Shelter's tear-jerking Christmas advert reveals harsh reality of children in temporary housing

Shelter is today launching its 2024 Christmas campaign, which steps into an imaginary to escape the harsh reality of temporary accommodation.

The housing and homelessness charity's film, titled "World of our Own", opens in an imaginary world and shows a little girl, Mia, and her dad spacewalking across an alien landscape. On their adventures, the pair search the planet for the Space Palace, Father waves to them as he flies towards Earth and they high-five an alien octopus voiced by comedian, podcaster and writer Adam Buxton.

This is until suddenly the harsh reality of living in temporary accommodation intrudes and brings them back to Earth. It turns out that the alien setting is a world of make believe, created by Mia's dad as an escape from the shocking experience of children living in temporary accommodation.

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At the end of the film, Mia and her dad return to the fantasy world, before a flicker of emotion on his face shows the constant stress he's bravely hiding from his daughter while trying to make her feel safe. The film ends with the tagline: "Love alone can't protect a child from homelessness, but your donations could."

To inform the campaign, Shelter and creative agency partner Don't Panic worked closely with people who have experienced temporary accommodation, including those living with mould and damp, harsh and crowded living conditions, and the devastating emotional impact felt by families going through homelessness. A number of filming resources were donated to Shelter in the making of the campaign.

The planet scenes were shot at the Mars Volume studio in Ruislip, West London. The state-of-the-art stage included a virtual production screen, which meant the alien world could be created completely on camera. The special effects, including the alien octopus, Father Christmas and the rocket were added in by post-production house Rascal.

The film is scored with the magical vocals of German folk singer Sibylle Baier's "Forget About". The beautiful track was recorded in the 1970s, and in a twist of parent-child fate, it was only released in 2006 when Baier's son discovered the recording.

"World of Our Own" follows the launch of last year's successful "Good As Gold" campaign, which featured a young child, Maddy, facing Christmas without a permanent home. Polly Neate, Chief Executive at Shelter, said: "As a record 150,000 children face the prospect of spending winter stuck homeless in temporary accommodation, this film lays bare the stark and brutal reality that so many families are forced to experience.

"A grotty hostel or a cramped bedsit, with precious little room to sleep or play, is no home for anyone. Yet, this is where a heart-breaking number of children will be waking up on Christmas morning.

"Through the winter months, and all year round, Shelter's expert advisers, across our community services, emergency helpline and online advice services, are doing all they can to support families to find or keep hold of a safe home. We need the public's help and donations, now more than ever, to help us to be there for thousands of families who need us this winter."

Rick Dodds, Creative Partner at Don't Panic London, said: "The thing that struck me the most when I met parents who lived in temporary accommodation with their children, was how hard they had to work to protect them from the harsh reality of everyday living. We heard some incredibly moving stories, and we felt our job was to portray the love and hard work a parent puts in to keep them safe.

"We want the public to really cherish the relationship between the father and daughter and to see a little bit of their own relationship in the one that's portrayed on screen. I don't think there’s a parent on the planet who won't be moved by the look on Dad’s face at the end of the film."

The ad was directed by Nicholas Goffey and Dominic Hawley, who previously worked with brands including Nike, Barnardos, Rightmove and Food. They said: "When the opportunity came along to work with Shelter and Don't Panic it immediately stood out as the sort of work we strive to make.

"This really was a labour of love from start to finish and we're so proud and grateful to have made something that reflects the harsh reality as so many people experience the housing emergency." The film was unveiled as figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government show that over 150,000 children in England are currently homeless and living in temporary accommodation, an increase of 20,000 since last year and the record highest ever.

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