I always dreamt of making my own full length documentary. One year later after graduation, I'm proud to present 'Tooting's Forgotten'. This film took me a year to make. It was such a challenging process because I funded and produced everything from start to finish by myself: I sourced my own interviewees; I conducted many hours of research; I went out to film on my bike in the cold and rain; and edited the entire 40 minutes with numerous revisions. There were times where I thought I wanted to quit the entire project due to the overwhelming scale of it. Some interviewees also pulled out of the film last minute due to the fear of sharing their story. I'm glad that I pulled through, to provide a platform for various voices and to share the truth. My inspiration stems from the fact that my family and the wider Tamil community has been impacted from gentrification.
FILM SUMMARY
London is changing. Tooting was named one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world by Lonely Planet. This achievement has been celebrated by some, but hated by a large fraction of the local population. What makes Tooting such an intriguing case is that on the surface it is a multicultural suburb in which different ethnic communities coexist in harmony, but with gentrification acting as a driver of social and racial tensions, this harmony is at serious risk.
THE FILM
PROMO PICTURES
