UK Premiere of HOLOFICTION at the 30th UK Jewish Film Festival in London – Nominated for Best Documentary

 
 
 

30th UK Jewish Film Festival 2026
UK Premiere · Nominated for the Best Documentary Award
Wednesday, November 11, 2026 · 6:00 PM
Phoenix Cinema · London

www.ukjewishfilm.org

HOLOFICTION will celebrate its UK Premiere at the 30th UK Jewish Film Festival, which takes place across London from November 5 to 15, 2026, followed by a tour to Manchester and more than a dozen other UK locations and an online festival. The film has been selected for the festival’s International Documentary Film Strand, sponsored by The Blavatnik Family Foundation.

HOLOFICTION is also one of six films nominated for the Best Documentary Award 2026 of the UK Jewish Film Festival, alongside Dust Bowls and Jewish Souls: Another Side of Woody Guthrie, Father Father, Lansky: The Jewish Godfather, Shalom and The Mad Dog of Europe.

The screening takes place on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at 6:00 PM at the Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley and will be followed by a Q&A with director Michal Kosakowski and Alex Maws, Head of Education and Heritage at the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR).

Film Description – UK Jewish Film Festival 2026

“A mesmerising experimental documentary, deconstructing the tropes and repetitions that appear in fictional depictions of the Holocaust. It takes as its basis the famous Claude Lanzmann quote that attempting to depict the Holocaust in fiction represents the “gravest transgression”. Filmmaker Michal Kosakowski, demonstrates in extraordinary detail how fictional films and television shows depicting the Holocaust frequently utilise almost identical imagery and visual motifs — sometimes even using the same actors in opposing roles. Premiering in the UK, after screening at the prestigious Berlinale, this is a must-see for anyone interested in film history, or in the visual language of cinema.

Official selection – 82nd Venice Int. Film Festival”
– UK Jewish Film Festival 2026

Best Documentary Award 2026

“The Best Documentary Award recognises originality and excellence in documentary filmmaking on Jewish themes.”
– UK Jewish Film

Nominees:
Dust Bowls and Jewish Souls: Another Side of Woody Guthrie – Steven Pressman (USA)
Father Father – Jake Witzenfeld (Israel, UK)
Holofiction – Michal Kosakowski (Austria, Germany)
Lansky: The Jewish Godfather – Avi Marzuk (Israel)
Shalom – Meital Zvieli (Israel)
The Mad Dog of Europe – Rubika Shah (France, Germany)

Jury:
Carol Isaacs · David Herman · Kelly Webb-Lamb · Liesel Evans · Rachel Johnson · Tom Bower

Attending the Screening

Michal Kosakowski
“Michal Kosakowski (1975) is a Polish-German filmmaker and media artist who grew up in Austria. Moving between documentary, fiction, and experimental cinema, he explores aesthetic and ethical limits of representation. A Fabrica alumnus who worked with Oliviero Toscani, he gained recognition with Just Like the Movies (2006). He has taught film theory, served on festival juries, and created works such as Fortynine (2007), Zero Killed (2012), and German Angst (2015). Since 2014, he has shaped the visual identity of Uli Aigner’s ONE MILLION project. His latest film, Holofiction (2025), premiered at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival.”

Alex Maws
“Alex Maws has worked in the Holocaust educational field for more than 20 years. As the Head of Education and Heritage at the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR), Alex champions and evaluates educational programmes across the UK. He is a member of the UK delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and partners with UNESCO and other international organisations to train educators and policy makers globally on issues relating to the Holocaust and antisemitism. He is the producer and host of the AJR’s ‘Kindertransport’ podcast and the creator of the online UK Holocaust Map. Prior to joining the AJR in 2017, he was Head of Education at the Holocaust Educational Trust. He has also worked at Facing History & Ourselves and was a classroom teacher in East London. Alex earned an MA in Social Justice & Education from the UCL Institute of Education and a BA in Political Science from the University of Michigan.”
– UK Jewish Film Festival 2026

 
 

About the Festival

“Welcome to the 30th Edition of the UK Jewish Film Festival 2026!

The 2026 UK Jewish Film Festival: presenting an incredible collection of films from across the globe. Across London from 5th November to 15th November, and touring in Manchester and over a dozen other UK locations from 15th November to 3rd December.

Plus, our online festival brings the big screen to your living room from Wednesday 18 to Monday 30 November.”
– UK Jewish Film Festival 2026

The festival is organised by UK Jewish Film, a registered charity that brings Jewish film from around the world to diverse audiences in the UK and internationally, supports emerging filmmakers and runs education programmes on the Holocaust, genocide, racism and interfaith themes. The festival is BAFTA Qualifying.

Event Details

Festival: 30th UK Jewish Film Festival 2026

Festival dates:
London: November 5 – 15, 2026
UK Tour (Manchester and other locations): November 15 – December 3, 2026
Online festival: November 18 – 30, 2026

Screening: Wednesday, November 11, 2026, 6:00 PM
Venue: Phoenix Cinema, 52 High Road, London N2 9PJ
Phone: 020 3176 0048

Film: HOLOFICTION by Michal Kosakowski
Germany, Austria 2025, 102 min, no dialogue

Premiere status: UK Premiere
Competition: Nominated for the Best Documentary Award 2026
Programme section: International Documentary Film Strand – sponsored by The Blavatnik Family Foundation

Q&A: with director Michal Kosakowski and Alex Maws (Association of Jewish Refugees)

Tickets: Front two rows £15.00 · Adult Standard £17.00 · Premium Seat £21.50 · Under 35s £10.00 · Student Rush £5.00 (10 minutes before screening, subject to availability)
UK Jewish Film Members: 20% off
Booking: ukjewishfilmfestival2026.eventive.org

Organiser: UK Jewish Film

 
 
Michal Kosakowski