Selsey Pavilion: Journey So Far | Millstream Productions

2024 marked 50 years since Selsey Pavilion closed as a cinema.

The number of people who remember the building as an entertainment venue and community hub is dwindling. We worked on behalf of ‪Selsey Pavilion Trust, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, F. Glenister Woodger Trust and Co-op, to produce a documentary film working with students from The Academy Selsey to document the Pavilion’s illustrious history, interviewing those with first hand testimonies of the building before the memories were lost forever.

Young filmmakers in training

We led workshops for 20 secondary school pupils from Selsey who were mentored in research techniques, pre-production, production and post-production activities to co-produce the film. This documentary captured people’s memories of the Pavilion in the form of oral histories while also documenting key milestones and events through the venue’s history such as its links to the famous Russian ballerina Nijinska and the famous playwright, R.C. Sherriff. The project culminated in a premiere screening at the Pavilion itself where the pupils had the opportunity to walk the red carpet and experience an audience watching their film.

Photograph: Attendees queue on a red carpet with bunting leading to a building. Golden hour.

Empowering students

Our Community Producer Dan worked with Emma Reeve, the lead teacher from The Academy Selsey and Christian Skelton, Chair of Selsey Pavilion Trust, to develop a client brief so the pupils knew from the outset that they were responsible for working to a brief and meeting those requirements. We planned and delivered a scheme of work where every session and workshop was fully planned with learning objectives and outcomes. The pupils were allocated roles within the process and worked as units to complete tasks within research, script writing, logistics, and health and safety. The pupils also appointed unit leads who fed back on progress in regular milestone meetings to the Pavilion Trust supported and facilitated by Dan and Emma. Pupils were also trained in Oral History techniques and undertook interviews with members of the public to build upon the collective knowledge through testimony.

Three young women collaborate on a professional video camera setup; another person reads notes.

Film crew recording an interview in a brick-walled room with round windows.

Collaboration and community involvement

The film was shot principally in Selsey itself with one location shoot also taking place at West Sussex Record Office in Chichester. We wanted to take those individuals back to the Pavilion itself when undertaking their pieces to camera and shoot them on location. Our historical context and expertise was gathered through archivists at the Record Office along with Christian and Keith Batchelor, a local historian who provided great insight. Finally, we shot interviews with Pamela Howard and Gillian Plowman in Gillian’s home in Selsey. They gave great insight into the struggle to save the Pavilion and bring it back into public use.

Learning technical skills

The pupils themselves were supported and mentored to undertake all production tasks and worked as a crew but with individual responsibilities having been trained in workshop settings. For those pupils who had shown interest and been allocated editing roles, we undertook video editing workshops using Final Cut X where the pupils were introduced to the rules of editing and given the skills to undertake the challenge of helping to edit the documentary itself. Along with specific film-making skills gained, students experienced an improved level of confidence and self-esteem as well as a greater understanding and appreciation of their local heritage.

The Impact

National Coverage

This documentary captured people’s memories of the Pavilion in the form of oral histories while also documenting key milestones and events through the venue’s history. The final 26 minute film received a premiere screening in front of invited guests and the pupils were encouraged and supported to give speeches. We were honoured to have members from BBC’s ‘Repair Shop’ at the premiere who had supported the Pavilion Trust with the repair of the 35mm projector that featured in much of our b-roll. The story of the project was picked up by BBC Radio Sussex who featured interviews with pupils and teaching staff and the documentary itself is being featured on television throughout 2026.

Related projects

View more work

Man sat in recording studio being interviewed

Pompey Dialect

Heritage Lottery Fund

Photograph: Small fishing boat sailing across deep blue water, leaving a prominent white wake.

Seas The Day

Heritage Lottery Fund

Lady being interviewed sat at table and seen on a camera monitor

Story of Kenwood

Heritage Lottery Fund

Lady being interviewed in factory on camera

Shippam’s of Chichester

Novium Museum