Hundreds of people last week descended on the Odeon in Leicester Square for the premiere of perhaps one of the most niche films that cinema has ever hosted.
Brexit the Movie, a project funded through the online contributions of thousands of devotees of the OUT campaign, attracted a multitude of political celebrities, each drawing rapturous applause as they graced the red carpet.
There was UKIP’s Nigel Farage and Douglas Carswell, Tory MPs David Davis and Jacob Rees-Mogg – alongside their MEP counterpart Daniel Hannan – and even Labour MP Kate Hoey.
But the viewing was not just for the big hitters, it was also for the 1,800 individuals who between them donated £114,000 to make it happen.
Among them was Tunbridge Wells businessman Andrew Osborne, whose contribution to the production entitled him to a seat at the inaugural viewing of the feature-length documentary.
“It was fantastic, a really good film,” said Mr Osborne, who founded his business Single Source Binding in 1989 from a shared house in London with just £500 before moving the company to Tunbridge Wells four years ago.
The entrepreneur first heard of the project in March last year, while attending the ‘Freedom Festival’ in Bournemouth, where other ‘like-minded’ individuals were discussing the prospect of a film and decided to chip in.
Describing himself as a ‘Classical Liberal’ in the mould of Gladstone, the member of The Freedom Association – which ran the festival – is clear in what he sees are the pitfalls of continued membership of the EU.
“We have the right to a self-governing country that can throw out politicians we don’t like,” he says.
“At the moment we are run by unelected bureaucrats in Brussels who are incompetent and impossible to remove from power. We must have the ability to make our own laws.”
Economically, too, Mr Osborne – who is on speaking terms with Nigel Farage – believes that membership of the European union has been detrimental to Britain.
“It is run on behalf of big business and is rigged against the free market. The rules and regulations hinder creativity and entrepreneurship while protecting the corporate elite.
“Healthy economies are all about competition, but the EU comes up with more and more ways to hinder it due to the expense of their regulation.”
Once free of Europe, he believes that many more people will be able to utilise their untapped potential and Britain will again be a nation of inventors and innovators.
“I think the country will quickly rebound from any fallout and will explode with vitality as people take back control of their own destiny.
“The mood will lift and it will be better for everyone. This is why I am very optimistic that Brexit is going to happen.”
