Barmitzvah Boy

Screenwriter Jack Rosenthal

With the UKJFF reaching its 13th year, how could we resist the chance to screen Jack Rosenthal's sublime BAFTA-winner Barmitzvah Boy. First broadcast in the BBC’s landmark Play for Today slot, this feature-length comedy-drama was taken to the nation’s heart more than any other screen portrait of Jewish life before or since (much to Rosenthal's surprise).

Eliot Green (Jeremy Steyn) finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of caterers, guest lists, hairdressers and Torah study as Maria Charles’ endearingly fussy matriarch Rita prepares him for the most important day of his life (no pressure!). Exhausted dad Victor (Bernard Spear) and elder sister Lesley (Adrienne Posta) take a more serene approach, but Eliot’s about to experience an acute case of cold feet. Affectionately satirising the rituals of Jewish community and debunking the myth of adulthood, Rosenthal’s witty time capsule of 1970s Britain is still irresistible three decades on. SM

The screening will be introduced by Maureen Lipman CBE.