‘Everything’ – the latest fostering film from UK councils
Four-minute short film created by over 100 local authorities across the UK shows just how much of an astonishing impact fostering can have on everyone involved.
The latest figures show almost 70,000 children live with over 53,000 foster families across the UK; to demonstrate the impact this has on individuals over 100 councils and children’s trusts have joined forces to promote local authority fostering.
The feature is titled ‘Everything’ and it is the seventh film produced by a growing partnership – the biggest collaboration yet, as it involves councils from Cumbria to Devon and Lancashire to Kent.
‘Everything’ follows foster carer Mike and his family on a journey through time with two of the children they have looked after. The short is set during Mike’s surprise 60th birthday party and shows recorded messages from Will and Zara who explain how being fostered by him changed their lives for the better.
Thanks to footage shot on an old camcorder, we are taken all the way back to the 1990s and led on a journey right up to the 2010s. Throughout this period we see how both children settle into the family and Mike teaching Zara how to play the guitar – something that comes full circle when she performs a song at his birthday.
Meanwhile, Mike’s son Chris is also included in the film to demonstrate the important role children of foster carers play and to de-bunk the myth that only adults who can’t have children of their own become foster carers.
‘Many people don’t realise how common it is for relationships made through fostering to last well beyond the ‘official’ caring role,’ said Rachel Brown, project director, when describing the main message of the film. ‘This has a huge impact on the lives of those who have been fostered, giving them stability and security well into adulthood.’
‘We also wanted to reflect how the children of foster carers make a difference to children when they come into care, helping them to feel part of the family,’ Rachel continued.
‘Having over 100 councils taking part in the project, the film will reach a very wide audience, encouraging people to find out more and take the steps towards becoming a foster carer.’
Working alongside Rachel, the actors in the film are people who have had previous experience in the foster care system. The work was also produced by ReelTwentyFive – an agency of freelance filmmakers based in Nottinghamshire.
Sarah Thomas, chief executive of the Fostering Network, said: ‘The Fostering Network has been proud to support the collaborative film projects since ‘Giants’ in 2017. It’s great to see local authority fostering services pooling resources to produce another amazing film. ‘Everything’ will help to amplify their message about the chronic shortage of fostering households, encouraging more people to come forward and foster.
‘Everything’ is the latest in a series of film collaborations that started in 2017 with ‘Giants’, which was supported by a small number of local authorities in the midlands and has now grown into a national project across England, reflecting the need to recruit more foster carers.’
Originally, the film premiered in October at the Everyman Cinema in Birmingham, however it can now be viewed on YouTube. One of the main messages included in the film is: ‘What you do with your life could forever change someone else’s’ – it really could, so give the feature a watch.
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