ByKeren David, Keren David
Rachel weisz may be used to the glamour of Cannes — but it is a new experience for the Jewish Chronicle.
A paperboy’s weekly ordeal in carrying a heavy load of JCs is immortalised in a short film which gets its first showing at the film festival today.
Jewish Chronicle Day, made by Jan Lower of Elbow Productions and Dr James Ohene-Djan, a lecturer in computing at Goldsmiths College, is based on Dr Ohene-Djan’s experiences as a delivery boy in leafy, prosperous and, some might say, Jewish, Maida Vale.
James, the 13-year-old black paperboy in the film, trudges off to pick up his bag at the newsagent and is confronted by a huge pile of JCs. He climbs endless stairs to deliver the paper to readers, whose joy and gratitude is left to the imagination. Then he finds a bundle of banknotes lost in the street. Suddenly, his load feels like nothing. He bounds up stairs and along streets, tossing JCs at Jewish doormats.
Sadly, the JC then fades out of the 10-minute film. There is no Jewish Chronicle reporter to record James’s semi-heroic efforts to report some — but not all — of the money as lost property to a cynical policeman.
Eagle-eyed viewers of the film, which can be seen at www.thejc.com will notice that the JCs in James’s bag are somewhat outdated, featuring an obsolete masthead.
“The film was actually shot seven years ago,” explained Mr Lower. “It’s been on the shelf with post-production problems. I went through a separation during that time, it just never got finished. But recently I wanted to make another film and I felt I had to finish this one. So many people had worked on it and I was the only one who could finish it. So I did, and now it is being shown at Cannes.” He hopes the film will be screened at other festivals, including the Canary Wharf Film festival.