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Lights, camera, action for students

MORE than 40 students from St Bede's College in Manchester enjoyed the opportunity to be extras in ‘West is West'; a sequel to the award-winning film ‘East is East'. By Shelley Marsden - 03/02/10

The original film was shown worldwide and was an instant box office smash. There are high hopes that the sequel, which features a number of the original cast and is shot both in Manchester and India, will equally capture the imagination.

Production company Assassin Films took over the college for the weekend last month. Set in 1975, ‘West is West’ saw St Bede’s transformed into a fictitious 1970s mixed secondary school in Salford, complete with grey uniforms, leather satchels, vintage orange and white buses and even the odd copy of “Jackie” lying around.

Five of the students; Joe McMylor, Ben Sharrock, Tommy Russell and the Lopeman brothers Mattie and Phillippe have pivotal parts in the film, portraying the school bullies who make life hell for Sajid Khan, who plays the part of a new 13-year-old

pupil.

“It was great fun being encouraged to behave contrary to everything we are expected to do as pupils at St Bede's!", said ‘bully’ Joe McMylor, whose family roots are in Co Mayo.

“We could not believe it when they gave us free rein to run shouting along the corridors; we usually have to walk in silence along the same passageways while studying at the College.

We were also directed to egg on other bullies and laugh at the main character while he got karate-kicked and had his head flushed down the loo — which is thankfully something I have never witnessed there!"

The college’s head of drama Nicki Alderson chaperoned the students during filming. She said: “The students had been treated very well by the crew and responded by being incredibly patient, even when they got to take fifteen for the same scene outside on a freezing cold January day!”

It is not the first time the college has been used as a film set. A number of TV dramas have been shot there, including BBC’s ‘The Street’ featuring Anna Friel.

This year, three students have won professional acting roles for productions at the Royal Exchange Theatre, where they will appear in “Raisin of the Sun” and George Orwell’s “1984”.