Three great films, including the Jewish East End classic East Endings, are being screened together at JW3, the Jewish cultural centre, in showings from Sunday April 6 through to April 10.

This will be the first time all three films – Invisible City (1991), East Endings (1993), and Jewish Item (1996) – have been shown together.

Entitled The Jewish Outsider Trilogy, they explore Jewish identity, exile, and memory through bold, independent film making. The films have been newly restored and acquired by the British Film Institute.

The screening on Sunday April 6 at 5pm will be followed by a Q&A with creator Mark Jay and Dr Julia Wagner. 

6 April 2025 - 10 April 2025 Tickets £9 / £15 / £16.50 including Q&A.

JW3 Box Office: (020) 7433 8988

JW3 is at 341-351 Finchley Road, London, NW3 6ET

About The Jewish Outsider Trilogy

In 1991, Mark Jay was commissioned by BFI and Channel 4 to create Invisible City, a sci-fi parable reimagining an exiled Russian cinema of the 1970s. The film tells the story of two Jewish escapees from eastern Europe in 1938 who find themselves in the ruins of a future city where language and memory have been erased.

While making this film at the BFI, Mark worked alongside groups of Black and Asian filmmakers who were actively exploring identity, representation, and diaspora. He noticed that similar work from within the Jewish filmmaking community was less visible, often created in isolation. This realization led him to seek out Jewish artists and filmmakers working outside the mainstream—outsiders in their own right.

A loose collective was formed, and in collaboration with this group, Mark produced two further films exploring Jewish identity, both past and present: East Endings (1993) and Jewish Item (1996). These films have been screened at international festivals and community events, with Invisible City also receiving two Channel 4 broadcasts. More recently, East Endings has enjoyed a revival, selling out four director Q&A screenings last year.

Following this renewed interest, the BFI has now acquired all three films for its Mediatheque at BFI Southbank, in association with the UK Jewish Film Festival, with plans to make them available on BFI Player. Mark is deeply honoured to present The Jewish Outsider Trilogy at JW3—the first time these three films will be screened together as an interconnected body of work, contextualized within the heart of the community in a vibrant, inclusive space that celebrates Jewish history and values.