Lewisham young people get chance to watch the movie drama they made themselves

By: Francesca Casonato, Local Democracy Reporter

Students had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sit down and watch their self-produced movie along with families and friends.

The screening was part of the Film Workshop in Lewisham, which provides industry standard training in Film and TV Production, as well as in games design.

Their workshop, run by Kate Herron from the Screen Community, a charity that works with diverse and at risk young people, was funded by the Mayor of London.

It brought together 20 people, between 14 and 25 years of age, to produce a short film, called “The Street”.

Written by Malini Raman-Middleton, only 16 years old, and directed by up and coming young directors Malini Raman-Middleton and Katie Bradders, the movie was screened on the 1st of September at Catford Mews.

Based in the Lewisham area, “The Street” tells the tale of a young boy who committed a crime and now lives with dread and regret every day, while flashbacks from his past keep torturing him.

After the screening, there was a Q&A for the guests and many students described their time at the workshop as “the best experience of their lives”, despite some difficulties related to the pandemic.

Some said they feared that it could have made “things more difficult”, but in the end they all persevered and worked together to create the film.

This experience was very positive for many of the young people who took part in the workshop and few of them were even signposted to some key organisations.

A spokesperson from the Screen Community said: “Every young person from the workshop played a crucial part in the production and the final product of the film turned out to be amazing.

They were all very happy and excited to finally watch it on the cinema screen, surrounded by friends and family.”