'Homage' to Cromer Pier premiers at Cambridge Film Festival

The documentary shows preparation for the variety performances staged on Cromer Pier for four months each summer

A German documentary maker's trip to a English seaside variety show has inspired him to make a film about it.

Seaside Special is a film about one of Britain's remaining end-of-the-pier variety shows in Cromer, Norfolk.

Its director, Jens Meurer, said the film was an "homage" to the show he had "fallen in love" with 10 years ago when his in-laws took him to see it.

The documentary has premiered at the Cambridge Film Festival.

Director Jens Meurer said there was something "so wondrous, so lovely, authentic and unpretentious about real-old-fashioned live entertainment"

Mr Meurer said the show was "not about becoming super-famous", but it was about "entertaining the 500 people who were in that amazing Victorian theatre twice a day".

"My desire to capture this world on camera finally fell into place in 2019 - the year when Brexit came to a head and just before the pandemic struck," he said.

He said he wanted to film the "most British place I know" and the "kind of British-ness we miss".

Two dancers who feature in the documentary, Polly and Sophie Duniam, came to watch it at the film festival

Twins Polly and Sophie Duniam, who danced in the show as children and feature in the new documentary, said their mum's dance school in Cromer has supplied many participants to the variety shows.

They said they were initially unsure about Mr Meurer wanting to make the film.

"Then we met Jens ... he's got a real heart for this place," Polly said.

Vocal impressionist G from Seaside Special said he felt "proud" of it

G is a vocal impressionist who performed in the documentary and has lived in Norfolk since 2001.

He said it was "mind-blowing" the film would get a screening in the director's home country in January.

"The idea it's going to be shown in Germany and people will see this snippet of British life, particularly Cromer and the show, is daunting, but I feel so proud to have been a part of that," he said.

The film will also be at the Norwich Film Festival on 12 November.