Open Book participants create Medway history film

A new film chronicling the history of Medway’s working-class community marks Open Book’s ambitions for accessible filmmaking.

The widening participation initiative based at Goldsmiths, University of London provides free, open access classes and support that has helped hundreds of people to find places at university and in life. Working with communities to tackle the barriers to entering university, Open Book has also worked side by side with people dealing with addiction and in prisons. 

 “It’s about laying the foundations and providing the structure that helps people to empower themselves,” said Open Book’s Director, Joe Baden OBE. 

With a long-established role providing classes and support to people in Medway, the idea to produce a film informed and made by working-class people was a natural development. It also chimed with the project's ambitions to enable working-class people to be equipped to tell their stories in their own way. 

The community film project, made possible by a funding grant from Medway Council as part of the Medway Heritage Place programme, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, captures memories of Medway's past and present, focusing on Medway’s post-war working-class history. Introductory classes at Goldsmiths helped film makers gain experience and skills needed for making the film. 

The finished film was screened at St. Margaret’s Church in Rainham.  

This marks the beginning of ambitions to expand Open Book, to widen access to education in filmmaking and to the film industry, which is known for being hard to break into for those from working-class backgrounds.  

“We are currently collaborating with local partners, established during the Medway project, to explore joint working to create a legacy within the Medway Community. As is true with all Goldsmiths Open Book endeavours, our aim is to promote a heritage of cultural, social, academic and economic equity,” Joe Baden added.