Horsham District Year of Culture 2019 - Celebration of Culture and Heritage

Dreamshock's film unveiled at Horsham District Year of Culture 2019 launch event

When the Year of Culture project began, we were asked to create a showcase of what is on offer in the Horsham district and to celebrate the ‘culture’ on our doorstep. Culture has such a different meaning to every individual - it seemed like an enormous, almost impossible brief, but as always we were up for the challenge.

The added complexity was the fact we wanted to capture the entire district - its differences, its quirks, its possibilities and its history. We knew we would be creating something that would surprise and delight the viewers both from near and far but we didn’t expect to be surprised and delighted ourselves. The stories were so enchanting, and the landscape even more beautiful than we imagined.

We began to discover so much about the district in such a short space of time, and we too were inspired by it - it made us realise just how much will be achieved with an entire year and we couldn’t help but feel excited for 2019.

What comes across in the film is the passion people have for their aspect of culture. In fact, rather than a dip into culture, this film became something to enjoy on a more personal level. It’s inspiring, challenging, fun, and, we admit that it made us quite emotional whilst filming.

There’s something so powerful about speaking to people who are passionate about what they do, it makes you want to know more. Hearing their journeys, adventures and life stories was quite inspiring, there are so much success and creativity that comes right out of our district.

One of the most memorable moments for us was the great, great grandson of Hilaire Belloc, Charles Eustace, reading one of Belloc’s poems. He was stood by Shipley Windmill, which has remained in the same family for three generations and he spoke with such emotion, it was hard not to feel the history and heritage of the environment in the air.

Cllr Jonathan Chowen, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture Horsham District Council, also commented:

 “My first reaction on seeing the finished version of the film Dreamshock made for us to announce the Horsham District Year of Culture 2019 was one of an enormous sense of pride. There was pride in our district, pride of the people who continue to make the district a superb place to live and pride in the Year of Culture project. What Dreamshock have achieved is beyond what we would have hoped and the result is of impeccable high quality.  Dreamshock have been highly professional to work with and we wouldn’t think twice about working with them again.”