Utility Films HAMESH

"We're an Isle of Wight based company that has been making films, both in the South and nationally for the past 12 years. In that time we've made over 30 documentaries and information films about such diverse subjects as road safety, hospices, coastal erosion, and child protection.

Around 18 months ago we heard that there were plans to start up a men's shed in Gosport. With the enthusiastic help of the organiser Martin Corrick and help from The Southern Cooperative we followed the entire process, from the first public meeting, to the shed moving into it's premises at Fort Brockhurst. The resulting documentary was broadcast on the Community Channel and also released onto the Internet via Vimeo. The global response was remarkable, with the film being viewed many thousands of times across the world. You can view it by following this link: https://vimeo.com/84392065

In February we began filming a much longer documentary, "Better Shed than Dead", which looks at the shed movement throughout the country and explores , in that context, funding, mental health, isolation and loneliness among older men. We filmed in Havant at HAMESH and also the Havant Men's Shed on 10th October and hope to include some of that footage in our film to be transmitted on the Community Channel (Sky 539/Freeview 63) on 8th November at 8.00pm. Our film is being made possible by the generous support of Wickes.

The shed movement in the UK is burgeoning but has a long way to catch up. In Australia there are over 1300 sheds, with 200 in Ireland. We hope our film can go some way to helping redress that balance."

By
David George
Posted on