I discovered South London Samba when strolling through a park in August 2022 and being drawn in by their hypnotic rhythms. Following the sound, I came to find a diverse group of young people, led by a man called Adam, whose smile is something to behold. I decided to shoot , edit, grade and score the film myself to give it as cohesive a feeling as possible. I got to know the group over the course of 3 months and in the lead up to their first carnival performance for 3 years. Perhaps coloured by my own recent experiences with my parents, I was drawn to three members of the band in particular, who each had complicated relationships with parenting. Adam (the band’s leader), Sam (his younger brother), and Jodi (one of the band’s life and souls). Jodi a single parent who became a mother very early on in her life. She feels the weight of parental responsibility heavily. ‘I’m raising someone’s husband, you only know the impact of your decisions later, and then you can’t undo it’. Adam and Sam have complicated relationships with their father. Sam feels that someone having a child is ‘not that deep’. ‘Adam was more of a dad to me than my dad, I believe you can learn everything by yourself’. The film explores the effect of single parenthood on a young adult and on a grown up child. The film also highlights the transformative power of taking part in music on the young and old alike. The palpable catharsis that drumming seems to provide all of them is evident in the film’s closing carnival performance. Jodi says it best. ‘Everyone has got baggage, it’s about who is going to help you unpack it’. The film makes a strong argument for music.

Kevin Holmes-Attivor is a filmmaker from London. Kevin is interested in community and the weird and wonderful lives of every day people particularly, the under represented and those who are often on the fringes of society’s concern despite being at the forefront of its scrutiny. His films often focus on people with unique characteristics but who share universal and relatable dreams, desires and fears. Kevin has a background in music and enjoys creating electronically tinged scores for his films. He worked as a data scientist for the last 5 years and has only recently made the move to film. He has worked primarily as a runner on music videos since early 2022 and also moonlights as the event curator at FAWW Gallery in Soho Square where he curates a diverse programme of films, music and art.