The world premiere of the Push Up Brentford! documentary film took place in the shadow of the new stadium at Lionel Road at the London Museum of Water & Steam on the evening of Friday 2nd October 2020.
An invited audience of project volunteers, interviewees, partners and funders were the first to see this lovingly put together 60-minute documentary. Featuring fans who recall their first games from the late 1940s right up to the 2010s and all the joys and heartbreak in between. Memories of great moments interweaved with recollections of drudgery, small crowds and painful away days.
The DNA of the club is examined and proudly shows how the fans have had to stick together in the shadow of existential threats to the survival of the club, how they fought and campaigned and successfully came out the other side. How community initiatives such as the Community Sports Trust and Blind Supporters Scheme are embedded into the fabric of the club.
And finally, what Griffin Park means to the fans and the important role it has played throughout their match-going lives, and how the move to a new stadium will affect them.
Following the screening of the film there was a Q&A with the volunteer film-makers and interviewees.
The film was made by volunteers, mostly Brentford fans, with training and support from Arts and Education charity, digital:works. The closeness of the subject matter to the film-makers is what makes the stories depicted so powerful. They were able to draw out emotional responses because they understood and empathised with the interviewees.
The project was supported by Sally Stephens and Brentford Football Club, Beesotted Fanzine and the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust who will be creating educational resources from the material and taking them into local schools. The project was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The full interviews, podcasts and the film are all available on the project website: