A new film inspired by Burnham-On-Sea’s former beach paddling and boating pool is to be unveiled in April.
Called ‘For All Our Tomorrows’, it stars two budding local actors, Alec Cochran and Jake Morgan, in their on-screen debut.
The drama revolves around the history of the pool, which was built privately in the 1920s as a thanksgiving gesture by the Braithwaite family following the safe return of their five sons from the Great War.
“Alec and Jake’s characters, whose only experience of war is through video games, suddenly find themselves face-to-face with the reality of conflict,” Deb Richardson from media charity Somerset Film told Burnham-On-Sea.com.
The film was shot in the weeks leading up to the pool’s controversial demolition in March 2010, as covered here. District councillors voted to have the pool removed due to a combination of costly repairs and safety concerns.
The film includes footage of the Great War, after special permission was given to the producers to use archive footage from the Imperial War Museum collection.
The volunteer cast and crew have created the short film as part of ‘Capture Somerset’, an initiative by media charity Somerset Film and the Windrose Media Trust to find archive material and train community chroniclers to document the changing world around us and put existing material into context.
The film will be shown for the first time during a special public screening at Burnham’s Princess Theatre on Saturday 16th April from 7.30pm.
A short documentary of East Brent’s Harvest Home by Liz Brown, made as part of the same initiative, will also be shown on the night.
And local archive material of Burnham-On-Sea from the Norman Gobey collection, including ‘Our Civilian Army’, a recruitment film made for the Home Guard, and recently found footage of the town’s efforts to raise money for the Spitfire Fund during World War Two, will also form part of the programme.
The future of local film-making will also be highlighted during the evening by the inclusion of award-winning ‘Can You Teach a Worm to Tango’ and ‘The Apothecary’.
The film scooped Best Animation and Best Drama respectively at the First Light Media Awards in London last month. Local media charity Somerset Film and Bridgwater YMCA supported the productions, which were made by young people from Somerset.
Entry to the evening will cost £3 and the proceeds will go to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, whilst refreshments will be on sale from Churchfield School PTFA. Seats can be reserved from filmscreening@btinternet.com or calling 07884 351514.
