Hackney Museum and local production company Mosaic Films have paired up to produce a documentary about Hackney life using footage exclusively filmed by borough residents.
The 15 minute film aims to depict an authentic portrait of life in Hackney today and will be screened during the London Olympic and Paralympic games this summer.
Kerry McLeod, of Shacklewell Lane-based Mosaic Films, told EastLondonLines: “This film is all about giving people of Hackney the chance to have a voice so we’re hoping they speak up.
“It’s looking to capture the rapid rate of change that the area is currently experiencing, and to create a record for future generations.
McLeod said the film wants to show the world the “real Hackney” instead of glossing over social and economic issues affecting the area. “But equally not show something that’s all doom and gloom”, she continued.
“From talking to residents at the start of the project, we realised that it’s the fact that Hackney transcends so many problems in terms of poverty and crime to form really strong communities, that makes it such a special place.”
The final result, ‘Hackney Life’, will be screened at a time when the world’s eyes will be on east London. McLeod believes that “experience from previous Games shows that people take an interest in the place where [the Games] are taking place.
“Plus, Hackney already gets a lot of attention, whether it’s stories of ‘cool Dalston’, or the artists’ studios of Hackney Wick, or coverage of last summer’s riots, to name just three examples.”
The project is part of ‘Mapping the Change’, a Heritage Lottery-funded project run by Hackney Museum, the Vestry House Museum in Walthamstow Village and Waltham Forest and Tower Hamlets council.
Whether you are a professional filmmaker or amateur, details on how you can have your own ideas included can be found here. Record your view of Hackney and upload it via YouTube by midnight on March 12, 2012.