The play Springtown Camp is also going to be the subject of a documentary.

It’s being written and directed by film maker Chip Sweeney (whose father Myles grew up in the camp) and co-produced by Alessio Zanin.

Chip has directed, written and produced several short features and has made videos for bands like the Freestylers and the Lancaster Bombers. He started life as a child actor most notably appearing as John Cleese’s son in the film “Clockwise”.

Alessio, who is a native of Turin, Italy, has lived in Derry for seven years. He is an accomplished producer and cinematographer who has worked on various film productions.

For the making of "The Camp" they have formed the company “Cow Whalloper Pictures”. I asked Alessio where such a strange name came from and he replied, “Willie Deery had given us some research material to go through and I was sitting in Chip’s kitchen going through a list of old nicknames from the camp that were in a program for a Springtown reunion dance held some years ago. Second or third on the list was the name ‘Cow Whalloper’.

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I told Chip and the pair of us cracked up; when the laughter subsided I said there’s one more thing… It’s Cow Whalloper SWEENEY! When we finally got off the floor it was decided it was fate and the name was sealed.

I asked Chip how he got involved in the project: “My Dad had been in touch with Willie by Email and when I heard about the play I asked him to find out if Willie would be interested in meeting with us.  At that point I had no idea what format the project would take or if there would be one at all."

But after meeting Willie and reading the script I realised that this was a story that had to be told. I grew up between London and New york, not in Derry, and have only relatively recently moved here and because of that I had never felt any real connection to the city. But here I was looking at census forms from the camp and there in front of me were all these names, my Aunts, Uncles, cousins – my family.

In the archive film footage that's being used in the film from the early 60’s there was my Grandmother, whom I only met once, being interviewed about the living conditions at Springtown.  Suddenly I discovered I was as much a part of that camp as anybody else that came from there.
At the risk of sounding cliché I had found my roots. From that moment on I knew I wanted to tell the story.

I asked if the film was going to be a cinema version of the play and Chip replied,  “Not exactly, the film uses sections of the play, archive footage and eyewitness testimony from the people that lived there cut together in a collage style. It’s a chronological story of Springtown camp from the first marine that set foot there to the last couple to close the door of the last inhabited hut."

It jumps between the action on the stage to interviews with the still living people the actors are portraying. You’ll see scenes from the play and then meet the people that actually lived through those experiences and hear their stories; all of this is mixed with archive footage and the many stills that exist. I think it’s really important that what happened there and what the residents had to endure is remembered – after all it really wasn’t that long ago. It's important that it be recorded before it's forgotten."

I asked Alessio where we'll be able to see the documentary? "Well, we are currently talking to several broadcasters both local and international, so television is the target."

I then asked what station it would be on? "That we don’t know as yet but if the response we have gotten so far is any measure it will certainly be one of the major channels here and, hopefully, several overseas too. Stay tuned.”

As for a cinema version? Chip says, “Well it’s a great script and would definitely lend itself to being converted to a feature film, but one step at a time! We’ll make the documentary first and then start to think about that! But I certainly wouldn’t rule it out.”

"The Camp" is in pre-production now and filming starts in the new year. It’s scheduled for release in Mid 2007.

[04 Jan 2007]