3angrymen Releases Short Film About Men, Sheds and Forging Friendships 'Sunnyside'

Sunnyside tells the story of three men escaping isolation to find solace, skills and community in an extraordinary local shed - it is a moving exploration of loneliness, grief and the redemptive power of companionship, told through the stories of local ‘Shedders’ Gerry, Steve and Howard. 

Raising awareness for male mental health has never been more urgent: one in eight men in England have a common mental health problem, many are reluctant to reach out for support and in 2018 men accounted for three-quarters of UK deaths by suicide.* 

With people experiencing the effect of isolation as a result of the current coronavirus outbreak, now’s an even more difficult time for many, Charlie Bethel (chief officer, The Men’s Shed Association): “[...] there is certainly going to be a greater understanding of social isolation and loneliness. This is something that will not stop for many people, particularly those who may have lost their jobs or taken redundancy.” 

“Men’s Sheds play a vital role in removing those chains and the need for Sheds and a much greater network of opportunities will be more important than ever.” 

Conceived initially as a passion project, it was only at final cut that 3angrymen reached out to The Men’s Shed Association, a charity helping to fight loneliness in the elderly. Charlie Bethel continues “This is a challenging time on so many levels and we thank 3angrymen and everyone involved in the movement as we strive to make tomorrow a world for healthy and happy men and indeed women.” 

Thom, MD at 3angrymen: “We’ve got a thriving passion-projects culture at 3angrymen and Sunnyside is a prime example of what that can lead to. If people want to get a personal film project off the ground, if it’s a film that we think matters, we do what we can to make it happen.” 

“This is actually the first in a run of four mini-docs that we’ve currently got in post, all of which will be released over the next 12 months. Given the difficulty around shooting right now, we’re hugely grateful to have films we can keep pushing while we’re working from home” Wood added. 

The film leans into its homespun subject matter, using 16mm film to accentuate the lively, unfettered camaraderie of the shedders. Director Danny Baldwin teamed up again with Director of Photography Charles Harrison Mori for the project, their principal aim to capture the true spirit of the shed, eschewing talking-head interviews in favour of audio interviews to avoid contributors feeling overly self-aware. 

3angrymen have had to change tack for launching the film, having initially planned to hold a screening for contributors, clients and charity supporters at Hackney Picturehouse. “It’s frustrating but having completed work on the film a while back, we just want to get it in front of people as soon as possible” says Thom Wood, “and now actually seems like an ideal time - the subject matter is totally relevant and actually I think audiences are craving some good old-fashioned filmmaking with fantastic cinematography right now, amongst all the fun UGC we’re seeing on our screens”. 

The film launches on 21st May and will be available online across Vimeo and YouTube.