In December 2009 Phoenix VP travelled to Sliven in Bulgaria to shoot the first part of our most exciting and ambitious documentary project to date.

From Blythswood With Love follows a Christmas gift with a difference- a gift that crosses the European continent and is prepared with love and attention to detail, but this is a gift shared between two strangers.  Neither the gift giver nor the recipient have ever met and nor are they likely to.

The film explores the motivation behind the annual Blythswood shoebox appeal, which sees Blythswood collect and deliver around 130,000 shoebox gifts to 9 different countries worldwide.

Each box is a parcel of gifts, ranging from items we in Scotland consider to be basic necessities, such as soap and toothbrushes, sewing kits and tools, and a bag of boiled sweets.  The boxes are passed out amongst some of the most deprived members of the community- many of us will think of Bulgaria as a tourist destination, but the documentary visits Roma communities around the outskirts of the city of Sliven where many families live in houses they can barely afford to maintain, with no running water or electricity.  The shoebox gifts are often the only present a person in these communities can ever expect to be given.

The gifts are obviously very gratefully received, each item is carefully examined and discussed as they unpack the gift, but what has inspired this documentary is the people who prepare these gifts.  They are often shopped for all year round, with bargains added in to a weekly shop as they are spotted in the shop in anticipation of the October preparation of the boxes.  The volunteers behind these gifts are dedicated and diverse, coming from all age groups and backgrounds across our community.

From Blythswood With Love has followed three shoeboxes from three different individuals to explore this amazing dedication and to discover more about what is really involved in making Christmas happen for our neighbours in need.  With behind the scenes footage from the Deephaven Blythswood Depot and the church in Sliven where the boxes are distributed from, this film will reveal the inner workings of the Shoebox Appeal and much more.

The project is still shooting, but keep checking back here to find out more and get the updates first!