Red carpet event at Selsey Pavilion for young creatives

On 12th June 2025 we were invited to be a part of the documentary screening of ‘Selsey Pavilion: The Journey So Far’. Hosted at the Selsey Pavilion itself, it was an evening of glitz, glam, and a real sense of community at the iconic venue. 

The Pavilion is undergoing a major refurbishment and Selsey Pavilion Trust were keen to work with students from The Academy Selsey, mentored by Millstream, to produce a documentary film that tells the story of the Pavilion.

A red carpet screening

Students from The Academy Selsey got dressed up and brought along family and friends to join funders, Trust members, school staff and some of the team from Millstream to celebrate the film.

After walking the red carpet, students got to see their families look on with pride and take photographs before making their way into the iconic venue. This was the first time the building had been open to the public for entertainment purposes in 10 years and what better way to honour the tradition.  

Speeches were given, including one from Dan, our Community Producer, and the documentary got the response it deserved; a raucous round of applause. It was brilliant to see everyone watch with such interest in the history of the Pavilion and hear how people experienced the venue during its history.

Giving local creatives filmmaking opportunities 

The idea behind the project was to engage students in their heritage through a filmmaking project. Students from The Academy Selsey were assigned roles and undertook all aspects of research, pre-production and production mentored and supported by our team here at Millstream.

The film was co-created by students through fortnightly workshops which ran from September 2024 to June 2025. They also got the chance to go on location as we ran a three day shoot where the students themselves undertook all aspects of filming and interviewed members of the public with memories of the Pavilion. 

Dan and Louis led production, supported by Oli and Archie, and Dan produced the project and supported the students to take on individual and collective responsibilities. Oli then led post-production workshops on the school site. To many of the students, the Pavilion had been an unused, dilapidated building that they walked past without having any idea of the people that had frequented it and the subsequent stories.

As well as being on location at the Pavilion itself, we also filmed at West Sussex Record Office and in and around Selsey. Students were supported to undertake location scouts, risk assessments and they even produced call-sheets for each of the location days. 

It was a great thrill for the Millstream team to see the 13-15 year olds take on their roles with such determination. Their work ethic was impressive and they were a credit to their school and town.

Watch the behind the scenes video:

Our passion for heritage and community

We are passionate about community film and heritage projects and we believe in the opportunities projects like this one provide to young people. We teach industry specific skills using broadcasting equipment as well as transferable skills that are invaluable for young people to learn along with the confidence and self-esteem that working for a collective purpose can provide. 

We hope we have widened the student’s horizons and that some of them may consider a future in the creative industries as a result of this project. 

Find out more about the local heritage projects we’ve worked on including The Story of Kenwood and Pompey Dialect. 

If you’re a local education provider looking to give your creative students an opportunity to learn more about filmmaking, or you’re interested in creating a documentary, contact us today.