This Documentary shall tell the story of my Dad, Steve Roney, beginning with his school days. The film's main conflict will be between my Dad and the teachers who said he'd never amount to anything. This documentary will bounce between a subjective point-of-view and a neutral one as the film will have a message but one which will be subtly added. This also works as the main focus needs to be my Dad's life story. I expect my film's structure to be determined by my Dad's life as it happened and how those events relate to the conflict of the piece. Ultimately, I want the audience to understand that just because someone has a difficult upbringing doesn't mean they won't achieve anything and hopefully inspire younger viewers that similar things could happen to them.
The film's subject is my Dad. Steve Roney was born in Blackburn within a military family. This meant the family regularly moved internationally. Some of his childhood was spent in Cyprus, Germany and Northern Ireland. He found school in Blackburn difficult. While he exceeded at sports, he received little support from staff or his family. One teacher even said he was "God's Gift to the Dole Queue". This is a comment which has stayed with him all his life. After finishing school at 16, he left home by train to Plymouth to join the Royal Navy. None of his family saw him off or attended his passing parade despite every other seaman being cheered on by loved ones. In 1985, he married Samantha, my Mum and the two of them lived in Yeovil. Due to his commitments with the Navy, in 1994, my Dad and my Mum moved to Belgium where my sister was born a year later. Just a few years later, my parents moved back to Yeovil where I was then born. My Dad struggled to be away from his family, so in 2004 he decided to call time of his Navy career after achieving the rank of Chief Petty Officer. My Dad eventually found a job working at Westfield Community School. He started as an Attendance Officer before moving onto Head of House. With this role, he gives students support that was not available to him when he was their age. Despite being told he'd be on the dole queue, my Dad has never been out of work. This is also the school both his children went to, allowing him to see them every day.
It's where my Dad's story ends that shows the resolution of the film's conflict. As someone who had little to no support from school staff or his own parents, he has overcome this by giving to the next generation of children what he never had.
I also hope this film will shed some light on how society perceives children who misbehave at school. Similar to how Educating Yorkshire showcases kids like this and the school staff that give them the help they need.
