FOCUS ON THE DOCUMENTARY

I’M STILL HERE

An object lesson in how to campaign quietly and effectively, this thought-provoking documentary is as much an historical record as a plea for compassion towards the homeless.

Shot from March 2020, when London first became a dystopian cityscape, until May 2021 and the end of the third lockdown, it follows the work of volunteers from a Covent Garden collective called Under One Sky as they help those sleeping rough on streets deserted for weeks on end. Among the heroes of the story is the owner of the Punjab Restaurant who calculates that he and his team produced some 175,000 meals for customers who never sat at one of his tables. A heart-warming experience.

UK

We are delighted to welcome Executive Producer Elizabeth McGovern (‘Downton Abbey’) together with co-directors Franc Vissers and Elizabeth Healey for a Q&A after the film.

Sew To Say

History’s longest sustained mass demonstration, the Greenham Common Women’s Peace camp, is recalled by one of its ‘founding mothers’, Thalia Campbell. The camp was established in 1981 at the RAF base in Berkshire and continued for 19 years, including the eight when American cruise missiles were installed there. Campbell, an artist, applied her skill to stitching banners (hence the documentary’s punning title). Important as a political and social record, this quiet first feature by a Spanish-born filmmaker resonates strongly in today’s volatile climate of protest.

UK 2022 RAKEL AGUIRRE 69M