If the alarm goes off, run!

IF the truth is indeed out there, then what better place to start the search than Camden Town after dark?

Kentish Town filmmaker Jasdip Sagar strapped a “UFO detector” to the top of a red sports car in Hawley Crescent last Wednesday night as part of his soon-to-be released documentary, Reel Encounters. The film is charting the lengths people go to in the search for evidence for extra-terrestrial life.

The colourful flashing detector was one of several created over the years by Vince jo-Nes, a founder of the legendary music and clothing shop Cyber Dog shop in Camden Town.

He told the New Journal: “There is a concept you hear when a UFO, allegedly, gets close to a car or computer it starts doing funny things, electrical things, silly stuff. All of this here has built in electronics that are allegedly affected by UFOs. There’s a UFO detector, the bottom part is a UFO space station. And they all light up.”

He added: “There was an actual UFO sighting near here, are you aware of that? It was in Primrose Hill and it’s on the DoD [US Department of Defense] website. “Putting it all together, and the film Jas is making is bringing attention to this fact, we probably have never been alone in this universe.”

Asked about if he had ever had a hit on his detector, Mr jo-Nes said: “Have I had an experience? I’ll tell you off camera.”

He later added that if the alert did go off he would not be hanging around in the street for much longer and he would be running for safety. Drones cameras were used to shoot a scene for the film as the red lotus with the UFO detector on top drove into Camden High Street, before being mobbed by smartphone-waving tourists wanting to be pictured by it.

The stunned passers-by stopped to speak to the film crew, many making the same joke by yelling out “take me back to the 1980s” – a nod to the classic Michael J Fox movie Back to the Future.

The New Journal has reported on Mr Sagar’s award winning documentary films that feature many of the larger than life characters of Camden – including “UFO abductees”, a “time-traveller”, psychonauts, tantric goddesses, cyber punks and a psychic spy. All shot in Camden – Reel Encounters stars Bhasker Patel (Emmerdale), Lucy Speed (EastEnders), Andrew Lancel (Coronation Street), Jon Camplin, who was in a famous Death Eater scene in Harry Potter movies, and Mark Silcox (Man Like Mobeen TV show).

Mr Sagar who lives in Kentish Town, said: “We are filming a scene between two scenes. I interview Vince who asks me ‘have you ever seen the UFOs of Primrose Hill?’ And he says take me there. And this is how we get there. This is that scene. Instead of using a traditional camera, we are using a drone camera. It is steadier.”

Mr Sagar, who creates special effects for Hollywood blockbuster movies in Soho, added: “I framed the movie in a way that starts out mocking the UFO believers, but then I start believing a bit.”