Lights, camera, action at Sands Films in Rotherhithe

Tucked away in Rotherhithe sits Sands Films, a does-it-all production company. Managing director Olivier Stockman tells us the tales of this historical site

Flicking the light switch as we enter the different rooms of Sands Films brings a new world each time.

One flick and there are pattern cuttings for giant magpie heads, two flicks and endless period drama costumes hang on rails, handmade here at the studio, ready to transport you to a time of Little Women.

Three flicks and we enter a theatre room kitted out to the theme of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, bunches of grapes draped over the chandelier included.

Four flicks and the basement room reveals a cinema, with mismatched chairs and sofas you want to sink into.

Managing director Olivier Stockman shows us around each room as if it were his home: which it basically is. Stockman came to London from Paris aged 19 in 1979 hoping for a job in films and, “almost by chance”, he started working at Sands Filme, 44 years ago.

The studio is “independent and fully self-contained”; and “these characteristics are essential and have been the case ever since Sands Films existed”, Stockman tells The Biscuit.

He adds: “We are based in an 18th-century warehouse. The oldest part of the building was built in 1784. It was abandoned in the 60s, but Sands Films took over in the mid-70s, and it has been a working studio ever since.”

Stockman recalls when four generations once worked together at the studio at one time, passing skills from family member to family member, and generation to generation.

He says of the studio: “My favourite thing is the continuity of Sands Films and the fact that for nearly fifty years, it has delivered a continuous stream of creative outputs; not only that but it has also created employment for workers and much joy for users.”

“Art and culture should not be treated as commodities”

Stockman begins to tell me of the different events Sands Films offers, external to their work for big productions on platforms like Netflix.

He talks first of the Music Room: “Sands Films always had a connection with live music and music performance in general. But during the Covid lockdown, the studio’s recording and broadcasting facilities were made available to musicians who were deprived of their live audience, and therefore of their income.

“We offered the Music Room as accessible and open to all: without a paywall, fees or anything. All we asked is for donations from those who can afford it.”

Now, all of Sands Films’ music events are hybrid, with a live audience in the theatre and online viewers at home – but with unrestricted access remaining the same.

“Our open door policy reflects the fact that art and culture should not be treated as commodities,” says Stockman. “Music, in particular, is destined to all and should not be conditional upon a financial transaction.”

They do pay the performers a minimum guarantee and have to cover all overhead costs, but they are “very keen to keep the Music Room as a workspace rather than an entertainment venue”.

www.sandsfilms.co.uk

82 Saint Marychurch Street, SE16 4HZ

Upcoming events at Sands Films