Filmmaker spends year filming unseen side of city through its people for Liverpool Story

ITV Granada Reports' Merseyside correspondent Andy Bonner met some of the stars of the film

A filmmaker has spent a year documenting the lives of the people of Liverpool because he believes there is a hidden side to the city not shown in the media.

Daniel Draper, who filmed in local communities over the course of 2023, rejected the idea that Anfield, Everton and The Beatles are all that the Merseyside city represents.

His resulting film, Liverpool Story, aims to get away from the cliches and claims to find beauty in the ordinary.

He explained, “Rather than the famous iconography of the city which everyone is aware of, it’s more about how a city navigates through a year and the passing seasons."

San’s Cafe finds itself on the edge of an area of regeneration in Liverpool’s north docklands. Credit: Shut Out The Light Films

Often working by himself, Draper covered every postcode in Liverpool during his 12-month enterprise.

Amongst his subjects were tattoo artists, skateboarders, sculptors and an organist.

He explained how he would prepare for a shoot but usually end up following unexpected storylines.

He said, "You film about 25% of that script because people in the street say What are you doing with that camera? When you tell them, they start to inform the film.

"I quite like the idea that the city and its people influence what we film."

Jennifer Arnaud said her class members were “made up” to feature in the film. Credit: Shut Out The Light Films

Jennifer Arnaud runs line dancing classes from her home village of West Derby in east Liverpool.

She set up Country Line Time after the Covid lockdowns and continues to draw enthusiasts who want to have fun and get fit.

She said the opportunity to take part in the film was "amazing."

"I was a little bit apprehensive whether the ladies wanted to be filmed but they loved it."I love Liverpool. I'm really interested source the film as well to see everything else that they've captured."

At the Tiber Football Centre we meet Yusuf Yassin and Zak Hassan, friends and co-founders of Granby Toxteth Athletic (GTA) who were born and raised in the area.

Once just a grassroots football team, it’s now a community interest company and plays a central role in the community by helping wellbeing and bringing services to local people.

Yusuf and Hassan grew up together in Toxteth.

Yusuf, the club’s chairman, said, "When Dan was filming us everything was so natural. We were so in our element and so focused on what we were doing. And that's what's going to be portrayed on screen."

In four years, GTA has created three football teams, two basketball teams, a football podcast and a new YouTube channel.

CEO Zak said the positive aspects of the neighbourhood aren’t usually portrayed in the media.

He added, "There's a lot of good going on and we're happy that we can showcase stuff like social media through the work we do, and through the film."

Daniel Draper founded independent film company Shut Out The Light Films in 2014 with Christie Allanson.

Draper, a Liverpool native, previously worked on a similar verité-style film, Almost Liverpool 8, which concentrated on Toxteth.

This new outing, his fifth feature film, widens its horizons but maintains the same level of genuine stories.

Some of them - chanting at Liverpool fans about the Hillsborough and Heysel disasters and a clash on Lime Street between far right and anti-fascist protestors - show the city, as Draper describes it, “warts 'n' all."

The film gets its premiere at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on 21 November and will be screening at cinemas across the UK.

Draper hopes the story will encourage people to break away from the rhythms of their lives.

“There’s more going on than meets the eye,” he said. "You’ve just got to look for it."