A documentary film showcases the political complexity and hardships associated with housing the unhoused.
At the 24th Kingston Canadian Film Festival (KCFF), Someone Lives Here was screened to audiences. Director and Producer Zack Russell shared his experiences making the film with audiences after the screening in a Q&A, and as part of a documentary panel during KCFF’s Industry Day.
The documentary follows carpenter Khaleel Seivwright as he builds small shelters known as tiny shelters for Toronto’s unhoused population during COVID-19. Filmed between October 2020 and July 2021, the film chronicles Seivwright’s project as he gains community support, while facing opposition from the City of Toronto.
Throughout the film, Russell interviews multiple people who lived in Seivwright’s tiny shelters and homeowners who express their concerns about the encampments.
At the Industry Day panel, Russell spoke about the film’s origins. He was first inspired when he saw Seivwright’s story in a CBC article. When Russell first reached out to Seivwright, he objected to being filmed. According to Russell, Seivwright wasn’t interested in self-promotion, he just wanted to do his project.
Then, Russell helped Seivwright make a tutorial video on how to make tiny shelters, which has since been removed from the internet for legal reasons. After Seivwright agreed to be filmed, Russell sought out more subjects for interviews, including someone only known as Taka, who became the film’s narrator.
Russell shot roughly 400 hours of footage during the 10-month period which was later cut down to a 75-minute feature. Despite taking place over an extended time period, the film’s pacing feels quick and effortless.
Marianna Khoury’s editing decisions show considerable restraint, giving little glimpses into the lives of the people who called the tiny homes their homes. The interviews are brief but memorable.
Apart from the interviews, Russell’s style is minimalistic. For most of the film, he follows Seivwright in his day-to-day process of working away at his project, letting the story unfold.
As a subject, Seivwright never ceases to be interesting. He manages to stay in good spirits despite being met with obstacle after obstacle.
More than anything, the film points out the structural failings which prompted Seivwright to act. Some of the people who are interviewed describe their negative experiences inside homeless shelters. The film’s narrator describes homeless shelters as “worse than jail” in one scene.
As shown in the film, during the summer of 2021, the City of Toronto spent almost $2 million clearing out homeless encampments, including the tiny shelters.
The film presents the jarring statistic: “three months after the evictions [by the City of Toronto], 92 per cent of the people evicted from parks were still without permanent housing.”
Seivwright understands his tiny shelters were far from a permanent solution, but he continued to build them as short-term protection from the cold. As Taka remarks in the film, “Khaleel is one person. He can’t warm up the whole universe.”
This film effectively brings attention to the urgency of the homelessness crisis, as well as the barriers that individuals face when they try to make a difference.
As homelessness rates continue to climb in Canada, Someone Lives Here is an essential watch.
Tags
Community support, Covid-19, housing, KCFF, movie, Review, Unhoused
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