The Farm bassist and filmmaker Carl Hunter has directed a new documentary about Walton, aiming to change perceptions about the area following last year’s riot
Carl Hunter with Barbara Haugh, year six teacher and music co-ordinator at Arnot St Mary in Walton(Image: Hat Trick Productions)
When footage of Walton’s Spellow Library burning during last year’s riots appeared across national news bulletins, many outside Liverpool – and even within – saw it as another grim snapshot of a “troubled” area. But for filmmaker Carl Hunter, those images didn’t tell the full story of a community he describes as “creative, supportive and intelligent”.
Best known as the bassist in The Farm and for his collaborations with writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Carl has directed a new documentary that looks at Walton not through the lens of chaos, but through the eyes of the people who call it home.
The film, called Of People and Place, was born out of the anger and heartbreak of Jim Mulville, founder of Hat Trick Productions and a Walton native, who was devastated by the destruction of the Spellow Library – a place that had meant so much to generations of locals.
Speaking to the ECHO, Carl explained: “Jim was really upset by those images of Walton because he grew up there. He wanted to shift that narrative and take a different look at the area. When the opportunity came up, I leapt at it. I’m from the Walton end of Bootle, so I bring a working-class lens to it.
“I think the time is right to make films about working-class communities that act as an antidote to the anti-working-class propaganda we see in the media.”
Rather than focusing on the riot itself, the film celebrates the creativity, resilience and intelligence of a community too often reduced to headlines.
He spent time with poets, photographers, grassroots groups and musicians who embody a very different kind of story. He also spoke to children from local schools.
He said: “I interviewed poets like PJ Smith, who’s done amazing work in drug recovery. I spoke to people from Our House, a grassroots group running courses for older people and young people too. I spoke to The Cheap Thrills, a brilliant band from Walton Vale, and to Dan Astles, who’s written a concept album about Walton.
“We looked at the importance of libraries – in particular the Spellow Library; libraries aren’t just places where you borrow a book – they’re hubs for knowledge, creativity, community and learning.”
The more time Carl spent in Walton, the more he saw a place full of empathy and talent.
He said: “I found it a very positive, welcoming, articulate place. Walton is a creative community, a supportive community, an intelligent community. That’s what I wanted to bring to the forefront of the storytelling.”
Filming of Of People and Place(Image: Hat Trick Productions)
For Carl, the project goes beyond one district of Liverpool. It’s part of a much wider need to reclaim the image of working-class Britain – not as something broken, but as something vibrant and vital.
He added: “We need more positive portrayals of working-class people dominating our screens, newspapers, magazines and books. If we carry on down the path we’re on, all we see is working-class people portrayed in one particular light – and of course that’s not true. This film tries to correct that imbalance.”
The documentary doesn’t try to explain why the riots happened, but shows the best of the community in its aftermath. Carl said: “I don’t know why people decided to riot. But what I saw was the resilience of the community in clearing the damage and supporting each other.
“A group of people attacked the library, but if you add up the amount of people involved in that dreadful incident, that’s nothing compared to the population of Walton. It’s a tiny group of people who decided to do something terrible, but the majority of Walton actually came out with brooms and bins, and very quickly started looking to their neighbours to check if they were okay.
“If anything, it showed a great sense of community.”
At its heart, Of People and Place is a love letter to an area and a population who refuse to be defined by others’ perceptions. It’s about hope, creativity and pride – a portrait of Walton as seen from within.