The Brockley Society contribution to the Brockley Max arts Festival this year was a screening of Loving Hands, a film about the life and times of local community leader Sybil Phoenix made by Brockley film makers Lucia Tambini and Kate Iles.
The film charts Sybil’s role as a pioneering member of the black community from her arrival in Brockley in the 1960s; setting up the Moonshot Youth Centre in New Cross, dealing with the violence of the National Front, acting as a conduit between the community and Lewisham Council and the police, and coping with the aftermath of the New Cross Fire in 1981. In parallel, the film explores Sybil’s extraordinary work as a foster mother to hundreds of Lewisham children throughout the 1960s and 70s. This culminated in the establishment of Marsha Phoenix House (in Tressillian Road), which continues to offer housing and educational support to young homeless women from across the borough.
With contributions from her former foster children, family, friends and current residents at Marsha Phoenix House, the film is a celebration of this remarkable local hero
who is still working hard on behalf of others at the age of 84, thanks to the Brockley Social Club for hosting the event.
For anyone who missed the screening, DVD copies of the film are available for £5 with all proceeds going to Marsha Phoenix House. Please contact Kate on [email protected]