Student film to fight preconceptions over life in council estates

Federica Baggio

Kingston University student Riccardo D’Amico is working on a short film set in a Kingston’s council estate on Cambridge Road, exploring the good side of estate life.

After living for one year in Kingston’s Cambridge estate, Mr D’Amico, 21, decided to fight against the highly shared preconception that council estates are all about gangs and criminality.

It’s not the best place on earth to raise a child

“There is a grain of truth in what people think about estates,” Mr D’Amico said. “Everyone knows it’s not the best place on earth to raise a child, but still it’s not as bad as people present it. 

“TV shows like Top Boy, they all show the gangster, criminal side of it. I’m trying to go against that with my film, to show another face.”

With the permission of the Kingston Borough, the half-Italian and half-English film-making student spent last week filming at the estate, realising his “most ambitious project so far” called Nothing But the Net.

Aggressive residents

Despite the aggressive reactions of some of the council’s residents who made the filming difficult, Mr D’Amico and his crew managed to successfully finish the project.

The short film will be sent to international festivals in the next few months.