In the heart of Cambridge’s Abbey Ward, a simple weekly gathering at the Abbey Hub has become a quiet celebration of connection, belonging, and resilience. Coffee Morning – one of five short films in the Untold Stories series – captures the gentle rhythm of community life and the meaningful threads that bind people together over shared moments and simple acts of care.
At first glance, the setting is ordinary: cups of tea, friendly chatter, familiar faces. But as the film unfolds, it reveals something deeper, a kind of communal knowledge that lives in everyday interactions. Here, being known and knowing others becomes its own form of wisdom, one that rarely finds a platform in the rush of modern life.
In Coffee Morning, we see how small, local spaces hold profound importance. The film invites viewers to reflect on what it means to belong, not through grand gestures, but through the subtle exchange of stories, support, and laughter. These are the building blocks of resilience, the quiet strength found in relationships nurtured week after week.
Coffee Morning is part of Untold Stories, a film series that shines a light on the diverse forms of knowledge that thrive beyond the walls of universities and institutions. Funded by Public Engagement at the University of Cambridge, the project partners with local community groups including Abbey People, Creative Fenland, Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum, and Romsey Mill, alongside filmmakers na/films.
In a region celebrated globally for its academic excellence, Untold Stories turns its focus to the lived, embodied, and intergenerational wisdom within local communities. It reminds us that knowledge doesn’t only reside in books or lecture halls—it also lives in shared experiences, in the memories passed down over cups of coffee, and in the everyday resilience of people coming together.
Through Coffee Morning and the wider Untold Stories series, we are reminded that everyone carries knowledge worth hearing, and that community spaces, however small, can be powerful places of understanding and connection.
