Finding 100 Faces: capturing Jewish diversity

In early 2018, composer and film maker Benjamin Till, who had only recently discovered he was Jewish, decided to make the film 100 Faces to find out more about the community he’d been a member of for 43 years without realising.  His mission was to find one UK-based Jewish person born every year from 1918 to 2017 and it became an odyssey of discovery which took him all over the world. His final 100 people include Jewish people from all walks of life. Rabbis and chazans rub shoulders with Dames, Lords, holocaust survivors, kinder-transportees, well-known actors, musicians, writers and presenters and two men who fought at Cable Street. The whole film is set to music. Benjamin wrote an original score which was performed by the Israel Camera Orchestra.  Sit back and enjoy the film (approx 6 mins) and then hear about the bumpy and inspirational ride which led there!

Benjamin Till is a multi-award-winning filmmaker and composer and pioneer in the field of the documentary musical. He grew up in Northamptonshire and describes himself as a fanatical Midlander of Welsh and Jewish extraction! He has many works to his credit including Our Gay Wedding: The Musical (Channel 4, BAFTA-nominated, winner, Rose D’Or, Grierson and Prix Italia.) This film is considered one of Channel 4’s most successful ever broadcasts. His most recent film, 100 Faces, which features the UK Jewish Community, won the gold award at the Robinson’s International Short Film Competition. Benjamin sings with, and is Resident Composer for, the Jewish Male voice choir, Mosaic Voices at New West End Synagogue, London. Their most recent recording of Benjamin’s arrangement of Kol Nidrei was played on Radio 3.