Back in December 2015 I was approached out of the blue by a chap from Australia called Nick Bird via Facebook. Nick is a documentary producer who together with director Eleanor Sharpe, have created some critically acclaimed documentaries, including Remembering The Man through their company Waterbyrd Filmz.
Nick told me that he’d found me via my blog www.themamil.co.uk and that he would be interested in talking to me about a documentary he was planning to make all about MAMILs and the effect cycling has had on their lives.
As a self-confessed middle-aged-man-in-Lycra, and an upholder of the belief that cycling is one of the best things humans can ever do for themselves, I really liked the idea but remained sceptical that anything would come of it.
We had a few Skype discussions through the winter during which I talked about my cycling, both present and past, what I get from cycling and why I write my blog, do video reviews of cycling tech products and alike. I got to know Nick a little better and thought the approach he was taking with the movie was great but I also thought that my involvement in the film would come to an end as I didn’t think my story was that interesting compared to others in the film.
Nick had a different opinion and we subsequently made plans for him to come and film in the summer. I didn’t hold my breath because I know how the film industry can be, but sure enough in the summer of 2016 Nick, Eleanor and the film crew turned up and we spent a very enjoyable two days filming and being interviewed.
My highlight of the experience included being filmed by a motorbike camera around the southern fringes of Farnham for a couple of hours, and me feeling like I was on some hopeless breakaway from the peloton in the Tour de France. It was exhilarating – well it was for me anyway.
Through this whole experience Nick has become a good friend of the family so when he and his partner came to the UK this summer we were delighted that they were able to visit and to update us on all the MAMIL news – including the fact that MAMIL would get its worldwide premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival. This was becoming very real now.
The premiere was on Wednesday 11th October and the first reviews are in and very favourable. I haven’t actually seen the movie myself so I have no idea how it plays out or how long we (my family and I) feature in it, but we did just make it in to the trailer (about 2.5 seconds in total) and the filming looks superb.
The film is being distributed by Demand.Film globally and I am hoping to organise a screening in London’s West End for our own “premiere” here in the UK, although we’ll have to live without a red carpet I suspect.
If we are able organise it and get enough MAMILs to attend, I think it could be a great celebration of all things MAMIL and a perfect culmination of what has been a very positive and rewarding experience for me, my family and for (I hope) MAMILs around the world.
Take a look at the trailer below and email cyclingplus@immediate.co.uk if you'd be interested in seeing the film!
To find out more about the film: http://www.mamilfilm.co.uk/
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