Contemporary Culture

BTS + FILM LINK: Frank Lebon’s Diddly Squat

A masterfully-chronicled film of squatter vs squatted life.

words INDEX

By the son of a cult Buffalo photographer comes Diddly Squat, the newest short film by director Frank Lebon. The film is a story about squatting in London, told from the perspective of both the squatter and the squatted.

Check out the behind-the-scenes snaps before watching here.

The Synopsis

With a newborn baby on its way and pressure mounting from all sides, the time has come for Archy and Rachel to get their act together and find somewhere to live, whatever it takes. Their friend Hak finds the perfect spot for them to build their new life — an old, run-down carpentry studio in the heart of South London.

Kenny, the building’s owner, has spent years building his life’s work at this studio. However decrepit and run down it might seem to the untrained eye, every dusty corner is a chapter of his life. With the glory days now fading and commissions few and far between, he spends weeks at a time away from the building.

When he returns one day to find his livelihood has been compromised by Archy, Rachel and their friends, he is shocked and confused. With the law seemingly against him and his options sparse, how far will Kenny go to win back his sacred space?

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“It was inspired by the true story of a building that my brother purchased in Camberwell. The landlord is an older man who wasn’t pushed to sell for the cash, but because his beloved printing studio was squatted.” — Frank Lebon.

“The landlord’s angle on the squatting situation was new to me. Growing up in London, I had friends who squatted; we have all been to the odd squat rave and there are many totally reasonable reasons to squat. Usually, there is a large building owned by a big company, it’s unused and taking up unnecessary space in a crowded and overly expensive city. Squatting stories are generally black and white, community vs company, rich vs poor. Diddly Squat however, lives in a grey area that, as the story unfolds, poses some interesting moral dilemmas.” — Frank Lebon.