“If not us then who?”
Brian Whiting
Making the film
In March 2020, when lockdown was announced, work for many, including the team who made this film, ended overnight. We began to volunteer for Under One Sky who had been given permission to operate an emergency outreach service in central London.
What we immediately witnessed was shocking. Hundreds of people were on the streets, and more were arriving every day. All the charities had been forced to close their doors. There was no drinking water, toilets were closed, and officials were nowhere to be seen. It was a very difficult and desperate situation.
We started making a permission-based film. As volunteers we met and engaged with the people who had been left behind. We wanted to give them a voice. For them to be seen, heard and respected.
The film features the insights of a number of people enduring life on the streets. We meet Sean whose powerful voice had never been heard for all of his 30 years of homelessness. Laraine, a victim of fraud who swam for Great Britain in her youth. Pops who came to London in search of food and a new start for Lukas who needed a hand up to escape the trauma he suffered on the streets.
The film also features the words and actions of some of the most courageous and inspiring people we have ever met. The volunteers of Under One Sky. Their remarkable story is summarised below.
In that uncertain time, we witnessed the best and worst of humanity. It was a desperate situation but also an opportunity to view homelessness without distraction. The film is the result of our work over a year of lockdowns. It was a journey of discovery, of listening and patient learning.
“This film remains the most difficult and rewarding thing I have ever done.”
Franc Vissers. Producer/Director
The Vision
In producing this film, our intention was to inspire an active movement towards positive change where:
- We listen to and learn from people who are experiencing homelessness.
- People with lived experience are given a front seat in the search for solutions.
- We help facilitate badly needed change to an archaic system that continues to let people down.
- We remove the stigma and discrimination that surrounds homelessness.
- We recognise the pain in others and understand how that pain might be influencing their behaviour.
- We conclude that Homelessness is unacceptable in a modern world.
- We reconnect fractured communities and society.
- And we empower ourselves with the courage to act.
The Under One Sky story.
What happened during the early days of the pandemic was chaos and creation held together by compassion. Under One Sky was a tiny winter community project that had been running since 2012. We were in no shape to take on a national emergency of historic proportions. We had no employees, no facilities and no money in the bank. All we had was a way of working on the streets, a small team of regular volunteers and a commitment to saving lives.
How things evolved from the moment our team put boots on the ground is hard not to describe as miraculous. Londoners from all walks of life emerged in floods to be of service, sending a collective message of “not on my watch”.
What started with a few volunteers within weeks grew into a movement of hundreds of strangers coming together as a unified force of community. These are the true heroines and heroes of society who risked their own lives to save the lives of others in the darkest moment.
I’M STILL HERE captures what hope in action looks like and how our differences become our strength when we work towards a higher purpose. We should take inspiration from this to create a society where everyone matters. This is possible if we as a community invest ourselves in it.
Production Team
Franc Vissersis a DOP and filmmaker who during his 30-year career has always held a passion for exploring humanity through adversity. His body of work spans the globe from his native New Zealand to the streets of Teheran, the favelas of Brazil and slums of Nairobi. For Franc this is an opportunity to create a project of worth to help facilitate change.
Franc Vissers
Producer/Director
Elizabeth Healey is a British broadcaster, screenwriter, film director and actress. With a PhD in neuroscience, she presents THE CURE, an award-winning, cutting-edge documentary series for Al-Jazeera. Elizabeth is our Presenter and Co- Director. Elizabeth and Franc were the core filming team.
Elizabeth Healey
Presenter/Co Director
Mikkel Juel Iversen is a producer and media entrepreneur who co-founded TerraMedia. Prior to that he spent a decade working in international film/TV distribution at Universal Studios.
Mikkel is also the founder of UNDER ONE SKY The outreach Charity that features in the film.
Mikkel Juel Iversen
Producer
Kitty Teague has years of experience in Film and Television Production. She brings knowledge, skill and a calm overview to the project. Kitty is also a regular volunteer for Under One Sky and is a passionate advocate for positive change.
Kitty Teague
Producer
The Score
I’M STILL HERE features music composed and performed by Heather Webb in collaboration with Delaney Davidson and Darren Pickering.
All three musicians are based in Aotearoa, New Zealand, where they have varied and interesting music careers.
The music that Heather, Delaney and Darren composed for our film is sublime. They created a musical atmosphere with both power and a beautiful sensitivity that is perfect for the world of our film. They worked remotely from across the globe, capturing the mood of the movement through video and photo references, and descriptions from the director. As Filmmakers we are very proud to introduce and share the work of these three immensely talented musicians.
