We're VERY excited to announce the funding launch for our feature documentary - in association with The Sidmouth FolkWeek Festival - 'A Small, Quiet, English Town'. 

To be Directed by  ANDY BAYBUTT  this film will tell the unique and intimate story of the last 60 years of The Sidmouth FolkWeek Festival. 

Andy is an award winning British filmmaker specialising in Documentary features. He has worked with The Verve, Gladys Knight, Rod Stewart and recently co-Directed with Ice-T! His portfolio includes - The Rod Stewart BBC1 special - 'Wine, Women and Song', The Carpenters TV movie 'Close To You', the acclaimed 'Art of Rap' as well as the monumental 20th anniversary film 'The Band Aid Story'. 

Interweaving fascinating unseen archive footage with interviews, music, dance and song alongside the actuality of the 2014 event this film will be a stunning insight into the wider British Folk story through the prism of the Sidmouth event.

From Steve Knightley - Show of Hands:

This film really must be made because A SMALL QUIET ENGLISH TOWN will be a unique insight into the often-maligned English Folk scene.' 

Steve Knightley. 

From John Jones - Oysterband:

'Sidmouth FolkWeek Festival has been a part of our lives for the whole of Oysterband's existence . As a fledgling ceilidh band back in 1979 to get Sidmouth was the pinnacle and we played the whole week for tickets , with workshops in the morning , lunchtime sessions , songs in the afternoon and themed ceilidhs at night ..and if you had any energy left you went to The Balfour Arms , courtesy of the ever hospitable Len and drank and sang the night away. It was creative, crazy and exhilarating. We met many fellow travellers who have remained lifelong friends.

Whether it was playing to thousands surrounding us on the grassy bank of The Arena on a beautiful evening or simple walking round the town taking in the colour and verve of international dance teams , great Morris , street theatre, and bumping into people, Sidmouth has been a thread of continuity through our lives. It didn't just reflect what was going on in the wider folk music world , it helped shape it and still does. 

It means a lot to us.'

John Jones

From Eliza Carthy:

The Sidmouth Folk Festival is one of my favourite festivals to visit each year. It’s extra special that we’re performing there this year on it’s 60th Anniversary. A film celebrating it’s history, heritage and looking closely at the folk scene and what it means today is exciting because Folk music is more relevant today than ever before. 

Help support the producers in getting this film made because not only will it tell a fascinating story about a fantastic Festival but also give us insights into the folk world that your not likely to hear elsewhere.

Eliza Carthy. 

Some background

My name is Paul Tully and I'm a Commercials and Drama TV Producer. We’re developing new drama and documentary ideas and have a lot of really exciting projects happening at the moment and ‘A Small Quiet English Town’ is one of them.

The Sidmouth FolkWeek Festival is a key music Festival that has taken place every year since its inception in 1955.  

I have strong links to the town of Sidmouth as it's my wife's hometown. It’s a stunning setting and making a film about the heritage, history and importance of Sidmouth and its Folk Festival is a long held ambition of mine.

This film will tell the 60 year history of the Festival through the eyes of its audience. We want to use archive footage shot by locals and visiting fans of the festival to help tell this story.

The Festival has gone through some fascinating changes across its history. It grew from a small event in 1955 in Sidmouth's 'Connaught Gardens' to an international event that drew performers from all over the world to perform and make their mark on Folk history. There were difficulties at times of course but that desire to have the music live on meant that the Festival kept going and is as strong as ever today.

What We Need & What You Get

We want to make this film to the highest standard possible. It will initially be screened in local Cinemas in the region and then on to ‘selected’ Cinemas across the UK (dependent on distributor interest) and eventually on to TV screenings and Festivals.

We put the call out to the best and brightest in the world of British TV & Documentary making and have had an amazing response. We were very proud to announce Andy Baybutt as the winner of that call for talent and he is confirmed as Director.  

As we’re a professional production company we have huge experience in putting together projects of this magnitude. Each and every department, camera crew, sound crew, lights, equipment, transport, picture post production, sound post production, grading, final delivery, screenings etc will all be costed to the last penny.

This is a passion project for us. It would be an absolute honour for us if the Folk Music and Dance community of the UK afforded us the opportunity to make this film as I believe it will be an iconic, important and treasured record of a key festival in the English Folk Calendar.

Perks we plan to offer:

A unique collectable T-Shirt, Free DVD of the completed film with outtakes, extras and more and a poster of The Movie! A collectable poster featuring the cast of the film. 

The Impact

A Small Quiet English Town will be a hugely important Film within English Folk Tradition.

By contributing to this venture you will be enabling us the filmmakers to create a volume of unseen material dating back 60 years, material that will create a new and unique perspective on an event that MUST be preserved.

Sounds, Stories, Memories, Thoughts, Musings, Feelings, Imaginings as well as the music, the performances, the organization and the town will all combine to create this film.

Fuel TV has successfully produced Commercials, Documentaries and Drama over it’s 10 year history. We pride ourselves in aiming high and trying to find something new in everything we do.

We are investing our own time and money into developing this project as we believe so strongly in that it will not just be important but will be a success.

Other Ways You Can Help

Don’t worry! If you feel that this is something that excites and interests you then there are plenty of ways you can help.

Tell friends, colleagues, cousins, siblings, Mums, Dads, sworn enemies – everybody. Find out is there archive that we haven’t found yet. Is there a tape in an attic that has amazing footage from the 50’s, 60’s 70’s?? Is there a flyer, picture, poster on a wall that tells a story in itself? Is there an audio recording that was recorded on an ancient hand held recorder but contains sounds, interviews, musings that we could never capture?

Indiegogo have some brilliant share tools that can help you get the message out there!