In conversation: Nina Menkes

“Hebrew is a big part of my life. I’m not a religious Jew, but spiritual questions are central to my work and life”

Jewish American filmmaker Nina Menkes has been a pioneer of independent cinema since the 1980s, challenging conventions through her unwavering and unique vision. The BFI Southbank is currently running a retrospective of her work, in light of which Menkes sits down to chat with critic and lecturer Dr Julia Wagner. Menkes discusses her latest documentary, Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power; the significance of being a child of parents who fled the Holocaust; and the visual and aural style of her films.

Cinematic Sorceress: The Films of Nina Menkes runs until Wednesday 31 May. Times and prices vary. BFI Southbank, SE1 8XT. whatson.bfi.org.uk

In conversation: Noemie Lopian

"I want to teach people about humanity, my passion is to educate, to prevent extremism"

Noemie Lopian is the daughter of Holocaust survivors Dr Ernst Israel Bornstein and Renee Bornstein. Noemie was brought up first in Germany and then from the age of 13 in Manchester, England. The mother of four daughters, she qualified as a GP and for the last few years has dedicated her time to educating and commemorating the Holocaust, continuing the legacy of her parents. She has translated her late father Ernst’s memoirs into a book called The Long Night, the story of his sufferings as a teenager in a series of concentration camps, which has featured on TV, in print and as an animation. Her mother shared with her only more recently the story of her terrifying childhood experiences trying to evade the Nazis occupying her native France.

Now Noemie is also able to tell Renee's story in an extraordinarily immediate way, thanks to broadcaster and lawyer Robert Rinder, whose new two-part documentary for the BBC helps Jewish families discover the full truth about what happened to their relatives during the Holocaust. Part one of My Family, the Holocaust and Me, which features both Noemie and her mother Renee, airs tonight, the 82nd anniversary of Kristallnacht. Noemie tells JR’s Judi Herman more about what drives her in her inspirational work – and what happened when she and her mother went to France.

My Family, the Holocaust and Me with Robert Rinder airs Monday 9 & Monday 16 November. 9pm. FREE. BBC One & ONLINE. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000pbwk

Find out more about Noemie Lopian’s work at holocaustmatters.org

In conversation: Amos Gitai

“All my work is a civic gesture – about war, about religion – about the issues I'm interested in”

As acclaimed as he is controversial, Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai speaks to Judi Herman about the theatrical staging of one of his films in London this month, as well as his screening at the UK Jewish Film Festival. The performance of A Letter to a Friend in Gaza, based on his 2018 film of the same name, features four actors from Israel and Palestine, onstage with Gitai himself and three musicians, seeking common ground between the opposing sides. At UKJFF his 2018 film A Tramway in Jerusalem takes its audience on a tram journey that reflects the city’s fragmentation, even as it celebrates its diversity. Note: this conversation was recorded before the current escalation of tensions and violence in Israel and Gaza, which sadly makes it all the more timely.

A Letter to a Friend in Gaza runs Monday 18 - Saturday 23 November. 7.30pm. £30, £25 concs. The Coronet Theatre, W11 3LB. 020 3642 6606. www.thecoronettheatre.com

A Tramway in Jerusalem takes place Thursday 21 November. 8.30pm. £15. Ciné Lumière, SW7 2DT. https://ukjewishfilm.org

In conversation: Dana Ivgy

Dana Ivgy chats to JR’s arts editor Judi Herman about her role in Next to Her

Israeli actress Dana Ivgy chats to JR's arts editor Judi Herman about her role in Asaf Korman's drama Next to Her. This powerful, challenging film – with a script by Korman's wife Liron Ben-Shlush – explores the symbiotic relationship between Chelli (played by Ben-Shlush) and her mentally-challenged sister Gabby (Ivgy), for whom she is the sole carer. One day she is forced to hand Gabby over to a daycare centre part-time, which is when a relationship of another kind develops with Zohar (Yaakov Zada Daniel) the new gym teacher at the school where she works. Ben-Shlush based this story on her own experience of having a mentally disabled sister and worked closely with friend and co-star Dana Ivgy on her role.

Next to Her can be watched on BFI Player for £4.50 or at the following screenings: Friday 25 – Wednesday 30 March, times vary, £7.50, at MAC Birmingham, B12 9QH; 0121 446 3232. www.macbirmingham.co.uk. Sunday 20 March, 8pm, £8.50, at Glasgow Film Theatre, G3 6RB; 0141 332 6535. www.glasgowfilm.org/theatre 

Read JR’s four-star review of Next to Her [link to blog]

In conversation: Gur Bentwich

Hear filmmaker Gur Bentwich chat to Judi Herman about an extraordinary Jewish dynasty

From humble origins in Whitechapel, the eccentric and ambitious 19th-century lawyer Herbert Bentwich set out to establish an aristocratic Jewish dynasty, having a profound impact on British Jewish life and on the new state of Israel. In this wry and witty documentary, The Bentwich Syndrome, brilliantly enhanced by Monty Pythonesque animation, Bentwich’s great-grandson Gur sets out to discover the truth about this much-maligned and enigmatic family. Along the way, from Herbert’s daughter, who did not just become Christian but also a nun – and a lesbian – to the 20th-century scion, ‘Quick Quick’ Norman Bentwich, a whirlwind who advised Hailie Selassie of Ethiopia, helped set up the Kindertransport in Europe and, became attorney general in the British Mandate in Palestine, the filmmaker and his wife and partner Maya Kenig uncover a remarkable story, funny and sometimes tragic, of fervent Zionists, inspired artists, and outrageously determined rebels.

See The Bentwich Syndrome with Gur Bentwich in conversation at the following places:

Wednesday 18 November, 6.30pm, Odeon Swiss Cottage, 96 Finchley Rd, NW3 5EL; 0333 006 7777. www.odeon.co.uk

Thursday 19 November, 7.30pm, Seven Arts Leeds, 31A Harrogate Rd, LS7 3PD; 0113 262 6777. www.sevenleeds.co.uk

In conversation: Allan Corduner

In light of the 19th UK Jewish Film Festival Judi Herman speaks to actors Allan Corduner and Sarah Solemani

With the 19th UK Jewish Film Festival in full swing – with more than 80 films from over 15 countries, an impressive 50 of which are UK premieres, showing in five cities – Judi Herman speaks to a couple of names involved.

While attending the opening night gala Judi met with actor Allan Corduner and spoke to him about his role in the film chosen to open the Festival, Closer to the Moon (listen above). This dark comedy directed by Nae Caranfil is based on a true story and is set in post-war communist Romania, where a group of Jewish intellectuals stage a bank robbery and find themselves paying the price for the bravado of their extraordinary gesture – a price that bizarrely also includes a forced reconstruction of the robbery for a propaganda film, directed by Corduner’s alcoholic Flaviu. Allan talked to Judi about the film and his role in it – and also about his current role in TV’s Homeland, in which he plays a high-ranking Israeli in Berlin.

Judi also spoke to playwright and actress Sarah Solemani, who is known for her role as prim Miss Gulliver in Bad Education, and served as one of the judges of the UKJFF’s inaugural Best Debut Feature Award this year. The two discussed the festival in general and Israel’s film industry. Listen on the JR Blog. [link to blog]

Closer to the Moon screens on Friday 13 November, Glasgow Film Institute, G3 6RB; 0141 332 6535. www.glasgowfilm.org

UK Jewish Film Festival runs until Sunday 22 November. See their website for full details: ukjewishfilm.org