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One of the 2025 Oscar winners was a favourite at a recent film festival in Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones A Real Pain wins Oscars UK Jewish Film Festival Manchester

It’s not often we get to say that Greater Manchester can lay any sort of claim to Oscars fame, but once in a while it happens and in this case, we’re only a few degrees of separation away from the latest Academy Award-winning film thanks to a recent film festival.

Being most recently hosted in Manchester once again, the 2024 edition of the UK Jewish Film Festival saw a number of shorts, student films and indie projects associated with the religion spotlighted – one of which just won not one but two bits of bronze.

Picking up not only the award for this year’s award for ‘Best Original Screenplay’ for the film itself but with Succession favourite and Home Alone child star, Kieran Culkin’s role winning him ‘Best Supporting Actor’, the much-celebrated A Real Pain has now won an Oscar.

But the part of all this that we’re especially happy about is that one of the first times it was seen in the UK happened right here in Manchester city centre late last year.

This year’s ‘Best Original Screenplay’ award winner at the Oscars, just a few months after screening in Manchester. Have you seen it yet?

The now Oscar-winning picture, which just so happens to be the second original feature film from Jesse Eisenberg (Social Network, Zombieland, Justice League), has been delighting audiences ever since its debut at Sundance in January 2024 and went on to premiere at several international film festivals.

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However, the second time it was screened here in Britain prior to its official UK release nearly a full 12 months later (8 Jan 2025) at the UK Jewish Film Festival, was in 0161, returning for another consecutive year across multiple Greater Manchester venues.

Based at the main hub in the HOME theatre, cinema, arts and social space on First Street, A Real Pain was part of the event’s 28th annual programme of movie and TV programme.

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Without giving away too much about the plot itself, the synopsis of the film reads as follows: “Mismatched cousins reunite for a tour through Poland to honour their beloved grandmother, but their old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.”

Shown to us Mancs for the first time at Cineworld Didsbury on Thursday, 17 November last year, you won’t be surprised to hear it was one of the most popular picks of this festival too.

A Real Pain has been largely described as a buddy comedy and a road trip movie by lots of critics but there’s also tonnes of drama and serious subject matter that it gets stuck into.

Touching not only the obvious themes of Judaism and Zionism but also family, the Holocaust specifically and theology in general, the film has gone down as a deeply important piece of cinema for a whole community and plenty of people beyond it.

Admittedly, the Greater Manchester connection to the film might only be a slight one but given its new Oscars fame and how well-reviewed the film has been ever since we saw it at the UK Jewish Film (UJFF) Festival, we’re absolutely jumping on the bandwagon and we’re glad to keep supporting events like this.

Make sure you check out the UJFF the next time it comes to our neck of the woods. Applications to enter a film into the 2025 festival are now open.

Side note: it also led to arguably one of the best acceptance speeches in years:

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Featured Images — Searchlight Pictures/HOME Manchester

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Ruben Amorim fires back at Man United legend Wayne Rooney after ‘naive’ comment

Danny Jones Danny Jones Ruben Amorim responds to Wayne Rooney naive Premier League comment

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has responded to comments made by club legend Wayne Rooney following the team’s exit from the FA Cup.

Amorim’s Reds and current cup holders under his predecessor, Erik ten Hag, dropped out of this year’s tournament to Fulham on penalties after a fairly low-quality 90 minutes and an even more exhausting extra time for both sets of fans.

The Portuguese coach had no trouble accepting that his side wasn’t up to the level on Sunday evening, as he has since he arrived, but insisted in his post-match interviews that Man United‘s overall goal is to win the Premier League.

However, reacting to the fame in the gantry after the game, ex-player and former all-time leading England goalscorer Wayne Rooney remarked that “little bit naive” to suggest they can challenge for the title any time soon. Here’s exactly what he had to say:

Do you agree with Rooney – is Amorim being naive?

While neither party actually gave a timeline as to when they expect Man United to realistically compete for a Premier League title, there seemed to be an agreement in the studio that the new manager might be thinking a little too far ahead this very moment.

For context, as well as having now conceded their trophy win from last season in a game that most supporters would have felt they should be winning (especially as the holders playing at home), the Red Devils currently sit 14th on 33 points in the Premier League table with a negative goal difference of six.

In contrast, league leaders Liverpool – also still adjusting to life under a new manager, though doing so much better – have just over double that amount of points after 28 games and even though Man City have had a bit of a rollercoaster time of late themselves, they’re still fourth and not far off second.

Nevertheless, the boss didn’t just sit there and take ‘Wazza‘s remarks lightly, choosing instead to provide a bit of perspective from one football manager to another.

Delivering a fairly calm but somewhat barbed response to Rooney, Amorim shrugged off the suggestion that he’s being naive when it comes to his new home, clarifying that while it would be foolish to expect fast results this year or even be “the best contender” in the coming campaign, it is their ultimate goal.

To put it in footballing terms, you could argue Amorim left a bit of a boot in on Rooney, who was sacked by Birmingham City after just 15 games in charge and Plymouth after just seven months in the dugout.

Even prior to these two less-than-fortunate spells, the only other two jobs on the 39-year-old’s CV are his time at Derby County and DC United in the MLS, at which he failed to make any real impact at either.

Meanwhile, Amorim has won Liga Portugal twice, their domestic league cup three times at two different clubs and the Portuguese Super Cup once since his first coaching job at Casa Pia in his home country’s third tier in 218 – again, all at the age of 40, as he was keen to point out.

He also went on to quip, “Everybody knows everything”, adding that he was also a pundit when he finished his career and it is “easy” to comment from his/their position, going on to reinforce that the goal, however premature or long term it might feel, is to win the league.

Amorim has reiterated that he is “not naive” on multiple occasions already since joining the club and whatever Rooney or anyone else thinks, he appears to be remaining steadfast. You can listen to Ruben Amorim’s post-match press conference in full HERE and see the highlights from the game down below:

If you had three words to sum up this current United team, what would they be? Let us know in the comments.

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Optus Sport/Sky Sports/BBC Sport (screenshot via YouTube)

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