A Bunch of Amateurs (2022)

In a world of high-definition streaming and solo viewing, the Bradford Movie Makers remain a defiant, tea-fuelled anomaly. Founded in 1932, they are one of the oldest amateur filmmaking clubs in the world, once a thriving hub of northern creativity that rivalled Hollywood in its own eccentric way. But today, the "glory days" of packed buses and glitzy award ceremonies are a flickering memory.

The club is teetering on the brink. Their clubhouse is crumbling, the rent is five years in arrears, and the membership has dwindled to a handful of determined regulars. Yet, within these peeling walls, a group of "delusional dreamers" refuses to let the light go out.

Led by a cast of unforgettable characters, the documentary follows their most ambitious project yet: a shot-for-shot remake of the opening sequence of the 1955 musical Oklahoma!. The lead role of the singing cowboy, Curly, is taken on by Harry Nicholls, an octogenarian who has never been on a horse and has no intention of starting now. Through the "magic" of a DIY green screen, a volunteer stuntwoman, and sheer northern grit, Harry seeks to recreate the first film he ever saw with his now-ailing wife, Mary.

A Bunch of Amateurs is far more than a "fly-on-the-wall" look at a hobbyist group. It is a profound and deeply moving exploration of community, aging, and the therapeutic power of art. For members like Colin, the club’s projectionist whose wife is in dementia care, or Phil, a primary carer for his disabled brother, the Monday night meetings are a vital lifeline—a place to bicker over camera angles, share a laugh, and escape the isolation of the modern digital age.

Filmed over several years and capturing the club’s struggle through the onset of the pandemic, Kim Hopkins avoids mockery, instead offering an affectionate and "quietly hilarious" portrait of what it means to have a passion. It is a film about the importance of showing up for one another, face-to-face, to share in a "shared artistic folly."

Winner of the Audience Award at Sheffield DocFest, this is a "scrappy, everyman story" that celebrates the amateur in the truest sense of the word: someone who does what they love, simply for the love of doing it.