Brentford FC Launches Series of Short Films


First focuses on head coach Thomas Frank during a match against West Ham


Thomas Frank checks his heart rate monitor during filming. Picture: Brentford FC

July 12, 2023

A series of short films is being released by Brentford FC which each of them looking at a different aspect of the club and its role in the community.

Thousands of Stories’ will feature a range of people connected with the club and aims to show how each person’s story.  

It starts with a film in which the club’s head coach Thomas Frank is wired up to a heart rate monitor for a Premier League match. Titled The Pressure it shows how his heart rate fluctuates during the intensity of the Bees home match against West Ham last season. The monitor shows how the boss’s beats per second change in response to high pressure moments such as a VAR decision and even during subtitutions.

The film explores the importance of cardiac health and motivations behind the club’s Heart of West London initiative. Heart of West London is Brentford’s long-term partnership and commitment to bringing together key players in the cardiac health world to make a difference.

Reflecting on the experience, Thomas Frank said: “I was interested to see how my heart reacted during a match. Every Head Coach knows that Premier League football is stressful and it’s amazing to see what happened to my heart rate during match events.  

“I am proud to be part of the heart health campaigns we run here at Brentford. Knowing what happened to Robert Rowan and Christian Eriksen makes it something that really matters to me. Cardiac health is important for everyone and it’s important we do what we can be lead a healthy lifestyle and look after ourselves.” 

Over the next three weeks other films in the series will released including The Team which is a look at the impact of the Brentford Community Sports Trust’s women’s recreational football sessions and the opportunity it gives to women who want to play football. The Chance explores the story of Brentford staff member, Mariia Manirko who moved to the UK from Ukraine after Russia’s invasion and The Voice follows the story Peter Gilham, Brentford’s club announcer, also known as Mr Brentford  

Peter Gilham will feature later in the series
Peter Gilham will feature later in the series

The four films were produced by creative agency, Studio Something. Thousands of Stories is expected to be an ongoing series and along with its launch, the club is encouraging Bees fans to share their stories.  

Brentford chief executive, Jon Varney said, “Here at Brentford, everyone’s story is important, from our fans to our matchday staff to those involved in our community projects.  

‘We’re really proud to see the launch of Thousands of Stories. It’s the start of a series that allows us to share what it means to be a part of Brentford. And the series doesn’t stop here, we want to hear the stories of our fans too who help make this club so special.”  

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More

This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism.

Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets.

We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more.

However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do.

We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area.

A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site.

One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute.

If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor.

For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.