World Homeless Day

The strength of this film lies in its deliberate move away from statistics and institutional messaging. By centring the contributors’ lived experiences, the film invites empathy rather than instruction — something I’m particularly drawn to as a cinematographer.

This style places me directly within the action, responding instinctively to unfolding moments. Shooting predominantly handheld or with an Easyrig allowed me to sustain a sense of momentum, giving the film a kinetic quality that mirrors the urgency and authenticity of the stories being told.

Visually, I developed a palette of muted vibrancy — grounded and naturalistic, yet subtly filmic. This balance preserved realism while maintaining tonal depth and cohesion across varied environments. Anticipating fast transitions between setups, I selected Canon CN-E prime lenses for their reliability and clean optical rendering. Their minimal distortion and controlled aberration ensured a consistent, unobtrusive image, allowing performance and story to remain at the forefront.

The Pret Foundation works to improve the lives of people affected by hunger and homelessness. Through its partnership with Pret A Manger, the foundation redistributes as much unsold, freshly made food as possible at the end of each day to charities and community groups, while also providing financial support to grassroots organisations tackling food insecurity and housing instability.

The brief for this film centred on capturing the journey of that surplus food as it moves from Pret stores into the hands of organisations and individuals who need it most. Structurally, the film followed a fast-moving narrative, tracing the collection and redistribution process while also highlighting one participant from the foundation’s Rising Stars programme — an initiative designed to support people who have experienced homelessness through training and employment opportunities.

From a production perspective, the director wanted the film to feel energetic and kinetic, favouring dynamic camera movement over traditional static framing. This approach helped convey the scale and pace of the operation, while keeping the storytelling visually engaging. The film was also designed to be presented in a widescreen format, giving the piece a more cinematic quality and elevating the everyday journey of the food into something visually epic.