The documentary focusing on the life of a London drum and bass pioneer is getting an extended release across the country.
Hyper: The Stevie Hyper D Story premiered on 15 November last year and is the first feature documentary focusing on the genre to receive a nationwide cinematic release, and will be showing in Hackney and Brixton, along with Exeter, Cambridge, Brighton, Aberystwyth, Broadstairs and Stroud.
The biopic is receiving an extended release courtesy of leading UK film company Picturehouse, following a successful initial run in Odeon Cinemas, and director Jamie Ross-Hulme explained how the national release came about.
He said: “It was via our distributor Dartmouth Films, we were in talks with them before the Odeon release came about.
“The plan was always once we’d done the Odeon release, we’d go back and do a more targeted, independent approach which means focusing it more on Q&A screenings, curating it and making it feel more independent.
“Picturehouse have worked really closely with Dartmouth before, with a film called Drawn To War which was a massive success.
“It was always part of the plan to partner with the chain, I’m a big fan of them personally and I go to them pretty regularly.”
Beyond the bombastic basslines, frantic drums, and gleeful ravers, the biopic maintains a strong personal depth through its connection to the music community, with Stevie’s nephew, Darrell Austin, serving as co-producer and central interviewee.
Also interviewed are Andy C, Rebel Clash, and Blackmarket Record’s own, Nicky Blackmarket, to name but a few.
The Picturehouse run got off to a great start, with the first showing in Brighton selling out a week in advance.
Beyond the Picturehouse release, Ross-Hulme detailed what drew him to Stevie’s story.
He said: “I was a big fan of Stevie and I’d known about him as a kid, from the age of like 15.
“I was given my first cassette tape and was a big fan, just missing him by a matter of days.
“Literally the second rave I ever went to on 10 July 1998. He died five days before and I only found out on the day.
“He was always this mythical character in the jungle/drum and bass world.”
Stevie was undoubtedly a trailblazer, performing in Canada, Japan and Germany before his tragic passing in 1998, and the documentary carefully juxtaposes his status as a star within the scene with his role as a friend and family to many of those interviewed.
Ross-Hulme was first approached by Austin about making the documentary in 2012, although the project was many years in the making.
He said: “We properly started developing it in 2013 and started shooting it in 2017. It took two and half years to get most of it shot.
“We started editing it in February 2020, then we were in the edit in three periods between 2020 and November 2021.
“One of the things we originally planned to do was to create a documentary that was as era defining as A London Something This, which is an incredible 1994 documentary by a director called Rachel Seely.
“So we set out to make something a lot more definitive, but we realised in the making of the film that we couldn’t do that because we were making a story about an individual.
“But what we did try and do, with nods to that film, is do something that works for the jungle/drum and bass scene but also works as a bit of an explainer to the kind of history and roots of it, which are obviously in UK Soundsystem culture.”
As part of the documentary’s production, the team launched a Kickstarter campaign and although the documentary was almost entirely made, it allowed them to take the documentary to a wider audience.
Ross-Hulme said: “What the Kickstarter did, that was really invaluable, was give us the money to complete and deliver the film to cinemas.
“What we did was kind of crazy because what most people do is they do a Kickstarter to kickstart the project, and then they go shoot it and then they come back and work the release stuff after.
“We’d actually worked out the release, but we just needed the money to complete and deliver.
“We had backup plans in place for the Kickstarter, but it got real when those backup plans fell through and we were literally in the fire with it.
“So it was invaluable with getting it across the line and we actually crossed the line with 130-odd%, which is incredible because we did end up going over budget.
“So the money has been completely invaluable and we can’t thank the people enough that supported it.”
Ross-Hulme explained what he hopes audiences will take away from the documentary about Stevie, too.
He said: “For those who did know who he was, I hope that they understand something more.
“But ultimately, I hope everybody understands and goes on the journey about both Darrell and Stevie and what it means to deal with grief.
“I think that’s really the crux and backbone of the story and the heart of the film.”
Tickets for the Picturehouse showings across the country are on sale now.
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