Yesterday afternoon I met up with front line student film-making trio Saul Abraham, Henry Degnin and Callum Cameron to talk with them about their most recent project “Exit To Beach”. The gritty documentary with an acutely philosophical twist tackles issues of homelessness, escapism and population diversity in Brighton, presented through the naïvely curious eyes of silent student narration.
We met at Belchers Cafe on Sillwood Street, a greasy spoon that the boys seemed to be almost too at ease with.
‘Well, I’m not gonna’ lie, most of the time we are here on a hangover’ laughed Henry. A chuckle from Callum and a stern look from Saul soon moved us on to start talking business.
When asked to briefly describe the origins of the project, the guys seemed somewhat lackadaisical about everything.
A slightly nervous look between the three seemed to antagonise their generally relaxed body language. Although a project amongst three school-like friends, I could immediately feel a sense of gravity.
‘Well, it just kind of happened really’, uttered Callum. This notion appeared to be compounded silently by the other two boys.
The truly organic nature of the project really took me by surprise in the first instance. Living in Sillwood Road in Central Brighton, the trio explained how regular confrontations with poverty, prostitution and homelessness in such a confined local area led them to hit the streets armed with a camera and some rough questions jotted down in a notepad.
‘We just wanted to know how such a diverse amalgamation of people ended up here’ retorted Henry.
The guys went on to describe the day that it all started.
‘It was grey, overcast, I think it was a Saturday. We decided to go out and try and interview some people about how they ended up in Brighton; instantaneously we ended up chatting with rough sleepers, drug addicts and genuinely disadvantaged individuals with stories to share.’
‘From here on in, our theme began to localise itself, so to speak,’ said Saul.
I was gradually beginning to understand the nature of the project. This was a project born out of winter, long days of darkness, and a side of Brighton that only permanent residents are able to see.
As far as the material itself is concerned, it is unmistakably moving. The documentary flows seemingly from conversations with Henry’s father, an old Brighton hat who appears to link the various themes explored in the film together, to stories far and wide from rough sleepers, recovering drug users, week-enders and even street cleaners.
The most encapsulating aspect of the film is that one is able to see perspectives from both sides of the fence. It is immediately apparent that the young men took no prisoners in getting out onto the streets themselves and exploring avenues that naturally opened up to them.
An example of this is in one of the truly fascinating scenes where the boys find themselves in the middle of Old Steine in Central Brighton, talking with a bordering on inebriated drug addict of 35 years and four teenage boys sent to Brighton for special behavioural schooling.
It is not long before the subjects themselves begin to interact with each other, with the subtle prompting from Callum and Henry allowing for a poignant glance into a selection of contrasting existences.
I began to ask the guys of their future plans for the film.
Modestly, Saul remarked that originally there were none, however since completing the editing process, a wider interest has been shown in the film, and rightly so.
‘We wanted to give something back,’ said Callum.
Saul continues, ‘These people have given us so much, and responded to us in the warmest of manners, that we feel like we owe them something in return for their time, stories and opinions.’
‘We have been in contact with Off The Fence, a local rough sleepers charity, and we are hosting a screening at the Duke of Yorks Cinema in October. There will be a small fee upon entry, maybe 2 or 3 pounds, apart from the guys who helped us, they can come for free.’
‘All of the money raised shall be donated.’
The guys explained the front line nature of the charity itself. Project Anti-Freeze is a part of the charity concerned with rough sleepers, working 5 nights a week in the Winter, and 3 in the Summer.
‘They have a strong presence on the street, providing rough sleepers with someone to talk to, a warm drink, some food, toiletries and a sleeping bag if needs must,’ explained Callum.
It appeared that the carefully chosen charity works in a similar way to the filming process of the documentary; front-line, direct and on the streets.
If you want to see an encapsulating investigation into a side of Brighton that you have almost definitely never seen before, I strongly suggest that you come to the Duke of York’s Cinema on Sunday 24th October at 3.45pm.
Bring some change for a small donation, and be prepared for Brighton’s most exciting student project of 2010.
For trailers and info check out the following links:
