Audience in ‘stunned silence’ after free screening of award-winning film showing sites around Greater Manchester

One of the region’s newest independent cinemas hosted a free screening of Nobody Loves You and You Don’t Deserve to Exist, giving locals a chance to witness their surroundings in Greater Manchester on the big screen in the historic Spinners Mill.

The award-winning film depicts the life of an alcoholic ex-English teacher wasting away on welfare benefits in Manchester. Writer and director Brett Gregory “takes us on a personal journey through the tragic-comic fragments of the character’s shattered past” – as a boy in 1984 under Margaret Thatcher’s government, a youth in 1992 during John Major’s premiership and a man in 2020 when Boris Johnson was in power.

“After the closing credits rolled the audience just sat in stunned silence,” Brett said.

“Nobody moved. They told me they’d never seen anything like it.

“Greater Manchester is brimming with creative talent. Hopefully, this will inspire others throughout the region to get in front of or behind the camera to tell their stories.”

Wigan Council’s Deputy Leader, Keith Cunliffe, and Night-Time Economy Leader, Dane Anderton, were in attendance on Friday alongside artists, academics, health workers, political activists and discerning film fans from all across the North West.

“It really is a ground-breaking film,” said Elizabeth Costello, the founder and director of the Leigh Film Charity.

“For anybody who’s interested in how those in power treat the working class in the north of England, and the bleak consequences this can have on people’s mental health. It is a must see.”

The self-funded film, which took the cast and crew more than six years to complete, also features a breath-taking performance from 11-year-old actor, Reuben Clarke, who delivers a 10- minute monologue about life under Margaret Thatcher’s rule as Prime Minister in 1984. Brett’s next project will be a documentary which explores the social, economic and personal barriers which can prevent working class creatives in Wigan and Leigh from progressing and achieving.

“Working class contributions to wider British culture, particularly from the north of England, have been ignored for far too long,” Brett added.

“Furthermore, with the right support from the right people, there’s no reason why this documentary format can’t also be applied to working class creative experiences in Greater Manchester’s nine remaining boroughs.”