A charity screening that reminded a full house why documentary filmmaking matters – and why some stories refuse to let you look away.
Film Earl’s Court | 19 March 2026
There are films you watch, and films that stay in the room with you long after the lights come up. I’m Still Here is the second kind.
On Thursday evening, the Kensington Central Library Screening Room was full to capacity for Film Earl’s Court’s charity screening of the feature documentary by Franc Vissers and Elizabeth Healey. The film follows the work of Under One Sky, an organisation founded by Mikkel Juel Iversen that supports homeless people through human connection rather than bureaucracy. It is a quietly powerful piece of filmmaking – one that refuses to reduce its subjects to statistics or sad stories and instead lets their dignity, resilience and humour speak for themselves.
F9r Full Film > Click Here: https://youtu.be/NIxqIER2dpk?si=WCs7S_ytWRX1adv6
Shown alongside a selection of Earl’s Shorts spanning 2015 to 2025, co-produced by Film Earl’s Court, the programme made a compelling case for what community-based filmmaking looks like when it takes its audience seriously.
“This is exactly the kind of evening Film Earl’s Court exists for. When a film connects an audience to lives and experiences beyond their own, something shifts in the room. You can programme a screening, but you can’t programme that. Tonight it happened, and I think everyone who was here felt it.” Caroline Tod-Richardson, Co-Founder of Film Earl’s Court and Director of the Earl’s Court International Film Festival
The screening was followed by a Q&A with Franc, Mikkel, and Fernanda, Under One Sky’s team leader – one of the most remarkable parts of the evening, and a conversation that deepened everything the film had opened up.
A Few Minutes with Mikkel Juel Iversen
Founder, Under One Sky
What was it like seeing the film with a live audience this evening?
Nothing beats watching a film in the cinema, sensing how the audience receives the film and observing what parts move them. What was particularly nice about this evening was that it was a fresh audience. The film has been out for a while so we often have repeat audience members. I was excited to see what response the film got from this fresh audience, not least because the moment in time the film captures is a few years back. It is interesting to see how well our film stands the test of time.
“Ironically, the day we screened was the day the third Covid Enquiry report dealing with the impacts on health care systems was released”. So very topical. Despite the pandemic being six years ago, it has had many lasting effects on our lives and is still so present in our memory. It became an all consuming force in our lives. I think, paradoxically, many people have fond memories of that time. It was tough, we were locked in, time stopped – but we had time to reconnect with ourselves and with others.
“The world since Covid has been a series of disasters – a downward spiral. Back to normal has not happened. There is a new normal, a darker normal. If you look at the situation on the streets, this is reflected. During Covid there was a real sense of opportunity to make a significant reduction in the scale of street homelessness. But in the aftermath of Covid the physical and mental aftershocks at individual and society levels, not least the cost of living crisis, drove more people into homelessness. Further human tragedy leading to homelessness then came from the war in Ukraine and other places.
For many Londoners who got involved in Under One Sky’s work to save homeless friends from dying from abandonment, not Covid, I think the collective memory captured by the film is one that will have a special place in them for the rest of their lives. It is rare that (extra)ordinary citizens get the opportunity to take the lead in society in such a tangible way.
“One thing that is absolutely clear – the film still has the potency to move audiences. I remember speaking to a young woman after the Q&A and she was on the verge of tears as she shared a memory she had with a homeless friend during Covid. It stirs something quite deep in people. That combination of what is on screen and what was, for all of us, a deep moment of self-enquiry and connection – good and bad.”
The documentary features deeply personal accounts from people who have been through extraordinary hardship. How did the film come about?
“The way the film was made is an interesting story, because no one set out to make a film. Franc (Director) and Elizabeth (Co-Director) both joined Under One Sky as volunteers to provide support on the streets. Separately they approached me and said “this injustice needs to be documented”. They got connected and the next thing they were developing relationships with homeless friends and volunteers and started shooting. At this point there was no intention of making a documentary.
To help us discover the story and format in the material we got support from BAFTA Award winning director-producer duo Misfits (Ian Bonhote and Dee Ryder). I met them when I worked at Universal Studios and they had consistently shown support for Under One Sky.
Among our volunteers was Downton Abbey actor Elizabeth McGovern. She and her husband, film director Simon Curtis, approached me as they were interested in supporting Under One Sky’s future development.
When the plan to develop Franc and Elizabeth’s footage into a feature documentary arose it was a natural next step to approach Elizabeth and Simons to pitch the project. Elizabeth came onboard as exec producer, funder and got really involved in the creative process. With this piece in place we were able to open doors to other funding and support.
Under One Sky was already working with NBCUniversal on our charitable efforts. The studio came onboard to offer distribution advice. NBCUniversal also offered to host a VIP launch of the film where none other than Sir Mick Jagger turned up. Actor and film director Harris Dickinson, who established Under One Sky Hackney, connected us with Picturehouse Cinemas and we agreed on a 4 screen theatrical release. All 4 screenings pretty much sold out without spending a £1 on ads.
“So it was a very organic process. What we didn’t have in financial resources we had in connections and not least goodwill from the extraordinary efforts of our volunteers. The approach was one of looking at every part of the puzzle from a 360 perspective to find the keys to unlock each step. This way we made the film and managed to give the film a place in the world.
At a time when public discourse around refugees and displacement can feel increasingly hostile, what do you hope a screening like this achieves?
The film is an open invitation to gain a deeper understanding of what leads to homelessness and to step into a space of empathy in one’s perception and relationship to the issue. We have had audience members who’ve said “this film has changed my relationship to homelessness”.
The beauty of the connection between the film and the charity is that audience members have several ways to act if they feel moved to do so. They can advocate by sharing the film which is free to watch, they can donate to support our work or they can sign up with Under One Sky to take direct frontline action.
We own the rights to the film so we can use it in different ways to deliver maximum impact. And thankfully we don’t have investors breathing down our necks to get their money back.
What is next for Under One Sky?
The charity is constantly evolving. In the last few years we’ve expanded from London to Durham, Newcastle, Edinburgh and most recently Manchester. We are also expanding our footprint on the streets of London this year. And then this is the year where we are launching the next chapter of the charity in the shape of the life transformation programme Lighthouse which adds a completely new dimension to our work.
With Thanks
Film Earl’s Court extends its sincere gratitude to all who attended and to those who made the evening possible.
Principal Sponsor: The Earls Court Development Company
Charity Partner: The UK Refugee Council
With kind support from Sonia Field, Andrea Ingrassia, Deborah Cleary, Toby Brown FNAEA AssocRICS, and ECIFF Ambassador Jennifer G. Robinson, Director of Women Of The Lens Film Festival.
Support Under One Sky GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/im-still-here-documentary
Find out more filmearlscourt.com | underoneskytogether.com | www.imstillhere.film
