BBC Three commissions six new one-off documentaries for Fresh strand
BBC Three has commissioned six brand new one-off documentaries for its Fresh strand – the channel’s established scheme for new directors looking for a break into prime-time film-making.
Published: 9 October 2014
BBC Three continues to be at the forefront of nurturing new talent both on and off the screen as these outstanding six films show.
Fresh showcases the work of new and up-and-coming directors within the factual genre and this year’s six new films will look at a range of topics, some of which will feature in BBC Three’s Disability Season – from young people with epilepsy, to disability hate crime, to the lives of a champion boxer from Wales, the young hidden homeless, and super fans – with Harry Potter actor Tom Felton making his documentary directorial debut.
Elliot Reed, the BBC commissioner of the strand, says: “BBC Three continues to be at the forefront of nurturing new talent both on and off the screen as these outstanding six films show. The Fresh initiative offers first-time directors a fantastic opportunity to make their first ever primetime one-hour documentary and gives them a voice to tell stories for a BBC Three audience. This year’s Fresh films will tell compelling, entertaining and emotionally charged stories about young people in extraordinary circumstances. I’m keen to build on the successes of previous years and expect that Fresh will again boost the careers of some talented directors.”
THE HIDDEN HOMELESS (W/T)
Martin Reed is an aspiring director who has, in the past, been forced to sleep on the streets. Homelessness is something he feels passionately about - he wanted to make a film that challenged our perceptions about who Britain’s young homeless really are. What he found was that homelessness in the area around Bristol (where he now lives) differs enormously from the homelessness he himself experienced in London. Benefit cuts have had a huge impact on those living rough and he found hundreds of sofa surfers, people sleeping in cars, behind hoardings, in tunnels and under hedges.
Martin soon discovered that there is a pecking order on the streets and that it can be a ruthless place, but he also found incredible loyalty and bonds between those thrown together through circumstance. He found young families living in makeshift tents deep in the woods or in caves hidden away on the edges of the city and children as young as 15 believing it safer to sleep under bridges than in hostels. He was told by one young guy “we are like rats, you don’t realise it but you are never more than a few feet away from a homeless person, it’s just that we are so well hidden”.
Martin has struggled to find a place in TV in the past due to his own mental health issues and having spent a spell in prison. During the making of his film, his background has been an enormous bonus. It has meant that he has been able to hunt down and win the trust of people who the average director would never have a chance of finding and the result is an honest and revealing film that is both shocking and warm.
1x60', producer/director is Martin Reed and executive producers are Tamsin Summers and Rachel Drummond Hay from Drummer TV. Commissioning editor for the BBC is Elliot Reed.
BELTS IN BARRY (W/T)
This one-off Fresh film from BBC Bristol is about the most important time in the life of the up-and-coming Welsh boxer Lee Selby. Lee comes from Barry Island and was brought up by his father not to expect any favours. But after a life of adversity Lee is now one fight away from a crack at the boxing world title. The observational film follows him over months as he prepares for the fight that will almost certainly define his entire life. A lot lies on the shoulders of this young man – the reputation of a poor South Wales town that hasn’t had a lot to cheer about recently and the future of his entire family including his newly born son. Although Lee has witnessed his own fair share of tragedy, losing an inspirational brother and having a sister in jail, he’s now got more to fight for than ever before. But will he succeed?
1x60', executive producer from BBC Bristol is Sacha Mirzoeff and commissioning editor for the BBC is Elliot Reed. The programme is based on an idea by Jeremy Wiles and directed by Luke Pavey.
THE UGLY FACE OF DISABLED HATE CRIME (W/T)
Adam Pearson has Neurofibromatosis - a genetic condition that causes non-cancerous tumours called Fibromas to grow along his nerve endings. Whilst these can grow anywhere, most of Adam's have grown on his face, causing severe disfigurement. Despite undergoing 31 operations the 29-year-old still has a prominent disfigurement. The condition has left him with growths on the left hand side of his face and chin, causing a great deal of asymmetry and scarring and folding to the skin. He is also blind in one eye and partially sighted in the other.
In this one-off documentary Adam reveals what life is like in his world - people laughing at him, calling him names, taking photos when they think he's not looking and sometimes even trying to peel his face off because they think it's a mask. At school Adam was spat on by other children and people have called him The Elephant Man.
Adam thinks disability crime should be taken as seriously as racism and religious hate crime. Despite disabled hate crime climbing to record levels the law barely recognises it and Adam wants to change that.
Through elements of secret filming to reveal how people behave towards him, and by talking to other victims, Adam is on a mission to understand where these crimes come from and who the perpetrators really are.
Executive producer is Vicky Hamburger, Head of Documentaries at betty. Commissioning editor for the BBC is Elliot Reed.
TOM FELTON: MEET THE FANATICS (W/T)
In November 2014 Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter) will be in the midst of Convention season heading to Tulsa to attend one of the world’s largest film and TV cult festivals Wizard World and on this side of the Atlantic attending Comic Con at Birmingham’s NEC. Every year thousands of super fans come together at these locations – wearing elaborate and intricate costumes - to meet the ‘real’ people behind their favourite shows. For the young men and women who attend it can be a life changing and often overwhelming experience as they meet the stars they’ve idolised for years.
For Tom the convention tour has been part of his life for over a decade, but now as an adult and with some distance from the franchise that made him world famous, Tom wants to take a step back and look at the conventions from the side of the super fan – attempting to understand for the first time why these young people become so attached to these fantastical books, movies and TV series and more importantly by spending time with fans and hearing from his celebrity friends and co-stars ask: when does a fan become a fanatic?
1x60', director and presenter is Tom Felton. Executive producer: Colleen Flynn and Andrew Palmer from KEO Films. Commissioning editor for the BBC is Elliot Reed.
EPILEPSY AND ME
What happens when people can’t see your disability? It’s hidden and only becomes apparent on occasions, catching you unaware when you’re walking down the street, in a classroom, at a party or on a date. ‘Epilepsy And Me’ is a character-driven observational documentary following a small group of young people that live with epilepsy and deal with the daily challenges it throws up. From starting a new relationship, to walking independently, to work experience, to making a life-changing decision about their treatment: should they risk brain surgery for a chance of a life without seizures? These are ordinary young people that deal with the typical issues of teenage and young adult life and where small steps become extraordinary achievements.
Including exclusive access to a unique boarding school for young people with epilepsy, this is a film about what it means to grow up with a hidden disability.
1x60', producer/director is Tara Nolan, executive producer is Sanjay Singhal from Voltage TV. Commissioning editor for the BBC is Elliot Reed.
DON’T STOP ME NOW
An outstanding musical talent puts together a band and hits the road. He's already a star of the burgeoning disabled music scene; can he become the first disabled artist to cross over to the mainstream of popular music?
1x60', executive producer is James Quinn from Oxford Film & Television. Commissioning editor for the BBC is Elliot Reed.
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