Thursday, 24 October 2013

Filming for scooter documentary takes place in Kidderminster

A Kidderminster filmmaker, actor and presenter has been making a documentary in the town about the British scooter scene.

Craig Leonard, originally from Lye, and co-presenter Matt Harley have been filming for Strange Roots, a 30-minute pilot which they hope will become six one-hour episodes.

Strange Roots is a humorous documentary based on the vintage scooter scene. It explores the music, fashion, scooters, punks, and skinheads who became part of the 250,000 vintage scooter riders in Britain today.

The duo filmed their first episode at a Northern Soul event at the Gainsborough House Hotel.

Craig said: “The night went really well, we had six DJs in total. We had a full camera crew and everyone was seen dancing and some were interviewed for the programme.

“Enough footage was shot for a 30-minute episode charting Northern Soul music and its relevance today. Many of the local scooter riders from the Nowhere To Run To Scooter Club came.”

The idea of the series is that Craig acts as a newcomer to the scooter club scene and co-presenter Matt acts as a biker. It hopes to uncover that there is more to the scooter scene than is shown in cult hit Quadrophenia.

Craig, who appeared as a singer in Atonement starring Keira Knightley, has tried to bring TV and film work into Kidderminster for a number of years. He introduced the cast of Allo Allo to Kidderminster at the Severn Valley Railway and has produced a number of music videos, one of which, Wakedown by local band Weak13, won best music video at the Limelight Film Awards in 2010.

He added: “I’m currently working towards a huge First World War-themed movie with the UK’s top screenwriters and producer which I hope I can bring to the town in 2015.”

Craig now hopes to sell the pilot episode and be commissioned for the series.

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