The Maccabees talk new short film ‘Elephant Days’

Following bagging the number one spot with new album ‘Marks To Prove It,’ The Maccabees have announced a new short film, titled ‘Elephant Days’. Made by The Maccabees, James Caddick and James Cronin, the documentary will explore the area around the band’s Elephant and Castle studio by looking at local characters and following the making of the record. The film has been accepted into the 59th BFI London Film Festival, running 7th-18th October.

Speaking to DIY about the short film, The Maccabees’ Felix White explains that during the making of ‘Marks To Prove It’ “it eventually came together that we could make our own film. We knew we wanted it to be about the area, and us making the record,” he says, “amongst these other stories. They ended up being this basketball team down the road, the tailor opposite the studio, Richard the guerrilla gardener who opened a community garden in the knocked down Heygate estate, the gospel church. You get an idea of the things happening in this area in a time of quite rapid change.”

“It’s sort of symbolic, or emblematic for the rest of what’s going on in London,” Orlando Weeks tells us, referring to wider regeneration. “It’s already apparent that we’ve captured something that’s not going to be here or the same. It feels special.”

“I think it will end up being a good send up of the rebranding of the area,” says Hugo White, referring to the chosen title of ‘Elephant Days’ and the similarity to new project names like Elephant Park popping around the South London hub.

The film is entirely centred around Elephant and Castle,” Felix finalises, “and that gives a context to [‘Marks To Prove It,] that you wouldn’t perhaps hear if you just heard it in an isolated capacity. It gives it a different angle.”

Watch the trailer for ‘Elephant Days’ below.