Years ago, I set out to make a TV Programme examining the issues of 'youth', 'adulthood' and 'the potential of young people '...
To do so, I posed as a sixteen-year-old pupil when I was thirty - and went to school for nine weeks. The school and the pupils knew we were filming a documentary about the 'new boy', but not my true age... As well as filming my experience of being sixteen 'again', we focused on key inspirational, funny and moving young people in the school about their hopes and dreams for life...
When we revealed the truth to the school after nine weeks, I didn't manage to communicate my motives for making the documentary and awfully, ended up hurting a lot of very good people. The events caused a scandal and the programme has not yet aired. The resulting news story ended up on the front pages (example below).
The full story can be read in my book, 'IDEAS MAN' - people have said it's the best chapter...
To read more about this, you can view an article online from 'The Independent' newspaper HERE
My dear wish is that one day we can make a feature length film about what happened. In order to use the (amazing) footage we shot at the time, we need permission from the school and all the contributors. If we can't get this, then there are two other options for making a film about what happened:
1) We create a ‘Touching The Void’ or ‘Man On Wire’ type dramatisation – with talking heads (me and others from the school who agree) intercut with recreations
2) We create a ‘United 93’ type dramatisation which is a fully scripted dramatisation of a true story…