Second anniversary of London riots marked by documentary

Mare Street during 2011 riots. Photo by Scott Temple

Mare Street, Hackney, during 2011 riots Photo: Scott Temple

Young people in London are angry at the way they were labelled as vandals and hooligans during the riots  in east and south London,  according to a new film on the disturbances.

Two years on from the riots that put London on the rack, Riot From Wrong has premiered as an online exclusive, telling the unreported story of the 2011 London Riots from the perspective of the young people affected.

The film, presented by Future Artists and produced by Fully Focused Productions, follows the lives of 14  Londoners who got together directly after the riots to investigate the key issues. This group of young people, all involved in the riots, use the making of their documentary to voice frustration at the way young people were represented by police and the media during the riots.

The group question what caused the riots in the first place, and if such a revolt could happen again, and asks how young people swept up in the events of summer 2011 felt about being dismissed and labelled as vandals or hooligans by the police and media.

The documentary investigates how this marginalisation might affect a generation, and challenges the lack of honesty from the police and media regarding their handling of the entire situation.

Mark Ashmore, Founder of Future Artists, said: “At the time, people were scared and understandably reacted emotionally. But two years later we have the opportunity to reappraise the events and take a more rational view. This is the perfect time to make this film widely available.”

The film was not heavily promoted and caused a wave of excitement when it was released for free via Dailymotion the social media video portal. Dailymotion will have the film online until Tuesday August 13 and it will be available to the public free of charge.

Ashmore said: “Modern social media, like Dailymotion, allows us to bypass the traditional media that got this so wrong in the first place and tell different sides of the story –so that those who care about the issues can get a more balanced picture.”

Michael Mansfield QC, a human rights lawyer who has represented victims of police errors, said: “This film breaks the mould of conventional perceptions peddled by the mainstream media. It opens doors that have remained firmly closed on a generation, which feels disenfranchised and disempowered. It is set to become an historic and definitive document.”

Ashmore added: “The advent of social media and particularly sites like Dailymotion which go out of their way to support independent content producers, means that hard hitting high brow content can be distributed effectively within affordable budgets. This is good news for those who are politically engaged and lament the lack of informed, quality investigative journalism.”

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