Shavuot Celebration at King David Infant School, Cheetham Hill

From the collection of

North West Film Archive at Manchester Metropolitan University

Established in 1977, the North West Film Archive preserves moving images made in or about the North West of England for the education and enjoyment of the region’s people. Part of Manchester Metropolitan University Library’s Cultural Collections, and based within Manchester Central Library’s Archives+ partnership, we are a specialist resource dedicated to saving and growing our region’s rich filmed history.

Shavuot Celebration at King David Infant School, Cheetham Hill

North West Film Archive at Manchester Metropolitan University
Prestwich
1962-01-01
Silent
4m

Manchester schoolchildren celebrating Shavuot in the summer sunshine.

Shavuot - the Jewish Feast of Weeks - is celebrated in this delightful colour film from Manchester. Children from the King David Infant School in Cheetham Hill, assisted by older pupils from the High School, sing and carry baskets of fruit in front of a crowd on the school campus in the early summer sunshine. This is a beautifully shot record of religious observance in an educational setting.

Jewish Britain

Jewish life on screen: a century of insights and hidden histories

This collection uncovers insights, injustices and hidden histories across a century of Jewish life on British screens. It brings together documentary and first-person accounts of Jewish life in the UK, alongside historical dramas and artists’ work exploring the 20th century Jewish experience. The earliest surviving depictions of Jewish characters in British cinema offer a troubling insight into antisemitic representation, yet prejudice was later tackled head-on, with newsreels documenting the anti-fascist movement of the 1930s.

Drop in on joyous family weddings and community gatherings, and see the ways in which UK Jewry supported Jews young and old, and those fleeing persecution, in a selection of fascinating films from the 1900s to the 1980s.

This collection is generously supported by the Neil Kreitman Foundation, Shoresh Charitable Trust, John S Cohen Foundation, and Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation.