The Sidemen Story

We are living in an unprecedented time when more young people around the world aspire to be YouTubers than any other career.

This is the story of seven young men from around the UK who met online, started making videos together and formed the world's most successful YouTube group.

Over the past ten years, The Sidemen have been on a journey that has seen them develop a huge online audience, breaking down the barriers of internet fame to launch a collection of successful businesses and raise millions of pounds for charity.

But who are these seven YouTubers? How did they develop this incredible connection to their audiences? And what does their success mean for the future of entertainment?

  • Luke Hyams
    Director
  • Sunita Mirchandani Hyams
    Producer
  • JJ Olatunji
    Key Cast
    "KSI"
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 38 minutes 52 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 15, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    1,100,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Luke Hyams

The former Head of Originals for YouTube EMEA, Luke has devised and executive produced a slew of award winning, critically aclaimed and culturally prescient documentaries including Together We Rise, Race Around Britain and Terms & Conditions: A UK Drill Story. Prior to his tenure at YouTube, Luke was chief content officer for Disney’s Maker Studios where he worked with the original wve of digital creators to launch original entertainment franchises. Before that, Luke was a writer and director responsible for shows including Dubplate Drama, The Hidden City & KateModern.

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Director Statement

In this feature documentary we explore how seven unique personalities, their workrate & unique brand of relatability has allowed The Sidemen to capture the attention of a generation, creating the internet's first phenomena akin to Beatlemania.

Given unprecedented access to the Sidemen and their world for the past year, we have crafted a documentary that gives an insight into who the individual members are as peoples as well as the personal challenges they have faced as a result of their meteoric success. Opening up for the first time for this doc, we learn from the Sidemen themselves about how online trolls, anxiety, racism and the attempted suicide of one of their members, have tested their friendship and taught them valuable lessons other young people can learn from.

The film also uses the story of the Sidemen as a prism through which to understand the societal & cultural shifts that the advent of open platforms and affordable camera technology have ushered in and what this means for legacy’s media ability to retain young audiences moving forward.

Get ready for an inspirational story of an empire founded on brotherhood, entrepreneurship and self belief.

*The version we are sharing today is a WIP fine cut that has not been graded or had a final sound mix. It is missing end credits and a couple of music cues. The film is picture locked and provides an accurate representation of the final film.