We The People

We The People follows six inspiring intergenerational conversations between local activists as they reflect on the present, past and future of activism in Brixton, a neighbourhood where local struggles resonate loudly with international Black, queer and working class liberation movements.

  • Fan Sissoko
    Director
  • Virginia Nimarkoh
    Director
  • Fan Sissoko
    Producer
  • Virginia Nimarkoh
    Producer
  • Tom Ross-Williams
    Associate Director
  • Tom Ross-Williams
    Associate Producer
  • The Advocacy Academy
    Associate Producer
  • Fan Sissoko
    Editor
  • Leila Hassan Howe
    Cast (older activists)
  • Clare Truscott
    Cast (older activists)
  • Malcolm Watson
    Cast (older activists)
  • Ana Laura Lopez de la Torre
    Cast (older activists)
  • Anne E Cooper
    Cast (older activists)
  • Heather Seal
    Cast (older activists)
  • Becky Payne
    Cast (older activists)
  • Ibtisam Ahmed
    Cast (older activists)
  • Helen Carr
    Cast (older activists)
  • Ajuub Faraji
    Cast (young activists)
  • Angie Lorena Gomez
    Cast (young activists)
  • Betty Pearl Mayo
    Cast (young activists)
  • Cristian Fernandez
    Cast (young activists)
  • Davida Afriye
    Cast (young activists)
  • Jemmar Samuels
    Cast (young activists)
  • Martins Banjo
    Cast (young activists)
  • Natalia Morgan
    Cast (young activists)
  • Semi Orekoya
    Cast (young activists)
  • Shiden Tekele
    Cast (young activists)
  • Tal Amiran
    Camera
  • Chris Lee
    Camera
  • Virginia Nimarkoh
    Camera
  • Maiken Hansen
    Sound Editing
  • Martins Banjo
    Boom & Runner
  • Gary Stewart
    Original Music
  • Trevor Mathison
    Original Music
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    34 minutes 21 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 25, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    29,700 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Little Wing Film Festival
    London (online)
    United Kingdom
    September 21, 2020
    Winner Film Futures Award / Nominated for Best Documentary
  • The Lift-Off Sessions
    Pinewood Studios
    United Kingdom
    June 14, 2020
    Official Selection
  • First-Time Filmmaker Sessions
    Online
    June 21, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Women Of The Lens Film Festival
    London (online)
    United Kingdom
    November 8, 2020
    Official Selection
  • International Queer & Migrant Film Festival
    Amsterdam
    Netherlands
    December 2, 2020
    European Premiere (outside UK)
    Official Selection
  • Les Mains Gauches - Queer Feminist Short Movies

    France
    September 9, 2021
  • Lift Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    July 29, 2021
Director Biography - Fan Sissoko, Virginia Nimarkoh

Virginia is an artist and cultural worker. Her art practice explores ideas of utopia in the city, particularly in relation to community action and public space. She has completed commissions
for The Royal Parks and The Photographers Gallery; and taken part in (Re:)Thinking the Street: Urban Encounters at Tate Britain.

Virginia has also worked in community development and runs a local social enterprise addressing food poverty. She believes in the interconnectedness of communities and how collaboration can bring social change.
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Fan is a filmmaker with a background in social design and visual ethnography. For the last 10 years, she has conducted multimedia participatory research projects with vulnerable members of the public to drive innovation in the public sector, mainly around mental health, social care and community wellbeing. She uses film, photography and audio as a means to record intimate stories that can inspire social change.

In addition, Fan is actively involved in community projects and has a strong interest in creative citizenship. Finally, she produces the Hope Rising, a podcast exploring creative responses to local crises.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

In a time of political, social and economic uncertainty, in many ways society never seemed so fractured. At the same time, we know our beloved neighbourhood of Brixton, South London, to be one that is resilient, collaborative, creative, generous and unconventional.

‘We The People’ is a participatory documentary structured around 6 intergenerational conversations between younger and older Brixton residents, exploring what activism means to them on a deeply personal level. They take us on a journey down Railton Road through the legacy of Brixton’s radical history: from the well documented Brixton Uprising to the lesser known histories of queer activism and squatting. They also reflect on the changing face of Brixton. As the neighbourhood attracts a more affluent and less diverse crowd, the spaces where people could come together, dream together and change the world together are threatened. What will remain of this history in the face of gentrification?

‘We The People’ is motivated by a desire to record the unwritten stories of a neighbourhood that has resistance in its DNA.

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The film was co-produced with a group of 9 young people from the Advocacy Academy - the UK’s first campus for youth activism. We have worked with Lambeth Archives, May Day Rooms and local residents to find archival material from the community rather than from official sources. The project was commissioned and funded by the Museum of London commission.