Cutting the Crap: Short doc selected for festival screenings

The scale of sewage pollution in the UK has made headlines over the last two years, largely thanks to the efforts of ordinary people campaigning for change.

Amongst these grassroots activists are a group of sea swimmers from Kent. SOS Whitstable was formed after a group of friends started swimming during the pandemic and realised their hobby was frequently being interrupted by discharging of untreated sewage from the nearby Swalecliffe sewage plant.

It sparked an extraordinary campaign to challenge the local water company and the national government over failures to prevent pollution.

Cutting the Crap tells the story of Ed Acteson and his friends - how their love of the sea has inspired them to fight for national change in regulation and management of sewage.

The film was published by Hakai Magazine in summer 2023 and screened at Kendal Mountain Festival in November 2023.

It was also subsequently selected for the London Mountain Film Festival 2024, and is continuing to help raise awareness about the impacts of sewage pollution on coastal communities around the UK.