Céline Roustan
In Northern Ireland, an underground community of “differs” brings together car enthusiasts, creating a safe space to escape their personal struggles, if only for those shared moments on the asphalt. With We Beg To Differ, director Ruairí Bradley invites us into this subculture, painting its portrait through an observational approach and a poetic lens that conveys poignantly how this passion brings this community together.
Bradley explained that he was introduced to diffing (a related, but different motor pursuit to the more well-known ‘drifting’) on the set of a music video he was producing. Mildly intrigued, it was talking to one of the differs who told him about his community. Bradley could sense that, “…this was something deeply important to him”, which prompted him to check if his hometown of Belfast had a similar scene. When he then became acquainted with UGD (Underground Differs), their yard and its memorial wall, Bradley decided that he had found the subjects of a new film.
As he got to know this crew and built rapport, the mental health cloud looming over the community was undeniable, which provides the thematic frame of the film. Blending that struggle with the passion of the community for their common pursuit, the film, from the powerful opening shot, impresses upon the audience the weight of loss as UGD gather around a fallen fellow, but We Beg to Differ avoids being a dour film, as the heaviness is kept in balance by Bradley successfully conveying the joyful and exciting moments as well.
The film’s photography is stylish, shot primarily with a Sony FX9 and an SLR Magic 35mm
With DP Daniel Sedgwick, the team crafts a gorgeous visual language for the film. The beauty in diffing is obvious and cinematic, between the smoke, the cars, and their choreography, but still the team captures it all with a striking visual flair. Many of the shooting decisions are smart—the use of static shots to better let us appreciate the motion of the cars, but are then contrasted with shots that take us to the heart of the action, all the way to the driver’s seat.
It’s not all pretty, though, and not only are the mental health struggles omnipresent, but Bradley also does not shy away from capturing the dangerous aspects of diffing— from the risk of getting behind the wheel to the simple fact that, outside the group’s private yard, their hobby is also illegal. The film elegantly follows the differs who make that societally deviant choice, and captures the passion that motivates such risks. For them, diffing frees them from their struggles for a brief instant, and the film impressively translates to the screen how those extreme sensations function, allowing the audience, in some small way, to experience the powerful combination that these fans experience, of both blowing off steam, while gaining a deep and powerful sense of control.
The risk of the hobby, both from crashes and from cops, is intrinsic to its appeal.
“Diffing provides a way to connect, and it’s also just good craic”, he candidly added. The heavy themes are there, but he makes sure the strength and resilience of the community and the fun they have are on screen, injecting the narrative with a sense of hope.
We Beg To Differ had an impressive festival run with notable stops at SXSW, Palm Springs, Hot Docs, Leeds, and Glasgow. It also won awards, including Best New Talent at PÖFF Shorts, and a Special Mention in Clermont-Ferrand. On home turf, it played at the major Irish festivals Cork, Dublin, Galway, and Kerry, where it won honors before being nominated at the IFTA Film & Drama Awards. The film came online this month via a Vimeo Staff Pick and we’re grateful to Bradley for allowing us to share this stylish and cinematic doc with you as well.