Leeds film director Simon Glass is at the Cannes Film Festival showcasing his latest creation, Change of Mime. It features a mime artist who loses faith in his performance and takes a job in a call centre. Mr Glass was invited to the festival following his success there last year with Yakov, My Boy, which revolved around a Holocaust survivor’s relationship with his grandson.

He tells People: “The mime artist is struggling to make a living and wipes off his make-up to look for a more reliable job. Taking to answering phones in a call centre, he finds himself chastised by his suit and tie and chained to his desk and phone. Forced to undermine the principles of his art, he finally speaks.”

Mr Glass spent ten months making the six-minute production, which uses black and white film. “We used Super 8mm, just like the old cine films of yesteryear; like the ones my grandfather and uncles used to shoot in their home movies.” He adds: “To be travelling to the Côte d’Azur with a film that is made in Leeds is unbelievable.”

Change of Mime is about half the length of Yakov, My Boy, but addresses much broader issues of social struggle in contemporary society, says Mr Glass. He hopes the film will attract international attention at the festival, which runs until May 24.