Description: Part of the BBC 1 TV Programme in 1976, this black-and-white video captures young people from Wapping and Shadwell challenge a derogatory TV presenter who suggests that people need to ‘get out’ of the East End in order to improve their lives. Instead, they showcase how they have built their own community, transforming public spaces into football pitches and a community arts space. Through political comics, mockumentaries, poetry, and community films, the young East Londoners critique gentrification, development and the problems with the education system in the area. The video concludes with the vibrant E1 Festival, celebrating community spirit.

At the start, young East Londoners critique the programme on a small cable television, highlighting how it ignores their voices. One young man insists real change comes from staying and contributing to the community. Another declares the film’s defiant stance: "We are a group of East End people still living here."

The first section documents grassroots activism, showing protests and a young man narrating how local efforts began. Parents transformed an empty lot into a football pitch, only for the council to fence it off. The community fought back, cutting down the fences to reclaim the space. Footage of parents dismantling the barriers is shown. The next clip highlights young people converting an old town hall basement into an arts center, producing zines, poetry pamphlets, and posters with slogans like People Before Profit – Homes Before Hotels and Roadshow Disco.

The film then examines development and gentrification through a playful lens. A bulldozer demolishing Stepney and Wapping buildings sets the stage for a voiceover lamenting the loss of community. An aerial shot of the Docklands reveals the influx of wealthy buyers, juxtaposed with a fisheye shot of council tower blocks where displaced residents now live. A wide shot of luxury boats docked along the riverside underscores the growing divide. "Instead of playgrounds for the rich, they should be ours, with homes built here," the narrator exclaims.

Young people respond through creative resistance, raising awareness of gentrification’s impact. A comic strip depicts a shark-shaped submarine—symbolizing invasive developers—arriving at the Docklands. As the camera tracks across the drawings, it reveals towering hotels, gaming complexes, and luxury riverside homes. At the comic’s center, a superhero embodies the Will of the People!

Next, a satirical mockumentary-style musical critiques East End gentrification. A young man, microphone in hand, interviews two posh characters against a backdrop of demolition—one in a fur jacket and sunglasses, the other in a loose sailor’s outfit. They sing, "We live in the East End, but we like to pop out for high tea at Harrods." The musical warns of Stepney and Wapping’s fate if outsiders dominate. In a playful finale, the characters stand back-to-back, revealing a Boat Owners Only sign against the transformed Docklands.

A female voice recites a poem about fighting for the East over footage of a bulldozer and graffiti reading Homes Not Hotels and Fight Back. The scene transitions to the Docklands Action Centre, where research, activism, and pressure groups emerge. A T-shirt reading Wapping Parents Action Group introduces a shot of parents gathered in discussion, strategizing to push the council for better living conditions.

The next section addresses the education system, focusing on Wapping’s high truancy rates. Two young men discuss The Gates—their autobiographical book about their problems with secondary school. One reads a positive critical review, while the other narrates an excerpt. His voiceover continues as we watch a camera follow a boy crossing the road to school, struggling with his "uncontrollable fear" of his secondary school. In a wide shot, he steps through the black gates of an imposing building.

An alternative experimental basement school is introduced, where attendance is voluntary. Young people’s voiceovers express frustration with mainstream education. The camera pans across a basement classroom where students read aloud from a script, while a young girl films them with a Super-8 camera.

The film shifts to the lively E1 Festival, featuring playful community races—people sprinting into pubs to down drinks, adults pushed in buggies—all set to energetic jazz music. The montage captures kids running, people dancing, jumping hurdles, playing tug-of-war, and engaging in street festivities. An older woman pulls exaggerated faces through a cutout sign, embodying the festival’s joyful spirit.

As the film closes, an aerial shot of the East End’s tower blocks accompanies the final message: ‘We are not letting others decide our future.”