CAPTION: The Rich and the Pure tells the story of the poverty gap in Victorian Torquay and stars actors who have themselves experienced poverty, homelessness and addiction
Community Drama About Torquay’s St Mary Magdalene’s Church Wins Award at Cannes Short Film Festival
A Christian community theatre group based in Torquay has won the Best Original Screenplay Award at the Cannes Short Film Festival for its film The Rich and the Pure.
The film, which was made by Unleashed Theatre Company at the height of the pandemic, is a costume drama depicting the gap between the rich and the poor in 1840s Torquay as it became the richest resort in England.
It tells the story of St Mary Magdalene’s Church (now known as St Mag’s) and was commissioned as part of the church’s Heritage Lottery funded INSPIRE community engagement project.
A street scene from the film being shot in Torquay
It features a cast of local actors from Unleashed Community Drama group, who “all without exception have experienced massive challenges in their lives and were in some form of rehabilitation.”
Martin Harris, Unleashed Theatre Company’s director, said “To actually win this award is monumental and what it means for our group is immense.
“We knew at the time we were making something really special, but to receive this level of international acclaim for our community, some of whom, not that long ago, were living on the streets of Torbay and who all really know what living in poverty in Torbay is really like.
“It is such a wonderful stamp of approval and so deserving for their amazing achievement. We have also just heard that we are one of only 70 groups in the country that have been awarded the National Lottery’s Queen’s Platinum Award which will fund our next three big Community projects, including UNDER ONE ROOF THREE at The Princess Theatre.
Martin Harris, directing a scene from the film
“We are currently recruiting choir members for our Community Choir, and our next film, which goes into production in the Autumn.”
Find out how you can be involved here.
The Rich and the Pure was originally conceived as a “simple theatrical piece” commissioned for St Mag’s Heritage Day about how the church controversially came into being.
Martin said that when it became obvious that a theatrical production with an audience would not be possible because of the pandemic, the group decided to make it into a short feature-length film instead.
It features a gallery of real characters from Torbay’s past, such as William Kitson, Lawrence Palk and the “infamous Bishop Phillpots, who became the villain of the piece.”
It was filmed over six weeks across Torbay in the actual locations where the action took place.
It went on to be nominated for the Best Short Film at the London Shorts film festival and as a result of that they were invited to submit it into the Cannes Short Film Festival, going on to win Best Original Screenplay.
New screenings of the film are now being planned. You can also watch a documentary about the making of the film here.
