It started as a vague dream in a secondary school teacher’s head, but now 7 Hours on Earth is on worldwide release. And everything, from the acting to the special effects, has been done by the pupils, staff and parents of Graveney
Aliens crash land in the headteacher’s office. Outside, green light beams up into the sky while, inside the school, the
aliens wriggle their way into the brains and bodies of the closest available lifeforms. In August 2017, students and teachers from Graveney, a south
London state secondary school, spent their summer holidays
shooting a feature film – think aliens-meet-Shakespeare – on school grounds. Three years of editing between English lessons later, the resulting movie, 7 Hours on Earth, is out.
The project was dreamed up by Patricia Sharpe. An English and film studies teacher at Graveney for 15 years, Sharpe used to work in television production. “I would spot the vivacity and liveliness of the students, and wish I could put them in a film,” she says. “It felt like a vast talent pool.”