Giving marginalised people the opportunity to become cast and crew in a feature film to go on Amazon Prime!
As seen on North-West Tonight the Wythenshawe-created feature film selected to headline an International Film Festival before going on Amazon Prime Video.
The red carpets are being rolled out for the unlikely stars of the “The Silver Screen Dreams Cafe” movie - but not many of these actors have ever worn a suit or evening dress before! It’s the first time they’ll see themselves on screen - for the unveiling of “The Silver Screen Dreams Cafe” movie.
The stars of this feature film are members of the Greater Manchester community, and the community has come together to stage a glamorous evening by rolling out the red carpets to celebrate their amazing achievements.
Stars of the film include ex-offenders, a Ukranian refugee, a member of the travelling community, students and retired people. Many have struggled with their mental health, and had very little opportunity in their lives.
Sue is retired and lives in Wythenshawe. She’s starring in the film as Ms B. Before taking part, she said felt she’d never felt accepted, and thought her life amounted to watching daytime TV…
She says, “I’m at a time of my life where - as an older person - you become invisible. One minute I was watching day-time TV and adverts for funerals, and the next minute I’m one of the main characters in this film! It makes you feel so needed…. so part of something. Suddenly you’re important. It’s the inclusion!... I’m hoping that the fun and hope in this film will touch people’s lives.”
Mike and Rebecca Peacock are the film-making duo who were inspired to shoot the movie they’d written with members of the Wythenshawe community.
The film tells the story of a disgruntled community - deep in the cost of living crisis - who begin making films together and soon the whole town gets involved. The movie is a feel-good comedy-drama with a tag line of ‘it’s never too late to change your story’.
Writer/Director Mike Peacock says… “I wrote this screen-play during COVID and had planned to shoot this feature in a ‘normal’ way by raising a large budget and casting by audition, but one morning I had a light-bulb moment when suddenly I realised that the story of the film was our blueprint to instead make the film with community actors. We would almost ‘live’ the screen-play in reality and that, I believe, has led to a greater authenticity in the movie itself.’
Producer Rebecca says:
“The community of Wythenshawe has really rallied together with over 250m residents getting involved! We’ve had a church offer their cafe as a location, a local charity shop offer us costumes and props, the 1st Wythenshawe Scout group all became zombies in a movie- making scene, and people from both a special needs drama group and a local Facebook group all coming along to join in as extras. We even got local Firefighters in on the action!”
