An Open and Shut Case.

An Open and shut case is a local documentary that would focus on a slice of London that isn't talked about a lot. You see it, give it a brief glance and you carry on with your day. The slice I speak of is the busking community of the Forest City.

Unlike Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal, London doesn't have hundreds of buskers. In the Forest City, we have a dedicated group of fine musicians (and even finer people) who, on a regular basis heft their cases in rain, shine, hot or cold, take their positions and play for all of us.

I know, because I used to be among these fine people. Before I got married and had a child, I used to play with a few other musicians on Richmond row in front of Gift of Art.

An Open and Shut Case will document 10 of London's most prominent and recognizable buskers. The aim of this documentary is to educate and inform the masses that these people are NOT homeless and are NOT panhandling. Busking is an art that is thousands of years old and should be cherished as a part of our local art culture and hopefully any young, aspiring musicians won't be nervous to open his or her case along with a generation of musicians before them and continue the tradition.

Other cities have busker festivals and such and I think that this documentary would help open a lot of eyes and turn a lot of ears towards London that may not have before. London is already a city that is so proud of it's art culture, let us together help embrace this last piece of the picture.

Грант предоставил London, ON (June 2014)