WHY has Basildon developed a bad reputation? That is the question one film-maker has set out to answer with a new documentary.

Chris Smith, who grew up in Benfleet and spent a lot of time socialising in Basildon as a youngster, wants to find out why people think negatively of the town.

The 37-year-old, who started making films after a career in marketing, said he is looking at how New Towns were set up to be “cultural centres”.

Basildon, then known as Basildon New Town, was built 66 years ago, rising out of the Essex fields after the war.

In 1948, Lewis Silkin, Minister of Town and Country Planning in Clement Attlee’s Labour Government, said: “Basildon will become a city which people from all over the world will want to visit.”

Chris’s film, entitled New Town Utopia, will explore the creativity, art and culture of the town and how it has evolved.

He said: “The film is focused on the importance of creativity, art and culture to the town and what happened to the reputation of the Basildon area.

“I want to focus on the positive aspects of the town, such as the creative people from Basildon like pop band Depeche Mode.

“All of the New Towns were designed to be hubs for art and culture.

In Basildon’s case, it’s clear things may not have worked out as planned and in the film I explore how the town has changed and why.

“We’re already building a strong audience of fans across social media.

The plan is that this project should show Basildon in a different light and, hopefully, inspire positive community.”

Chris, who now lives in south London, said he has spent a lot of time researching for the film.

He said: “I’ve spent considerable time observing and interviewing people from the town involved in arts and culture, from the early days to the present.

“The characters in the film include a real range of artists and musicians from the area -– from Steve Waters, the puppeteer behind the Old Man Stan videos, to folk and blues musician Phil Burdett”

Chris hopes to finish the film by next February and release it online, after screening at film festivals, in 2017. He added: “Most of the footage has been shot by myself and the crew over the past 18 months. However, we’ve also begun looking for archive footage, or personal footage of people that could help visualise the past of Basildon.

“It would be amazing to bring to life footage in old film reels and tapes in people’s lofts. I’d really like to try and find some of this through Echo readers.”

To find out more about the film, visit http://modernmovingimage.com/newtownutopia/