief Executive of UK Jewish Film, Michael Etherton said “As there are increasing concerns about the growth of antisemitism globally it feels like an important moment to share Jewish life and culture in all its diversity through film. We are hugely proud to launch this packed 22nd edition of the UK Jewish Film Festival, bringing audiences 87 films from 16 countries to 21 cinemas in 6 cities across the UK."

For more information about the festival please visit.

About UK Jewish Film
At the core of UK Jewish Film’s values is the notion that film is universal. It crosses cultures and divides and has the ability to unite, engage and educate diverse audiences through the telling of cinematic stories that provide varied perspectives on Jewish and Israeli life and culture.

UK Jewish Film aims to develop a culture where Jewish film is recognised and enjoyed by the widest possible audience, and to bring Jewish related film to the heart of British cinema culture.

UK Jewish Film welcomed 30,000 visitors last year through its flagship, annual UK Jewish Film Festival, its international festivals, as well as its 450 additional year-round screenings and previews at venues across London and the UK. Its wide range of films include feature films, documentaries, shorts and archive films, which reflect the diversity of Jewish and Israeli life and culture. Since its inception UK Jewish Film has welcomed over 300,000 visitors. Its popular video on demand platform brings its unique provision of film to many more. The organisation also runs acclaimed education programmes that reach hundreds of young people each year including through its schools’ programme harnessing the power of film to combat antisemitism.