10 years on the 83 is a short documentary I created as part of the Sheffield DocFest Filmmaker Challenge 2025. The challenge gave filmmakers just a few days to develop an idea, with one day to shoot and one and a half days to edit—culminating in a premiere the very next day to a packed audience of industry professionals and the public.

The film follows Fran, a veteran bus driver who has worked across Sheffield but spent many years on Route 83—a journey that connects the city’s most affluent neighbourhoods with its most disadvantaged. Along this single route, there is a stark contrast in health and opportunity: residents in the more deprived areas can expect to live up to 10 years less than those at the affluent end of the line.

I made this film because I believe it's a story that urgently needs to be told—not just in Sheffield, but across the UK. It was a privilege to be part of such a prestigious festival, and to shine a light on this powerful, human issue through Fran’s perspective.

If you’d like to read more about the study done, click here!

Director/DOP/Sound Design: Darshan Gajjar
Tape Cam: Elliott Beeton
Runner: Luke Green
Editor: Jashan Walton
Producer: Chim’Di Ugada
Colourist: Summer Vascare Piscikaite
Editing Facility: Sticks and Glass
Dubbing Mixer: Douglas North
Lens Rental: Not Another Rental Company (NARCo)
Thanks to Stagecoach Buses
Fran Batin (Bus Driver)