With winter setting in, life is starting to become more difficult for Nottingham’s homeless, which is also not helped by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
With support limited this year, Emmanuel House in Nottingham created a short film to mark the start of their winter appeal and look at homelessness in a different way.
Lone is focused on a young woman named Gemma. After suffering an abusive relationship with her boyfriend – as well as facing family troubles – she is forced to live on the streets of Nottingham, only surviving with very little. However, later a talk with a woman will help change her life for the better.
This short film took a different approach at looking at the issue of homelessness. It challenges the mainstream stereotype of homeless drug addicts. The ending is particularly clever where it doesn’t end with Gemma miraculously escaping her bad situation, instead Emmanuel House and its support is only the first step out of homelessness.
It is obvious the people at Emmanuel House were very actively involved in this project – otherwise the film would not have approached the topic this way – and instead gone about it by accepting the stereotypical. The film is touching and will appeal to a broad audience. Additionally, Justine does a good job playing Gemma and makes us sympathise with her situation, especially since she is seen as a victim of circumstance (She is not at fault for the mistakes that lead to her becoming homeless).
During our interview, Emmanuel House said that they wanted this film to highlight the loneliness, haphazardness and unexpectedness of finding yourself, and it definitely succeeded in showing those views.
This was definitely an excellent short film with a strong message, and a different approach to approaching the issue of homelessness. It very effectively used its nine minute runtime. It is people’s humanity which makes this film so effective.
The full film will be available to watch on the Emmanuel House website from Friday 6th November on the link here.
You can donate to help Emmanuel House by texting WINTER to 70450 to donate £5.
By Stuart McComb
Feature image: Creative Quarter