Born
Equal started life as a film about homelessness but, as the director Dominic
Savage embarked upon his research, a markedly different film began to take
shape.
"When I began to look into the problem of homelessness, my sense was that
there was a really big issue around people living in temporary accommodation
for long periods of time."
They're known as the 'hidden homeless' because, although they've got a roof
over their heads, it's far from being a home."
Savage visited a number of these hostels and met many different people who
generously shared their stories with him - stories he says he'll never
forget.
"I was struck by the diverse reasons why people end up in those places: a
fall from grace, a relationship break-up, coming out of prison, leaving the
Army, being a refugee. All of those different stories come together in this
one place and, for me, that was the starting-point of the film."
One of the hostels Savage visited was located in London's Swiss Cottage,
literally around the corner from a row of multi-million-pound homes.
"I knew then that one of the issues I really wanted to deal with was the
extremes of difference in people's lives - and, in a place like London,
those extremes can be experienced within just a few streets. People can be
in hugely different worlds but sharing the same space.
"The film shows huge contrasts between people and how they live, their
ideas, what they've got and what they haven't got," says Savage, who points
out that although the film is set in London, the same contrasts can be seen
all over Britain.
"In the end, what the film aspires to achieve is to encourage people to
think more about others, care about the less fortunate and be more aware of
what's going on around them." |
