Jewish creative elite shine at Jewish News’ ‘60 Under 40’ celebration

More than one hundred stars from the creative and media Jewish world gathered at the Netflix HQ in London on Wednesday evening to celebrate the Jewish News’ Creative and Media Young Business List. Created in partnership with Dangoor Education, the list showcased ‘60 under 40’ of the community’s top talents making an impact in the creative and media world.

They included dozens of celebrities and social media influencers to journalists, actors and designers.

Among them were content creator Brandon B, actor Emma Kingston and journalist Josh Glancy, who took part in a panel chaired by Jewish News editor Richard Ferrer, during which all three reflected on being Jewish in Britain today.

Brandon has created content for some of the world’s most well-known brands including Sky, Pixar and Adidas. His videos have clocked up over 16 billion views. The one where he created a giant ice cream from a statue was YouTube’s third most popular video short of all time.

“I think every Jewish person in the room knows that our secret weapon is the people around us. It’s our network, it’s our friends, it’s our families, it’s our mentors. And that is the only reason I am where I am today,” he said.

Emma, who will be playing the role of Elphaba in Wicked later this year, mentioned her recent role in The Band’s Visit at The Donmar Warehouse, which featured 12 Jewish or Israeli cast members plus an Israeli director and choreographer and Jewish assistant stage mangers. “It was the first time I’d worked with any Jewish people since school (Immanuel College) and it was a beautiful way to bring everyone together to work on a piece that focused on connection despite differences,” she said.

Josh said: “I think a lot of us who grew up in a fairly golden era for Jewry find (recent antisemitism) quite unsettling. But if you look around the people in this room, and all the people we know, its a very settled, successful, happy way of life. British Jewish life is a great brand and we try and celebrate that as much as we can.”

Journalist Lucy Tobin, who featured on the list, said: “Amidst the gloom about being Jewish in Britain today, this (the reception) was a burst of sunshine. Honoured to be included in the list, and a brilliant night Netflix HQ.”

Jewish News business editor Candice Krieger, who created the list alongside Jewish News news editor Justin Cohen and chair of the list Andrew Gilbert, said: “There really is so much creative and media talent in our community and it felt very special to showcase this in such a positive way.

“What became particularly striking during the process was how the creative and media landscape has developed dramatically.

“While many of us anticipated the rise of those influencing in the social media world, in addition to more traditional industry figures, their prominence on the list has been extraordinary.

“What made this list so unique is that it brought these two worlds together, showcasing – in one place and in a truly rare way – Jewish stars excelling and inspiring in both.

“We are very grateful to Dangoor Education and Netflix for hosting us. I don’t think there could be a more fitting venue to host such a gathering of talent from the creative and media world.”

Brandon said: “Last night’s reception at Netflix was a lovely evening. It was great to chat and network with so many like-minded young creatives.”

The Creative and Media List is the first in a series of planned Jewish News‘ Young Business lists. There has since been a Tech and Digital Young Business one with property and financial services underway.