Lights, camera, action!

A Dorset company which recycles thousands of tonnes of food waste every year is the unlikely star of a new short movie. Final year BA film students at Bournemouth University chose Eco Sustainable Solutions as one of the locations for their psychological thriller.

‘The Dog Food Programme’ is written and directed by Harry Clothier and revolves around a fictional food crisis in the UK. A Crowdfunder campaign successfully raised the film’s £1,500 funding from 22 supporters. It’s hoped the film, which will be up to 25 minutes, will be premiered next month and, possibly, selected for the Leeds Film Festival.

Harry, 20, said: “We were looking for a food recycling centre and Eco fitted the bill perfectly.

“They couldn’t have been more helpful and we got some great footage which will look very cinematic.”

Eco has processed more than 624,000 tonnes of food waste since 2005, creating about 91,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity and powering the equivalent of 33,000 homes for a year. The commercial, industrial and household food waste is processed at one of Eco’s state-of-the-art anaerobic digestion plants where it’s turned into energy and also bio-fertiliser.

Bryony Hammond, Eco’s Brand and Communications Executive, said: “We receive many approaches to see our facilities but it’s unusual to receive a filming request, especially for a psychological thriller film.

“We were delighted to help out Harry and his team and look forward to seeing the final version of the film.”

Other BU students taking part in film project are Ruby Bates (Producer), Alex Geoghegan (Director of Photography), Kieran Miles-Booy (Sound Operator) and actors Jack Barber, Fraser Humphrey and John Martin.