Choirs, crafts and a dip in the Avon: Fordingbridge comes together for new short film
From choirs raising their voices to swimmers taking a dip in the River Avon beside the town’s famous Great Bridge, Fordingbridge’s creative community is getting ready for its screen debut.
Launching online on Thursday 12 November 2026, a new short film celebrates the people who fill the town with music, movement, stories and creativity – and invites everyone watching to join in.
Co-produced by Culture in Common with film makers, Breaking Barriers, the film has been co-created with Fordingbridge Arts Network (FAN) and people from across the community. At just over three minutes long, it packs a remarkable variety of local activities and familiar faces into a playful journey through the town.
Over two days of filming in October, residents, performers, volunteers, community groups and local businesses came together to make it happen. From young dancers to river swimmers, people shared their interests and talents in front of the camera, revealing just how much there is to discover on their doorstep.
Viewers will meet members of Fordingbridge Players, One Voice Choir, Sing Space Musical Theatre Choir, Starcast Performing Arts School and Fordingbridge Dance Studios. Art, crafts and storytelling also take their turn, with contributions from Fordingbridge Art Club, Chatty Craft, Knit and Natter and the Storytelling Ambassadors.
The Fordingbridge Wild Swimmers and Fishies Swim Group bring the action into the Avon beside the seven-arched Great Bridge, while the Regal Cinema, Avonway Community Centre, Victoria Rooms, local libraries and All the Cool Stuff are also among those involved.
Designed to look as though it unfolds in one continuous take, the film links the town’s spaces and activities in an imaginative journey, accompanied by a poem by Damian Kelly-Basher, with movement by Julie Hand.
Go the the event listing to watch the YouTube Premiere
The community’s involvement began well before the cameras arrived. At a workshop, FAN members and otherlocal residents shared what they love about Fordingbridge, the friendships they have found through creative activities and what they wanted others to know about their town. Those ideas helped shape the film, with belonging, enjoyment and a welcome for newcomers at its heart.
Jacqui Ibbotson, Programme Director at Culture in Common, said:
There are so many people in Fordingbridge making wonderful things happen – running creative groups, opening up spaces, sharing their skills and giving others the confidence to have a go. This film puts those people and their passion for community group activity centre stage.
FAN and the wider community have helped shape it from the beginning, and the response across the two filming days was fantastic. We hope people will spot a familiar face, discover something they never knew was happening nearby and think, ‘I’d like to try that.’
Parvez Qadir, Artistic Director at Breaking Barriers, said:
We are really proud to come from one priority place to another, Rochdale to New Forest, and to have had the opportunity to co-create with such an incredible community.
Co-creation is at the heart of everything we do at Breaking Barriers, and this project is a brilliant example of what that looks like in practice.
We are so pleased to have made this one-shot film together and to have created an asset that local communities can be truly proud of and call their own.
The film celebrates just some of what Fordingbridge has to offer, whether you want to step onto a stage, pick up a paintbrush, sing with others or help out behind the scenes.
It launches as a YouTube Premiere on the Culture in Common and Breaking Barriers YouTube channels on Thursday 12 November at 6.30pm, followed by sharing across social media and community channels.
Watch it, look out for someone you know – and discover something new to be part of.
