Interview: Paul Sng

Paul Sng is a filmmaker, director and writer. In a departure from his usual documentary filmmaking projects, Paul has ventured into print with the publication of a new book of portraits, taken by photographers around the UK. Invisible Britain: Portraits of Hope and Resilience features the stories and portraits of individuals around the country who have been impacted by social issues, and, as a result of not feeling that their story is being heard, have begun to feel ignored or invisible.

The book is published by Policy Press, a Bristol-based not-for-profit social sciences publisher, and will be launched at the Arnolfini on Friday, November 2 2018.

Ahead of the launch, we spoke to Paul Sng, about his inspiration for the project:

Paul: you’re best known as a documentary filmmaker. What led you to this point?

I was born in London and then moved to Brighton. I didn’t go to film school and just worked in ordinary jobs such as in bars, offices and mail rooms. I met the Sleaford Mods in 2014 for a music interview and they are a band that describes another side of the country; a broken-down side that has little faith in politicians.

The band toured in unusual places before they became big, and that’s when a lightbulb came on in my head, to create my first project called Sleaford Mods: Invisible Britain. It is about their music tour in places which the government and mainstream media has neglected. I found a friend to co-direct with me and within a couple of months we were on the road filming. Eleven months later the documentary was in the cinemas. That fast speed is rare, and maybe it was because of my courage and ignorance but it kick-started this career.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSpSz7h3xb8

So meeting the ‘invisible’ people of Britain during the documentary inspired you. But why create a book?

I want to show the misleading representation of race, disability and especially social class in the UK. The book contains portraits and 600-700 words of each person’s tale, and being able to tell people’s stories directly, in their own voice, was important. A lot of the time, in the media, the story is told for the person. I wanted to have as much diversity as possible: for example, half of the photographers are female. And with the happening of Brexit, there were certain themes we wanted to cover within the book so there are a mixture of views, both pro- and anti-Brexit. Some stories are heart-breaking, some inspirational, but all are important.

The book was also quicker to produce and publish as I wanted to get it out quite soon, before Brexit happens. It also allows the audience to be able to pick it up and put it down whenever they want. The photographers capture the likeness and content from each portrait and I liked the challenge because it was different compared to making a film.

Some of the portraits featured in the book. Each was taken by a different photographer, who were often inspired by the people they met and moved to encourage change in their own way

What should the audience expect when they pick up a copy?

A lot of the content within the book is very moving. I hope people are moved by it and it inspires them to help others. I hope it finds an the audience and raises more awareness of how effective grassroots campaigns are across the UK. I think the Westminster model of government is flawed and outdated, but there’s no point waiting for it to change: we have to build our own movements to help people.

Invisible Britain: Portraits of Hope and Resilience is released on November 1 and can be bought from www.policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/invisible-britain. The book will launch at the Arnolfini on November 2, accompanied by a screening of Sleaford Mods: Invisible Britain, the documentary that inspired the book, followed by a Q&A. To find out more or book tickets, visit www.arnolfini.org.uk/whatson/film-book-launch-invisible-britain-paul-sng

Image of Paul Sng by Shaun Gordon