ALMOST LIVERPOOL 8
Documentary 2021 Dir Daniel Draper and Allan Melia
Fifty years ago, photographer Don McCullin captured the area of Toxteth, Liverpool, on film. Now, filmmakers from the area have created a film about life in the Toxteth community today: Almost Liverpool 8.
A modern portrait, the film takes a non-stop tour through the streets, past its history, through to its continuing influence on culture and music. Interviews with poets, rappers, shopkeepers and beekeepers show how integration and diversity makes up everything that is positive about Britain today. With synagogues, mosques and churches sitting shoulder to shoulder and Yemeni, Syrian and Caribbean restaurants found side by side, Toxteth is the world in one postcode, Liverpool 8.
With intelligence as well as camaraderie they say: it’s the people who make Toxteth The Guardian
Using Don McCullin's infamous image from 1970 of a girl jumping over a puddle as a starting point, the film draws parallels between the reputation of the area in the past, and its perceived reputation today. The result is a peaceful, reflective documentary of a place and its people.
the love and pride within the community bursts off the screen Flipscreened
this documentary is absolutely gorgeous to look at - shot after visually stunning shot 500 Days of Film
After being selected for Sheffield DocFest 2021, Almost Liverpool 8 had its premiere at the historic Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, followed by a cinema release - co-distributed with Dartmouth Films.
Almost Liverpool 8 is available on DVD, On Demand, on BFI Player and DA Films.
Read the reviews from The Guardian, Flipscreened, Business Doc Europe, The Geek Show, 500 Days of Film, Filmuforia