THE FILM

Peter was born in an impoverished part of Newcastle, England. He was uprooted from his home as a young child, separated from his relatives and taken to London. His troubled childhood left him with no other options other than to join the army at 16. He would come to spend 6 months locked into a cramped watchtower in the heart of Ireland’s bandit country to fight against the IRA. The little time Peter spent at home was used to reconnect with his lost family as well as starting one of his own.

Today, despite all of this, Peter still tries to better himself as a person and help his local community. He volunteers at disability groups, stays politically active in the housing sector and acts as a guardian to the vulnerable members of his community.

Why was his childhood so cruel? What atrocities did he witness while in service? How has a man that has since rehoused hundreds of homeless people, become homeless himself? And why is my father only telling me about all of this now?

This film is about trauma, recovery and a son’s discovery. We will focus on three major traumatic events from Peter’s past alongside his current efforts to improve his future.

STYLE

The documentary will be posed as an investigative journey for Ben, Peter’s son, to see how his father has become the person he is today.

The desired style will likely shift and change during filming as we uncover more about Peter so our approach to this will be flexible. Our current plan is to follow Peter during his day to day life while guided by his son as an interviewer type personality. The camera will follow the action and these sections will be lighter in tone. We will show gong therapy sessions, tour of current living conditions, recreational activities, looking for new housing, Peter meeting with his various support groups, medical progression and basic activities. These sections will focus more on Peter’s current situation and his father-son relationship rather than Peter’s past.

As the subject matter is traumatic, and our subject has sensitive mental health considerations, the deeper darker side of Peter’s past will be captured through a sat down interview (a safe controlled environment). The interviews will be intercut into the lighter father-son actuality. The x3 interviews will cover childhood trauma, trauma during service, and becoming homeless and isolated in later life. These initial interviews will be shot first. This will help us understand what further content we need to secure as well as knowing who we need to additionally interview.

We do plan to interview Peters siblings for family history and medical professionals for child brain development/PTSD.

WHY I AM MAKING THIS

A big part of this documentary is about not being seen. This could be neglect from guardians, the government, doctors or simply not being noticed due to an isolated adult life. For me this film is a chance to give Peter a platform to be seen and to tell a story that would otherwise go unheard. Once Peter’s life events are laid out from start to finish in a single film, it is my hope that he will see how far he has come despite the hand he has been dealt and feel proud. I believe that what he has to share will make a difference.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

You can make this project happen by clicking on the green “Donate” button above and donating £5 via our gofundme page.

Unfortunately, not everyone is in a position where they can spare £5. If you cannot donate but you still want to help Peter and me, please pass this site onto a friend, a forum, online community or anyone who you think this film would resonate with.

If you have a platform for sharing this, such as a podcast or a blog, then we would appreciate any kind of mention. Please get in contact via the “Contact” button above if you need more details.