I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning

Growing up on a Birmingham estate, childhood friends Patrick, Shiv, Rian, Oli, and Conor played together, skipped school together and dreamt of the lives they would have one day. But now that they’ve hit thirty, harsh reality bites, and the future they once hoped for seems more out of reach than ever. Patrick and Shiv have always been in love, but an old secret opens up new wounds; Rian has left the estate, made money and feels lonely; while the others…

COMMENTARY
Lots of music, ups and downs, the pursuit of happiness and the solidarity of this group that keeps on giving. A vibrant and punchy romp, the fifth film by Clio Barnard continues the tale of today’s British working class without paternal or rhetorical lapses: it dives into those evenings at the pub and the characters’ rudderless lives.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
While the setting of the novel by Keiran Goddard is deliberately vague, in order to draw attention to the social and economic challenges faced by the working class across the UK (and beyond), I chose a similar one where the author grew up. All my films have involved participatory process: working closely with the community where I’m filming, I’m inspired by real people. In this case, I was able to depict the characters within the texture and particularity of their environment, in Birmingham. Perhaps paradoxically, the granularity of the “here and now” allows these characters to speak beyond their own circumstances, to a wider audience, about the broader dynamics that are (mis) shaping our world.